Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is the state-owned carrier of Qatar. It began operations in 1994 with a flight to Amman, Jordan. A year later the fleet had expanded to two Airbus A310’s serving a network including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Cairo, Dubai, Kuwait, London, Manila, Muscat, Osaka, Taipei and Tokyo. The airline has continued to grow steadily and the first Australian city to be served by Qatar Airways was Melbourne in 2009.

Qatar Airways flies to destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, Far East, Middle East, the Americas and Oceania.

Qatar has been a member of oneworld since October 2013, its entry into the alliance being mentored by British Airways. It is the first Persian Gulf carrier to sign with one of the three airline alliances. Qatar also has codeshare agreements outside the alliance including All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, S7 Airlines and US Airways.

Qatar Airways currently has 170 aircraft in service, made up primarily of Airbus A320-200’s and Boeing 777-300ER’s. There are six Airbus A380-800’s in the air, with another four on order.

Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER

Qatar offers First, Business and Economy Class on its flights.

First Class is available on Qatar’s A380 aircraft. Passengers get over 6 1/2 feet of legroom and seating folds into a fully flat bed with feather duvets and massage function. Your space includes a 26-inch personal entertainment screen, a work space with laptop power, a USB plug and an on-air mobile service. There is ample stowage space and passengers will also receive a Christian Dior amenity kit. Meals are served on demand and the cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Business Class passengers also get a fully flat bed, with the cabin set up in a 2-2-2 configuration on Qatar’s Boeing 777 aircraft. Other long-haul aircraft have seating reclining up to 170 degrees with a massage function. In March 2012 Qatar Airways revealed a new business class cabin, launched on the new Boeing 787 aircraft from July 2012, initially on intra-Gulf routes before being introduced on the Doha to London Heathrow route. The new seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration allowing direct aisle access for every passenger and providing almost twice as much space as existing business class cabins. The seats are 22 inches wide and convert easily to a flat-bed which extends to 80 inches and is 30 inches wide. Each seat has also been fitted with touchscreen TVs. Generous storage will keep your belongings within reach and sophisticated LED lighting will help you adjust to changing time zones.

Qatar 777-300 Business Class

Qatar Airways offers Economy Class passengers a seat pitch of up to 34 inches. Passengers on A330 and A340 aircraft have individual seat-back TV screens while those on Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft are offered the newer touch-screen TVs. Fresh pillows, blankets, hot towels and toiletry pouches are available and you can stay connected with a laptop power outlet and USB plug.

Qatar Airways Economy

The Privilege Club loyalty program has reciprocal agreements with Asiana’s Asiana Club, Middle East Airline’s Cedar Miles, All Nippon Airways’ Mileage Club, and US Airways’ Dividend Miles frequent flyer schemes.

The airline’s first lounge outside Doha airport opened at London Heathrow’s Terminal 4 in January 2012 and is modelled after the airline’s premium terminal in Doha.