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- Qatar Airways brought a unique Boeing 777 to the Paris Air Show.
- The same plane transported the PSG soccer team days before the huge industry gathering.
- I toured its award-winning business class and the large cockpit.
I might never have achieved my childhood dream of becoming a world-class soccer player, but at June’s Paris Air Show, I had the chance to see how some of them travel.
Qatar Airways exhibited a Boeing 777-300ER dressed in a unique blue livery, decorated with the logos of the Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain.
The airline sponsors the French soccer team, which is also owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. This particular plane was used to transport them to the US for this year’s FIFA Club World Cup. PSG play in Sunday’s final against Chelsea.
While the interior was the same as a typical Qatar Airways 777, it was certainly an added highlight knowing that some of the world’s best athletes had been flying on the same jet just a few days earlier.
Regardless, it’s also safe to say that the interior is best-in-class. The day before my tour, Skytrax named Qatar Airways the world’s best airline.
From the cockpit to the award-winning QSuite business class, here’s what it was like on board the jumbo jet.
Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777 attracted a lot of attention at the Paris Air Show.
Unlike most of the other planes on display at the Paris Air Show, anybody could line up to see on board without an appointment.
However, only some of us were allowed to sit inside the cockpit.
Just the week before, the plane took PSG to Los Angeles for the FIFA Club World Cup.
In May, PSG won the Champions League, the highest honor in European club soccer, for the first time.
They then also made it through to Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final after beating Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday.
Qatar’s vast wealth has allowed PSG to buy the two most expensive players ever. Neymar moved from Barcelona for 222 million euros in 2017, and Kylian Mbappé joined from Monaco a year later for 180 million euros, although both players have since moved on.
It was an imposing aircraft to walk around.
The Boeing 777-300ER is over 240 feet long and has a wingspan of 212 feet 7 inches. Qatar Airways’ layout can accommodate 354 passengers, with a maximum range of nearly 8,500 miles.
That’s enough to go nonstop from New York to Thailand.
I boarded the plane in the business-class section, checking out the QSuites.
Business takes up a sizable portion of the plane, with 42 suites.
Qatar Airways’ business class was named the world’s best for the fifth year in a row by Skytrax, considered the Oscars of the industry.
It’s won many plaudits thanks to the quad layout in the center of the cabin.
The TVs can slide to the side, opening up the divider with two rear-facing seats. Privacy dividers also go all the way down, which can make passengers feel like they’re sleeping in a double bed, a comfort usually reserved for only the very most expensive airplane seats.
With all the dividers down, the quad seemed like its own enormous, unique suite.
I took a moment to sit down and was impressed by the atmosphere it created, making the Quad a clear selling point for families compared to competitors’ offerings.
Even traveling solo, QSuites are a cut above much of the competition.
I had the opportunity to fly in a QSuite on a Qatar Airways A350 last year, and was also impressed by the friendly service and Diptyque amenities.
The spacious suites and privacy doors make for a luxurious experience.
The seats have an array of different positions, and can lie flat at 6 feet 7 inches long.
Plus, the area on the left can be raised for use as an armrest and opened up for stowage.
The 10-abreast economy cabin looked pretty comfortable, too.
Some rows offer huge amounts of legroom.
The first two center rows are only three seats wide. This means seats 19D, 25D, and 37D can offer plenty of legroom — perhaps the best choice for economy travelers.
The plane has just two classes, as Qatar Airways doesn’t have premium economy, while first-class is uncommon.
Rival Emirates was relatively late to the premium economy game, only introducing it in 2021, while Qatar Airways doesn’t have any plans for it.
Meanwhile, it maintains that its QSuites are better than some other carriers’ first-class cabins.
Some of its older planes, like the Airbus A380, don’t have QSuites, but instead have a more traditional business and first-class setup.
At the end of my tour, I also got the chance to check out the flight deck.
It was a fun moment to take a breather and chat to the pilots.
I was impressed with how friendly they were, pointing out the various bells and whistles of the intimidatingly large flight deck.
One button, at the top left, controls the WiFi, provided by Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Qatar Airways announced Thursday that it has completed rolling out Starlink WiFi on 54 of its Boeing 777 jets, with its Airbus A350s up next.
Business Insider previously tried it out on the airline’s Starlink launch flight last October and found speeds of up to 215 Mbps — faster than most home internet connections.
Read the full article here
