Ever since Qatar Airways QSuite was announced I’ve been trying to roll it into a trip so I could try out what is touted as the most luxurious business class product in the sky.
In a rather spectacular surprise, I got to fly QSuites (review forthcoming) on a flight I never expected it on. My wife and I were set to fly from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Doha, Qatar, as we continued our journey home. At check-in, I asked nicely if we might be able to get window seats, knowing that the 777-300ER seatmap was 2-2-2.
QR 77W 2-2-2 Seatmap
Except that he was saying things that didn’t make sense – saying we could sit on opposite sides of the aisle from each other – 1A and 1E. I asked a clarifying question and he kindly shared his screen.
I dug a little deeper on this one once we got into the lounge, and found that we were flying on tail number A7-BEN, by popping the flight number into Flightradar24.
QR665 over the past few days courtesy of Flightradar24.com
I could then see that on 4 January, A7-BEN was operating our flight. Logically, I wanted to know where else this plane has been:
Flights operated by A7-BEN courtesy of Flightradar24
QR7 was–I think–the first flight announced to be operated by Qatar Airways QSuites, so that was a pretty big corroborating factor. Ultimately it was in fact a QSuites configured 777-300ER.
Other Qatar Airways QSuites Aircraft
I don’t know for a fact how many other Qatar Airways aircraft are configured with QSuites at the moment, but I would make reasonable guesses that the following flights are operated by QSuites. Interestingly enough, some of these aircraft have visited a bunch of other cities recently, including Kuwait City, Mumbai, even Karachi!
(Note, each aircraft tail number has a hyperlink to Flightradar24 so you can see where its operating now).
Conclusion – Qatar Airways QSuite flying not just to LHR, CDG, and JFK!
Ultimately, it was more an academic activity since I couldn’t really change anything, however, I think the above steps are helpful if you’re trying to chase a particular product or aircraft. This same strategy could also be used to chase Emirates’ new First Class on the 777-300ER.
Chasing Q Suites is hard: Qatar has more equipment swaps than any other airline I know. That’s great for getting lucky but also means it could backfire if you thought you booked Q Suites and they swap in an old 77W!
@Becky – good point, chasing QSuites is fraught with potential equipment swaps.
Congrats Trevor, I bet you enjoyed that hop to Doha. @Becky is spot on, since that happened to me at the last minute. I was booked on their 787 from Denpasar to Doha for months & the day prior to the flight they switched aircraft to an old 77W. I was not a happy camper then and I am still looking forward to enjoying this product!