Qatar Airways’ New 777-300ER – The Economy Class To Avoid If You Can

All of Qatar Airways’ 777-300ER aircraft have, up until recently, been a pretty good choice for Economy Class passengers. The airline had kept to a 3-3-3 seating arrangement in Economy Class and, with just 9 seats across the cabin, passengers had more personal space than on most other airlines. With a 33″ seat pitch (leg room) and a seat that’s 18.9″ wide the Qatar Airways 777-300ER was about as luxurious as modern-day Economy Class cabins come. But that’s been slowly changing and the pace of that change has suddenly increased.

Back in August and without warning, Qatar Airways began flying a 777-300ER aircraft with 10-across seating in Economy Class on its Doha – London route. Suddenly passengers went from having 18.9″ wide seats to having seats just 17″ wide and the seat pitch offered decreased from 33″ to just 32″. This was a huge change to Qatar’s Economy Class product and it signalled what was to come.

Shortly after 10-across seating appeared on the Doha – London route Qatar Airways announced that all future 777-300ER deliveries would be fitted with 10 seats across Economy Class thanks to new “slimline” seats. Furthermore, the airline confirmed that they would be retrofitting all existing 777-300s aircraft the same way.

A few days ago Qatar Airways updated its schedules to show the routes on which passengers would now encounter the higher density 777-300 Economy Class cabins with immediate effect:

Doha – Abu Dhabi
Doha – Amman
Doha – Bangkok – Hanoi Daily from 1 Jan to 1 Feb 2016
Doha – Beijing
Doha – Cairo
Doha – Dammam Selected dates in January, Daily from 1 Feb to 29 Feb 2016
Doha – Denpasar
Doha – Dubai
Doha – Guangzhou
Doha – Jeddah
Doha – Karachi
Doha – Kuwait City
Doha – Lahore
Doha – London Heathrow
Doha – Manchester
Doha – Manila
Doha – Melbourne Daily from 2 Feb
Doha – Muscat
Doha – New York JFK Daily from 1 Jan to 29 Feb 2016
Doha – Paris CDG 3-4 weekly from 1 Jan to 1 Feb 2016
Doha – Perth One-off flight on 2 Feb 2016
Doha – Phuket Selected flights from 1 Jan to 26 Mar 2016
Doha – Shanghai Pu Dong
Doha – Seoul

From 27 March 2016:

Doha – Amsterdam
Doha – Jakarta
Doha – Paris CDG (permanently)

From 1 July 2016:

Doha – Dallas
Doha – Miami
Doha – Washington Dulles

It should be noted that, until Qatar Airways receives more new aircraft (and completes the refit of its existing 777-300s), there will be dates where the old-style 9-across seating will still be available on some of these routes – but these will become rarer and rarer as we get deeper into 2016.

Bottom Line

In truth, there isn’t that much you can do to avoid the new high-density Qatar Airways 777-300ER if you’ve already booked your flights but, if you’re still shopping around, make sure you check what other airlines are offering too.

As my posts on the best Economy Class seats across the Atlantic and across the Pacific show, more and more airlines are squeezing passengers in to 17″ wide seats but there are other options out there. The trick is to make sure you do your research before you book your flights and to fully understand what it is you’re purchasing.

Not all airlines are the same and not all Economy Class cabins are the same so, if you book your flights on price alone, you only have yourself to blame if you have a horribly uncomfortable journey the next time you fly. The information available on the internet isn’t always 100% accurate but it can still be used as a guide to give you an idea of what to expect onboard.

The next time you’re deciding which flights to book, try using a website like SeatGuru to give you an indication of what the airlines are offering – you may find that a ticket that costs a little bit more gives you a much more comfortable seat that’s worth the price difference.

Featured Image: Aero Icarus via Flickr