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Qsuite Next Gen: Why Qatar's New Business Class Now Arrives on the A350 in 2027
Qatar Airways' new business class has slipped from late 2025 to mid-2027, and the plane that gets it first is not the one airline planned.
A delay of about a year and a half, and a new plane
Qatar Airways now intends to debut Qsuite Next Gen on the Airbus A350 as of mid-2027, well after the original plan to start installation in late 2025 [1]. If you fly Qatar in business class, the new seat will reach you later than first promised, and probably on a different aircraft [1].
Qatar Airways unveiled the product in July 2024 [1]. Qatar Airways had no comment on the article's reporting [2].
What Qsuite Next Gen adds
The layout stays the same as the current product: a staggered configuration alternating between forward- and rear-facing seats [1]. The changes sit inside the suite. There is a larger lie-flat seat and a large double bed [1].
The new entertainment screen is a movable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova unit that can be repositioned to the side [1]. It can serve up to four passengers in the Quad Suite and up to two in the Companion Suite [1].
Privacy gets an upgrade with taller, digitally controlled dividers [1]. Enclosed drawers hold items such as a phone, watch, or jewelry [1].
The suite also has new wireless charging and customization options, including ambient lighting, privacy controls, and a touchscreen passenger control unit [1].
Why the schedule moved
Qatar Airways originally planned to introduce Qsuite Next Gen on the Boeing 777-9, and it has at least 60 of them on order [1]. The late-2025 timeline did not hold because of Boeing 777X delivery delays [1].
The Boeing 777X is still not certified [1]. Qatar Airways currently expects to take delivery of its first 777X in late 2027, in a best-case scenario [1].
The A350-1000 plan
According to Executive Traveller, Qatar Airways CEO Hamad Ali Al-Khater said Qsuite Next Gen will now debut in mid-2027 on the Airbus A350-1000 [1]. The remaining roughly one dozen A350 deliveries are planned to feature the new cabins from mid-2027 [1].
As of now, there do not seem to be plans to retrofit existing A350-1000s with Qsuite Next Gen [1].
The current Qsuite on the A350 and the 777
The original Qsuite was introduced nearly 10 years before the Next Gen announcement and is available on most, but not all, long-haul aircraft [1]. Coby Wayne flew it on back-to-back flights in July: seven hours on a Boeing 777 and then 15 hours on an Airbus A350 [2]. He says he would pick the A350 over the 777 for the QSuite experience [2].
The A350 is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofans and is noticeably quieter than the 777 [2]. Its cabin is pressurized to around 6,000 feet, while the 777 cabin altitude is around 8,000 feet, and the A350 cabin is less dry [2].
The A350's cabin lighting can be changed during the flight to resemble sunrise, sunset, dusk, or nighttime, which can help passengers adjust to a new time zone [2]. Its seat-back screen has an HDMI port, and Qatar's crew can provide an HDMI cable on request [2]. Passengers can also access exterior cameras through the entertainment system [2].
The 777 has one edge: its cabin is nearly a foot wider than the A350 cabin [2]. Qatar is rolling out Starlink across both its A350 and Boeing 777 fleets [2].
What it means for you
If you want Qsuite Next Gen, the A350 is the plane Qatar now plans to debut it on, from mid-2027 [1]. The remaining roughly one dozen A350 deliveries are planned to carry the new cabins [1].
Existing A350-1000s do not seem to be getting a retrofit, so the current Qsuite is what you should expect on them [1].
As of Summer 2026, the A350 serves most of Qatar's dozen US gateways [2]. Only Washington, DC, New York-JFK, and Seattle have regularly scheduled Boeing 777-300ER service [2]. The 777-300ER fleet averages about 13 years old, and the A350 family averages about 7.4 years old [2].
Sources
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