Qatar's First Airbus A380

Qatar Airways' first Airbus A380 is now dressed in its full and familiar livery, ahead of delivery to the Gulf carrier in the second quarter of 2014 and a commercial debut on flights from Doha to London and Paris.

The first of 13 superjumbos planned for Qatar's fleet, it includes a small first class cabin of eight suites using an all-new design aimed at out-gunning (but hopefully not out-blinging) the private pointy-end private suites of Gulf competitors Emirates and Etihad.

The business class cabin will feature 52 seats identical to those already seen on Qatar's Boeing 787 fleet.

Both first and business class will be located on the top deck, along with a small economy cabin and a lounge to separate travellers in the cheap seats from the premium passengers.

The A380's lower deck will be economy from tip to tail.

Doha's new Hamad International Airport, due to open early next year, has been designed to cater for the A380 with six superjumbo-ready gates.