About Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways, founded in 1993, is the national carrier of Qatar, and since 2000 has become one of the world's fastest growing airlines. As of December 2014, the airline serves 146 destinations worldwide, covering all six continents, and from June 2015 is expected to expand to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Qatar Airways has been voted the World's Best Business Class in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the World Travel Awards.
In 2014 the carrier moved its base to Doha's new Hamad International Airport. As of June 2015 it has a fleet size of 140, but as part of an aggressive expansion programme aims to increase this to over 250 by 2020. The airline operates the A380 double-decker airbus, and was one of the first to fly Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
Economy Class
Economy Class in most of the Qatar Airways fleet has a seat pitch of 32 inches, but on the B777 it can be up to 32-34 inches. As of April 2014, all aircraft feature individual screens measuring at least 9 inches, and provide the Oryx in-flight entertainment system, offering more than 1,000 audio-video choices in several languages. All passengers also enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne. Unlike most European and American airlines, Qatar Airways makes no clear distinction between its short-haul and long-haul economy class offering.
Business Class
Qatar has recently retrofitted its entire fleet with the new 180-degree flat-bed recline seats, and has also announced a further upgrade of its business-class offering, to be known as Super Business Class. This is because it is phasing out first class on all its aircraft except the A380. On the narrow-body fleet -- A319, A320 and A321 -- the premier class is termed Business or First depending on the routes -- there is particularly high demand for first-class in the Gulf, so the premier cabin is marketed as First within the Gulf region, and as Business Class outside the region.
Business class seats have a minimum seat pitch of 60 inches on the Airbus fleet, and 78 inches on the Boeing fleet -- the B777 and the B787 Dreamliner. The new Airbus A380 will also feature a seat pitch of 78 inches. Passengers in business class benefit from 15.4 inch TV screens, seven-course meals, chandeliers, top-quality wines and champagnes, and fresh flowers.
First Class
Although first class is being phased out on most types of aircraft, in favour of Super Business Class, a first class service will continue to be available on the A380 Airbus. The recently-unveiled new first-class cabin design will feature a seat pitch of 90 inches, making its seats the largest and widest in the sky, and there are partitions between the seats, providing plenty of privacy. Every seat has a 26-inch TV screen, and for the comfort of passengers the airline provides feather duvets, luxury-brand pyjamas, slippers and Dior amenity kits. The 10-course dinners feature rare vintage wines, and additional attractions include the premium terminal for first-class passengers, and a BMW Seven Series car to take passengers from the terminal to the aircraft.