Qatar Airways operates a diverse fleet of narrowbody and widebody jets from both Airbus and Boeing, so its onboard offerings – including seats – vary greatly depending upon the route one flies and the aircraft deployed for the service. The Boeing 777 continues to feature on its network even though the modern 787s and Airbus A350s are gradually taking over. Here, we’ll examine the best seats on the airline’s 777 airplanes, should you find yourself flying on one.
The Boeing 777 is one of many aircraft types in Qatar Airways’ fleet, but the airline has fitted them out in several configurations – six for its original aircraft and two others in planes leased from Cathay Pacific and Virgin Australia.
Some of these widebodies are more densely configured, while others are premium heavy or have different business class seats. Then, there are the aforementioned examples that previously belonged to Cathay Pacific and Virgin Australia, some of which include premium economy seating. In this article, we will look at Qatar’s original 777s with six different layouts.
Photo: MBekir | Shutterstock
While seats with more legroom are generally accepted as being superior (unless they’re annoyingly close to the lavatories), especially on long-haul flights that these 777s mainly operate, other factors, such as window, aisle, and middle seats can depend upon personal preferences and whether a person is traveling alone, in a pair or group. So, let’s see what Qatar Airways offers on its Boeing 777s.
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Qatar Airways’ long-range 777s come with the following two configurations:
Considered an upgrade to its previous business class product, the QSuites are based on the Collins Aerospace platform and are arranged with forward-facing and rear-facing seats in alternate rows in a 1-2-1 layout.
All come with unrestricted aisle access, but if you’re a solo traveler who prefers a window seat, then seats A and K in rows 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 are your best bet, as they are closer to the window than seats B and J in other rows, which can also technically be called window seats. However, the ‘closer’ window seats require the passenger to face in the opposite direction of the aircraft’s movement, something to keep in mind in case it bothers you.
If you’re assigned a middle seat and want more privacy, try to avoid odd-numbered rows as those seats are next to each other compared to even-numbered seats, which give you more space from your neighbor. If being close to the toilet or galley is a dealbreaker, it’s best to avoid rows 6, 7, and 8.
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The economy cabin is laid out in a 3-4-3 configuration, but you could find some hidden gems after some research. The entire row 16 is suitable for those looking for more legroom, as these are bulkhead seats. Seats 19D and 29D are also good options as they’re the corner seats in the middle row, providing aisle access, and have no seats in the front, as the two middle sections in the rows ahead of them only have three seats.
Row 27 has emergency exit seats, so if you’re OK with not having your bags in front of you, the extra legroom can be handy for long-haul flights.
The only significant difference for the other type of 777-200LR is the business class cabin, which has the older style pod seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. For window lovers, seats A and K are the best options, and the entire first row offers a little more exclusivity without any row in front of it. Row 5 is toilet-facing, so it’s probably not the best of options.
The economy section has a similar layout to the other 777-200LR, with minor exceptions, and all rules for that aircraft apply to this one as well, except that the previously described seat 19D is numbered 18D in this version.
Qatar’s 777-300ERs come in the following four seat configurations:
For the planes with QSuites in the business class section, all the observations made for the premium cabin in the 777-200LR with QSuites apply. The only exception is that in the 777-300ER with 24 QSuites, there are only six rows of business class seats, so it does not have rows 7 and 8.
However, the difference is in the economy section. On the 777-300ER with 388 economy seats, the entire row 16 has massive legroom, but the tradeoff is that they face the toilets. Rows 30 and 42 are emergency exit rows, also giving ample legroom. Again, seats 18D, 32D, and 44D on this plane have all the advantages of 18D/19D of the 777-200LRs, as discussed above.
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Those traveling in pairs will find seats A/B and J/K in row 29 and A/B and J/K in row 55 more suitable as they don’t have a third seat next to them. Both rows, however, are close to the toilet, and row 55 is right at the back of the plane. The last rows of both the 777-200LRs also have these options.
Photo: Steve Worner | Shutterstock
For the 777-300ER with 312 seats, row 16 and the middle seats of row 17 are bulkhead-facing with the most legroom. Rows 23 and 35 are emergency exit rows with good legroom as well. As discussed above, seats 19D, 25D, and 37D have all the advantages described for seats 18D/19D for the planes above.
In terms of the best seats in the economy section, almost all rules that apply to the QSuite -300ER with 388 seats and 312 seats apply to MiniPods -300ER with 388 and 316 economy seats, respectively.
As far as business class is concerned, the layout with 42 MiniPods offers the same advantages as that of the -200LR in the same configuration. The one offering 24 business class MiniPods with four rows has the same advantages as the first four rows of the -300ER with 42 MiniPods.
Have you traveled in any one of Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777 planes? Please let us know about your experience in the comment section below.
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