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10 reasons to get on board with Qatar Airway’s QSuite

Double beds, pyjamas, a family dinner table, actual closing doors, and 3,000 films? Yes, this is a plane we’re talking about – not a mansion. Here are 10 reasons you should get on board with Qatar Airway’s new QSuite.

Published: 4 April 2017 11:10 CEST
10 reasons to get on board with Qatar Airway’s QSuite
All photos: Qatar Airways

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a traveller in business class will be much more comfortable than those in economy.

But that truth just became – well, even truer. Qatar Airways has announced what is probably the coolest business class seat in the world – the QSuite. Here are 10 reasons we’re dying to try it out.

1. The best bed! (And pyjamas!)

Let’s start with the obvious. Sure, flying business class whatever the airline means you can kind of convert your seat into a bed. But how often will you find a bed that is completely horizontal? Not only that, but you get bespoke pillows and a fluffy warm duvet for a truly cosy night’s sleep.

We all know that travelling in the same set of clothes for an extended period of time is, well, unsavoury. Thankfully, QSuite passengers will be given White Company pyjamas, for maximum comfort. You’ll forget you're in a plane.

For those of you who struggle to get to sleep in the air, the struggle is no more.

2. Make that a double

What if you're travelling with your dearly beloved? Lucky for you, seats in the new QSuites can convert into a double bed. Yes, that’s right, a double bed in the air.

Qatar Airways is the first airline in the world to offer a double bed in business class. Share with your spouse! Share with your kids! Be a glutton and book two seats so you can sleep in starfish position with a double bed entirely for yourself! No judgement here.

3. Privacy!

But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to watch strangers cuddle. Because that’s awkward.

The QSuite also comes with full privacy: you’ve got doors and panels which can completely surround you. As Beyonce says, roll up the partition please…

4. Even more privacy

And just like a hotel room, the QSuite has a “Do Not Disturb” sign you can switch on and off – so that couples can really relax…

Find out more about the QSuite

But we’re not implying it’s just for couples. As a traveller in the QSuite you are entitled to as much privacy as you’d like, no matter what your relationship status or business purpose. Close off from the world (or plane) and flip on that sign. Making small talk with strangers on a plane doesn’t have to be part of the experience anymore.

5. Social celebration

And yet… the Q-suite allows you to be more social than ever before on a plane. Flying on your birthday? Bringing your best friend for a surprise stag party abroad? Four inner seats can be combined into one suite, with two seats on each side facing each other. Plus, in business class champagne flows aplenty!

6. Travelling tapas (or platters that matter)

Speaking of food, QSuite flyers will be treated to the most delectable of dishes, cooked up by the airline’s distinguished chefs. All the food on Qatar Airways is delicious – but in the QSuite travelers can also choose from family-sized platters to really help you get in that party mood. Sharing is caring! Eating on a plane is no longer a solitary experience – you’ll feel just like you’re at your dining room table. Only better. And you don’t have to do the dishes.

7. Let’s get down to business…

Of course, when you’re flying business class there is a chance you’ll want to, well, do business.

Remember those partitions, and those spacious sets of seats facing each other with a shared table in the middle? It’s perfect for business meetings, too. Retract the walls and get working with your colleagues in real time, not over wifi – although wifi is available too! No need to waste time on the way to an important international meeting. Plus the TV monitors are compatible with USB, HDMI, NFV…you name it. PowerPoint just got more powerful.

8. Entertainment

Speaking of the TV monitors. Qatar Airway’s Oryx One entertainment system has always been pretty cool – but with the QSuite they also launched the brand new version. With over 3,000 titles available, you’re spoilt for choice – and that’s putting it lightly. Just don’t spend the entire flight trawling through the catalogue for something to watch.

Another benefit of the movable monitors and partitions is that you can enjoy your film on a wide screen – no more squinting at measly miniature screens.

The possibilities are endless; even the world’s longest flight might not be long enough to exploit all this…

9. Complimentary amenity kit complete with luxury products

Comfort, check. Food, check. Entertainment, check.

All this is great, but nonetheless, there is something about long flights that will still trigger a yearning for a long shower, despite all the comforts provided.

To counter this, QSuite passengers receive complimentary amenity kits, complete with luxury products from Italian brand Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio – including moisturizer and perfume, all in a stylish Bric’s mini suitcase. So you can step off the plane fresh as a daisy.

10. It’s a beautiful piece of furniture

When has that ever been said about an airplane seat? When you're stuck in the same spot for a dozen hours, you want it to look good. And with hand-stitched Italian leather and satin rose gold finishing, QSuite has got to be the most aesthetically-pleasing seat in the sky. Plus it’s comfortable!

Intrigued? Find out more about the coolest airplane seat ever

The Qsuite is available on selected Qatar Airways routes as per June 2017.

This article was produced by The Local Client Studio and sponsored by Qatar Airways.

TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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