Qatar Airways confirms rollout of all-economy A321neo aircraft 

Qatar Airways has confirmed it will operate Airbus A321neo aircraft in an all-economy class configuration.  

In particular, the Qatari flag carrier has acquired three aircraft of this type fitted with a relatively dense cabin featuring 236 economy class seats. 

This move has come as a surprise in industry circles, as Qatar Airways has traditionally been known for its focus on serving premium segments of the market. 

In a written response to AeroTime’s queries, Qatar Airways confirmed the decision to have a small part of the fleet operating with an all-economy cabin is due to strong and growing economy class demand on specific routes.  

Several media outlets have pointed out that, starting in October 2025 and through to January 2026, these three aircraft will progressively be inducted into the fleet and deployed to routes linking Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) to Madinah (MED), in Saudi Arabia, Multan (MUX), Sialkot (SKT) and Peshawar (PEW), in Pakistan, Sharjah (SHJ), in the United Arab Emirates, and Tbilisi (TBS), Georgia. 

Qatar Airways has also confirmed that these first three A321neo aircraft fitted with an all-economy cabin are not part of the 50-aircraft order that the airline has in place with Airbus. 

The Qatari carrier first placed and order for 50 A320neo family aircraft back in 2011. The order was then reconfirmed in 2017, but upgauged to the larger A321neo type. 

However, this order later became collateral damage in the legal dispute between Qatar Airways and the European aircraft manufacturer over maintenance issues affecting some of Qatar Airways’ A350 aircraft. As the two companies litigated in court, in early 2021 Airbus cancelled Qatar Airways’ 50-strong A321neo order, which prompted the airline to announce it was switching to the Boeing 737 MAX 10, only to reinstate the Airbus order as soon as the two companies had settled their disputes amicably in Febrauary 2023. The Boeing 737 MAX 10 order was finally cancelled in May 2025, as Qatar Airways and Boeing negotiated a larger deal that will see the Qatari carrier getting B787 and B777X aircraft instead.

As of September 2025, Qatar Airways is still awaiting delivery of those 50 A321neo aircraft from Airbus, which in this case will be fitted with a business class cabin. Deliveries related to this outstanding order are expected to begin in 2026. The post Qatar Airways confirms rollout of all-economy A321neo aircraft  appeared first on AeroTime.

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