FARNBOROUGH, UK — Airlines unveiled new business class seats this week at one of the world’s largest air shows, as a new report predicts a rise in demand for business travel in 2024.
Qatar Airways showcased its business class upgrade at the Farnborough Airshow near London. The most talked about new feature is the inflight entertainment display, which can be fully rotated to the side, allowing passengers to sit face to face or even in groups of four, creating a larger shared space.
The offering updates the Middle Eastern airline’s existing ‘Qsuite’ business class product, which was launched in 2017 and features a unique seat configuration that allows groups to create an open-top ‘room’ with sliding privacy mid-cabin Door. Folding the screen also allows a group of people to view the same monitor and create a shared desktop space.
Qatar Airways’ new business class product, Qsuite Next Gen’, features a retractable screen.
CNBC
In its current form, Qatar Airways has reserved four-person QSuite seats for group bookings. Single, double and twin seats are also available, and the “companion seat” where two people face each other is equipped with a foldable screen to form a dining table between them.
Rolling out new business class seats across an airline’s fleet is typically a lengthy process spanning several years as the upgrades are installed on new aircraft and retrofitted to aircraft already in service.
Qatar Airways said the new seats will arrive next year on its Boeing B777-9 jets, the U.S. manufacturer’s new wide-body, long-haul model that has experienced lengthy delivery delays. Qatar Airways has announced an order for 20 more B777-9s at Farnborough, bringing its total order list of B777X jets to nearly 100.
Qatar Airways’ “Qsuite Next Gen” business class seats were demonstrated at the Farnborough Air Show on July 22, 2024.
Qatar Airways
Turkish Airlines also revamped its business class cabin at the air show, adding adjustable doors with privacy panels — a feature that has become standard in its more luxurious first-class cabins in recent years.
The trade group Global Business Travel Association said in a report released on Monday that increased economic stability and the release of pent-up demand will increase global business travel spending by 11.1% year-on-year to $1.48 trillion. That would be up from $1.43 trillion in 2019, when the pandemic halted nearly all work travel.
Business class, first class and most recently premium economy are the most profitable classes for airlines. Increasingly, non-corporate travelers are also willing to spend money for additional in-flight benefits, boosting demand for these seats.
This resulted in U.S. airlines Airlines around the world are innovating at the front of the aircraft, such as Singapore Airlines offering private suites.
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