Qatar Airways has selected Adient Aerospace, a joint venture of car-seat maker Adient and Boeing, to make its new business-class seat, a mock-up of which it revealed on the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow.
The new QSuite Next-Gen will be available onboard the airline's Boeing 777X and Airbus A350 jets, and will be ready for introduction starting from the fourth quarter of 2025, Xia Cai, Qatar Airways' senior vice president of product development, told reporters at the event on Monday.
The previous version of the business-class seat was built by Collins Aerospace.
Plane makers are dealing with a shortage of parts, ranging from engines to cabin interiors, but Ms Cai said Qatar Airways is working very closely with its suppliers to ensure the new business class suite is handed over on schedule.
"It is a challenge ... but we are confident it will be delivered on time," she said.
Airlines are making significant investments in their first class and business-class cabins, focusing on more space and more privacy, and even splitting up the business-class cabin into different seat options.
The doors on Qatar Airways' new business class cabin will be taller for more privacy and lighter for environmental sustainability, Ms Cai said, adding that it raises the bar for travelling in style.
"I don't see any body that can come with a product in the next 10 years that can come close, in terms of space, comfort and also the experience of being in social travel," she said.
Qatar Airways' new business class suite will feature movable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova IFE screens for a "more cinematic experience", it said.
The screens can be repositioned to the side to create the "largest social and productivity space in the sky" for up to four passengers in the Quad Suite, and up to two passengers in the Companion Suite, according to the airline.
The Quad suite will have increased space for dining together, and more privacy with taller, digitally controlled dividers.
With larger lie-flat and double beds, the new Quad suite will also offer a turn-down service with a "make my bed" feature.
The new Companion suite has similar features to the Quad suite, now with the revamp of offering the same shared space in window aisles.
Asked if Qatar Airways' business-class seats are becoming increasingly popular with leisure travellers, as opposed to corporate fliers, Ms Cai said there is demand from families and honeymooners.
Qatar Airways' group chief executive Badr Al Meer unveiled the new Qsuite during a speech that involved interacting with Sama, an AI flight attendant on a screen.
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
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