Qatar Airways Aircraft Changes On USA Routes – Good News For Flyers

a seat in a plane

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Qatar Airways has been doing quite a bit of tinkering with the aircraft it uses on its routes to the US over the past few weeks and, while some the changes are not really that interesting, a few are…and they’re good news for US flyers.

Some of the changes we’re seeing with the aircraft Qatar Airways is deploying on its US routes are probably nothing more than the airline altering capacity as a route becomes more or less popular because of the season….but a few of the changes appear to be driven by the fact that the airline is refitting its 777 aircraft with its latest Business Class product – QSuites.

Qatar Airways flys its 777 aircraft on a variety of routes to the US and, as good as the service is on board (it’s substantially better than the service you’ll receive on US/European airlines), the Business Class cabins offer an old-style seating layout.

a diagram of a bus seat

With the seats set out in a 2-2-2 formation the Qatar Airways 777s don’t offer an all-aisle-access option like the modern cabins you’ll find on the Air France & American Airlines 777s (for example).

the seats in an airplaneQatar Airways 777-300ER Business Class

a group of people sitting in an airplaneAir France 777-300ER Business Class

The good news is that Qatar Airways has been removing these 777s (temporarily) from some of its US routes and the aircraft it is replacing them with are a big step up.

In its latest schedule update Qatar Airways has confirmed that…..

On the Dallas – Doha route, the Airbus A350 that was only supposed to be replacing the 777 for the month of October will now operate the route through the end of November.

On the Miami – Doha route the Airbus A350 which was meant to be switch to elsewhere at the end of October will now continue operating this route though 7 December 2017 (the 777 returns on 8 December).

While the Qatar Airways 777 offers an older and less-impressive cabin, the airline’s A350 offers the exact opposite.

a close up of a seat

a seat in a plane

The Qatar Airways A350 offers one of the best Business Class seats out there (I’m a big fan of the reverse-herringbone layout) and, coupled with the service you get on board Qatar Airways flights, this is now one of the best ways to fly from the US to the Middle East.

One small downside to this temporary aircraft swap is that the A350 offers 6 fewer Business Class seats as compared to the Boeing 777 so, depending on loads, this could make awards and upgrades harder to come by.

There’s one other route that’s seeing a notable change and that’s the Boston – Doha route….but this change isn’t great news.

We already knew that this route would be losing its A350 in favor of a 787 Dreamliner for the month of October but now this swap has been extended through 30 November.

Comfort-wise passengers shouldn’t see any difference between the two aircraft as both offer the same reverse-herringbone, all-aisle-access seats….

a seat in a plane

…but the Dreamliner has noticeably fewer Business Class seats up front -14 fewer to be precise.

That’s not good news for upgrades and award availability.

Other Qatar Airways US News

QSuites Coming To NYC

Qatar Airways has finally loaded a 777 with its amazing-looking QSuites on to the New York – Doha route….but it won’t be appearing in September as originally suggested.

a seat and table in an airplane

The seat map depicting the QSuites first appears on 16 December 2017 [HT: Flyertalk]….

a screenshot of a test

…but as nothing has been officially announced yet I wouldn’t make any firm/non-cancelable bookings based on this information – things can and often do change!

One Reasonable Business Class Fare On Offer

Qatar Airways has launched a promotion its calling “Global Travel Boutique” and, if I’m being completely honest, it’s a little underwhelming….at least by Qatar Airways standards.

I wrote about a few reasonable deals I noticed out of Europe a day-or-so ago but I hadn’t noticed one reasonable Business Class deal that’s currently available out of the US.

Qatar Airways Business Class is available between Atlanta and Mumbai (via Doha) from $2,410 roundtrip (solo travelers) or for $2,340 roundtrip per person if booking as a couple.

Fares available through 31 May 2018 and must be booked by 19 September 2017

The full US promotion page can be accessed via this link

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