Qatar Reveals A380 & Confirms Three-Class Configuration

Qatar Airways has released a sneak peek of its first A380-800, due for delivery in early 2014, with service to commence soon after. The image shows the first of the airline's 13 A380s leaving the Airbus assembly line in Toulouse in partial livery, with the Oryx logo gracing the 24m-high tailfin.

However, the most exciting news is that the airline has confirmed that the aircraft will be configured with three classes – first, business and economy. As you would expect from Qatar, the interior will be fully customised, with much of the work being carried out by the airline's own in-house design department. More details will follow soon, but in the meantime we can confirm that the 517-seat aircraft will feature 457 Recaro CL3620 economy seats, 52 B/E Aerospace Super Diamond business seats, and eight first-class seats. The first-class seats will be of an all-new design, and will be located at the front of the lower deck, together with an exclusive lounge area. Business passengers will also benefit from a lounge area on the upper deck. To the rear of the business cabins, there will be a small economy area, similar to the layout of Malaysia's A380.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker stated, “Seeing this image for the first time gives me great pride as Qatar Airways prepares to look forward to our newest aircraft type, the world’s biggest, joining our fleet next year.

“It is a striking example of how far our organisation has rapidly grown to its position of leadership as a truly global and world-class airline. The delivery of the first of our new A380s will mark a new chapter for the airline, while reinforcing our commitment to giving our customers the very best travel experience and service.”

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 124 aircraft to 128 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.