Qatar Airways Operating All-Economy A321Neos: Not What You Think

Intro

Qatar Airways has long been branded as one of the most premium airlines in the world. With a state-of-the-art business class product (on some aircraft), a great soft product, and a good economy product, there is a reason why they can get away with charging such fares.

So, when you see the airline selling an all-economy layout on an upcoming flight, one begins to have many questions...

The Details

As of October, Qatar Airways has scheduled select routes with an all-economy layout on certain A321Neos. For context, this is not all of them. Certain routes, such as Madinah, Sharjah, Multan, and Peshawar, will feature this product (there are more, and subject to change).

Qatar is known for its extravagant products.

Interestingly, these planes will feature 236 seats in a 3-3 configuration. For context on how tight this will be, Wizz Air operates the exact same aircraft, but with 239 seats (3 more for those who are too lazy to math). This means that the pitch on these aircraft will be extremely tight, and certainly not cutting edge like the airline claims to be...

So... What Is Going On??

Those delinquents like me who keep up to date on aviation news will know that Qatar placed a very large order of Airbus aircraft after they cancelled their MAX orders from Boeing. While these A321s that they ordered are supposed to enter service come 2026, they somehow entered service a year early?

Not quite... These planes were never actually supposed to be delivered to Qatar Airways, and instead, they were intended for Air Asia. The jets were not taken up, and Qatar decided that they wanted them.

So, don't worry... This is not what the standard A321Neo layout will look like, just a select sub-fleet.

Smart By Qatar

A lot of people will over-dramatize this whole new A321Neo layout and say, "this is not very Qatar-esque, I won't fly them again", but honestly, the few people saying that are usually not the ones flying to Peshawar (great place btw) or Madinah.

We actually got a police escort in Peshawar, ha

In my eyes, this is extremely smart by Qatar Airways. A lot of these markets are an extremely short-distance, and with very little demand. Considering that Qatar probably wants to put these aircraft to use immediately, why not chuck them on routes where they can sell as much as possible?

My guess is also this: this configuration of the A321Neo is not going to be long-term, but more like testing the market out to see if it works. I imagine that when QR takes delivery of their new A321Neos (intended for them), these old ones will be retrofitted.

Final Thoughts

Qatar Airways has just loaded in a brand new aircraft into their schedule, and it's stirring the pot online. While Qatar has been known as a "premium carrier", they will now be operating a subfleet of A321Neos, beginning in October, that were originally intended for Air Asia. In my opinion, this is very smart as they get to test the water about the potential of this working. I mean, what are your other options going to Peshawar? PIA?

It reminds me of fishing earlier today. As I re-rigged another Black Bart after losing an 800lber, the captain says, "If you don't try, you never know". Very little downside, high upside.