Forty extra seats will become available in the economy class of Qatar Airways’ Airbus A340-600 aircraft from September this year as the national carrier implements plans to remove its first class lounges.
The overhauling of the national carrier’s four A340s follows an “airline evaluation”, which revealed the “usage of the lounges was low”.
The removal of the first class lounge in the A340 would provide room for as many as 40 seats in economy – taking the total to 256 from the existing 216.
In a statement to Gulf Times yesterday Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said the removal of the first class lounge would not affect the first and business class segments in the four Airbus A340-600 aircraft in the national carrier’s fleet.
There are eight first class and 42 business seats in Qatar Airways A340-600s, which are now being in flights to London, Lagos and Paris flights.
The A340-600 is among the world’s longest passenger jet with an overall fuselage length of 75m.
Al-Baker said: “We remain committed to our premium passengers offering the highest levels of service in an economic climate where many airlines around the world are cutting premium seating capacity.
“As part of Qatar Airways’ continued commitment to meet the needs of the travelling public and ensure more efficient use of the aircraft, we are expanding our economy class cabin across our Airbus A340-600 fleet of aircraft.
“The decision follows a careful evaluation in which we found that usage of the lounges was low. The lounges provide passengers with a chance to sit and relax together on comfortable sofas during the flight in the ambience surroundings of a cocktail bar.
“However, our in-flight passenger surveys have shown that these lounges are not utilised as much as we had expected by passengers, who instead preferred, to relax in our premium seats during their flight.”By introducing the premium lounge in the Airbus A340-600 aircraft in 2006, Qatar Airways became the first airline in the world to do so.
“This innovative move will remain part of our track record as a premium airline which always wants to go the extra mile to satisfy passengers. We continue to innovate and as we expand our business, we will introduce more and more unique in-flight service features for our passengers,” al-Baker said. During 2009 alone, Qatar Airways is boosting capacity - in terms of seats, frequency, aircraft numbers and destinations. The national carrier has announced seven new routes this year – two each in Australia, India and Europe and one in the US.
