Qatar Airways' business class, and the author in front of the A350.
Pete Syme/Insider
Insider toured Qatar Airways' Airbus A350 at the Paris Air Show.
The huge plane has 46 business class Qsuites, including a unique Quad configuration.
And the 281 economy seats are still comfortable too, with plenty of leg room.
At the Paris Air Show in mid-June, Insider got a tour of Qatar Airways' Airbus A350.
Pete Syme/Insider
Walking up to the plane from the tarmac instead of a usual jet bridge showed just how big the A350 is.
Pete Syme/Insider
This was my first air show, and it was a great experience to go through the whole plane and learn more about all the effort and details put into it.
Pete Syme/Insider
Qatar and Airbus nearly fell out over disagreements about the exterior paint peeling, with the airline trying to sue the manufacturer for $600 million ...
Pete Syme/Insider
Airbus has changed the design of its A350 flagship jet amid its dispute with Qatar Airways over peeling paint
.... but that has been put to rest now, after the two companies reached an undisclosed settlement in February.
Pete Syme/Insider
Although slightly shorter than Boeing's upcoming 777-9, the huge size of Airbus' wide-body jet was apparent when climbing the stairs and getting a great view of the Paris Air Show.
Pete Syme/Insider
The tour began in Qatar's business class with its signature purple mood lighting.
Pete Syme/Insider
The day before my tour, the World Airline Awards named Qatar Airways' business offering as the world's best business class.
Pete Syme/Insider
Every seat — called a Qsuite — comes with its own closing door, and a neat embossed sign for the number.
Pete Syme/Insider
And while the A350's tail cam isn't the greatest resolution, it was a fascinating view that I had never seen before.
Pete Syme/Insider
And there was plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy a luxurious flight.
Pete Syme/Insider
I spent $14,000 to fly Qatar Airways' Qsuites business class and saw why it's called the 'best in the world'
I was most impressed by the central seats, which can also be turned into a double bed.
Pete Syme/Insider
Some of these seats can be opened up by the crew to create "The Quad" — a configuration unique to Qatar Airways, and ideal for families.
Pete Syme/Insider
In between the sections, I caught sight of the galley where flight attendants prepare meals for passengers.
Pete Syme/Insider
And plenty of storage to keep pre-packaged meals or drinks.
Pete Syme/Insider
I spent a day learning how to be a flight attendant for British Airways' first-class cabin.
Next up we visited the economy class which was laid out in the standard 9-abreast — although some airlines have managed to fit 10 seats in a row on the A350.
Pete Syme/Insider
Airbus debuts new A350 cabin that seats 10 people a row to compete with Boeing's new flagship 777X — look inside
There's a total of 281 seats in the economy class, the Airbus spokesman said.
Pete Syme/Insider
And all the seats were laid out with an extra cushion and a blanket.
Pete Syme/Insider
Maybe it was just because I needed a rest after walking miles around the air show, but I found the economy seats to be pretty comfortable too.
Pete Syme/Insider
It obviously isn't going to be quite as elegant as a Qsuite, but I found there was still a good amount of leg room as someone who's 5-foot-9.
Pete Syme/Insider
And then there's plenty more leg room in the exit row, where the screens are attached to the seats.
Pete Syme/Insider
There was a much bigger galley and two jump seats in the rear of the plane.
Pete Syme/Insider
And I got to look inside the hidden compartment where flight attendants can sleep on long-haul flights.
Pete Syme/Insider
See inside the secret, minuscule aircraft compartment where flight attendants sleep on long-haul flights
Then we saw the cockpit area, where this ornate logo showed more of the attention to detail that Qatar put into the plane.
Pete Syme/Insider
And there was this display where the crew can check the status of lights, temperature, doors, and smoke detectors.
Pete Syme/Insider
As the tour was ending, we got a brief moment to glimpse inside the cockpit and say hi to a couple of Qatar Airways pilots.
Pete Syme/Insider
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By: [email protected] (Pete Syme) Title: I toured Qatar Airways' luxurious Airbus A350 complete with the 'world's best business class' and was impressed by its comfort and attention to detail Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/toured-qatar-airways-airbus-a350-worlds-best-business-class-2023-6 Published Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2023 10:39:48 +0000
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