Airlines roll out business class upgrades at Farnborough Airshow

FARNBOROUGH, England — Airlines showcased new business class seats at one of the world’s biggest air shows this week, as corporate travel demand is forecast to rise in 2024 in a new report.

Qatar Airways displayed its business class upgrade at Farnborough Airshow near London. The most talked-about new feature was the in-flight entertainment monitors that fully swivel to the side, allowing passengers facing sitting in pairs and even groups of four to create a bigger shared space.

The product updates the Middle Eastern carrier’s existing “Qsuite” business class product, which was launched in 2017 with the unique seat configuration that allows a group to create an open-top “room” with sliding privacy doors in the middle of the cabin. Folding screens also allow a group to view the same monitor and create a shared table space.

In its existing form, Qatar Airways reserves the four-person QSuite seats for group bookings. Single, twin and double seats are also available, with two-person “companion seats” that face each other also set to get foldable screens, creating a dining table between them.

Rolling out new business class seats across an airline’s fleet is usually a lengthy process spanning years, as upgrades are installed in new aircraft and retrofitted onto planes already in service.

Qatar Airways said the new seats would arrive next year on its Boeing B777-9 jets — the U.S. manufacturer’s new wide-body, long-haul model that has experienced lengthy delivery delays. Qatar Airways announced an order for 20 additional B777-9s at Farnborough, taking its total orders for B777X jets to nearly 100.

Turkish Airways also launched changes to its business class cabin at the air show, adding adjustable doors with privacy panels — a feature that has become standard in recent years in ever more luxurious premium class cabins.

In a report published Monday, trade group the Global Business Travel Association said increased economic stability and the release of pent-up demand would see spending on global business travel rise 11.1% year on year to $1.48 trillion. That would be up from $1.43 trillion in 2019, before the pandemic shut down nearly all work trips.

Business Class, First Class, and more recently Premium Economy, are the most lucrative cabins for airlines. Demand for those seats has been bolstered by an increasing number of non-corporate travelers also willing to fork out for additional perks in the air.

That has led airlines in the U.S. and around the world to innovate at the front of the plane, with the likes of Singapore Airlines offering private suites.