Row One
A retrofitted Emirates Boeing 777 business cabin in the 1-2-1 layout, champagne leather seat with a wood-grain console and the suites receding behind
The 1-2-1 cabin, on the aircraft that have been through the shop. Photo: Emirates

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Emirates and Qatar Airways: the business class retrofit in 2026

Emirates has rebuilt 95 aircraft of 219 and is taking older 777s from seven seats a row to four, while Qatar's next Qsuite reaches selected London and New York routes through 2026. On one route at one fare, the seat map decides what you get.

A business class ticket to the Gulf can put you in a suite or in a middle seat with two people between you and an aisle, on the same airline at a similar fare. Both carriers are halfway through a retrofit, the rebuilding of a cabin in an aircraft already in service, and neither sells the old cabin cheaper than the new one. The seat map is the only disclosure you get.

Emirates: from seven seats a row to four

Older Boeing 777s are moving from 2-3-2 business class, seven seats across with three of them stranded in the middle, to 1-2-1, where every seat reaches an aisle directly: 38 new business seats where 42 used to be, plus 24 premium economy. Emirates has extended the programme to 219 aircraft and finished 95 of them, 42 A380s and 53 Boeing 777s, more than a third of the fleet.

Qatar: the next Qsuite, on a few routes first

Qsuite is Qatar's business class suite, with a door and, in some rows, four seats that close into one shared compartment. The next generation of it is rolling out through 2026, starting on selected routes to London and New York, and adds what Qatar calls window companion suites. The rest of the fleet flies what it flew last year.

Qatar has also eased Privilege Club requalification through 30 November 2026 for members whose flying was disrupted by the February 2026 airspace closure.

The Qsuite Next Gen quad suite shown on a stand at Arabian Travel Market, four seats enclosed around a shared table
Qsuite Next Gen, shown at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. It reaches selected London and New York routes through 2026.

Before you pay

  • The aircraft type for your flight, which the booking engine shows.
  • The seat map, where 2-3-2 and 1-2-1 are obvious at a glance.
  • The seat map again a week before departure, because a retrofit fleet swaps aircraft and the swap is not always an upgrade.

Two business class tickets on one route can differ by a thousand francs and, separately, by whether you have your own aisle, and no fare search shows the second. Turkish is in the same position.

Sources