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DOHA -- Though I hold an economy class ticket on all legs of my journey to and from Dubai, Qatar Airways provided me with a look inside their Premium Terminal for First and Business Class passengers transiting through Doha.

The terminal is separated into three primary areas, first class and business class and security screening and staff waiting area. Once I got off the Airbus A320 (A7-ADJ) in Doha and I boarded a people mover specially fitted with lounge seating for a trip to the terminal that takes less than a minute. Upon arrival I passed through security and made by way up the main escalators of the spacious naturally lit terminal.

One thing you won't find in the Premium Terminal are loud speaker boarding announcements. When you first check into the terminal, a staff member notes your attire so they can find you individually when it's time for your next flight. When it gets a bit busier, staff members will roam the area to make personalized group announcements starting 45 minutes before your departing flight.

It becomes immediately clear that Qatar Airways has spared no expense for its premium customers, with showers and beds (for use up to 6-hours) for both classes. First Class lives up to its name with an area for spa treatments, a jaccuzzi and a sauna. Access to the spa is actually the only area of the terminal that is not included in the cost of the ticket and passengers can select from a menu of indulgent options during their layover.

Small things like play areas for little children and families, as well as a room with Playstation 3 terminals are all available to pass the time (for kids of all ages). The terminal also features twin male and female prayer rooms for Muslim passengers, an indication of airline's cultural heritage.

The First Class area can accomodate around 125 passengers and the Business Class area was expanded four months ago to accomodate up to 600 passengers. During peak evening hours, both room are very commonly filled to capacity. Both areas have business centers, free wi-fi terminal wide (thank you!), as well as buffets to fuel up before or after a long flight - which I'm doing as I write.

I want to thank Qatar Airways for the opportunity to visit their Premium Terminal. It's good incentive to try and return one day as a premium passenger. A guy can dream, right? In the mean time, I'm perfectly content with whatever class I fly...as long as I'm in the sky.

(More pictures later)

On board Qatar Airways 777-300ER about to start my journey to the Dubai Air Show (Twitter #dxb09). First LONG leg takes me to Doha from Dulles then on to Dubai. The second leg is only 250 miles long but on a 777. I didn't have a chance to check the registration on my IAD-DOH leg, so if anyone knows, let me know too! The first 777-300ER was delivered almost exactly two years ago, but this particular plane doesn't feel more than a year old. Not a bad ride for a 6018 nm flight.

UPDATE: Now in Dubai! Turns out the first leg was on A7-BAA (first delivered) and the second leg was on a A330-300 (A7-AEJ) - an unexpected pleasant surprise.

In what may end up being the biggest aircraft order of 2009, United Airlines appears close to purchasing a massive number of widebody aircraft by the end of the year from Boeing and/or Airbus to replace the airline's aging 747, 777, 767 and 757 fleets.

I've put together a graphic that lays out all of United's options (PDF) for fleet renewal that shows the existing fleet and potential replacements from both Boeing and Airbus.
There are many options that United could exercise for its fleet renewal, choosing to buy exclusively from either manufacturer, or creating a mixed fleet. Flightglobal's ACAS database shows United operates 25 747-400s, 34 767-300ERs, 19 777-200s and 33 777-200ERs. The carrier also operates 94 757-200s. Each aircraft has a range of options that that could feasibly be replaced by each manufacturer. What follows is a general comparison of models and the airline's options for renewal.

757-200 - United's narrowbody workhorse seats 182 (3-class) or 110 (United ps.) and could be replaced by the A321 or 737-900ER for hub-to-hub or coast-to-coast operations.

767-300ER - The 787-8 or A330-200 would fit for United in this 183 and 244-seat category for trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific and Latin America operations. The A330-200 could offer an interim solution before the larger A350-800 is available, but it fits in a category closer to United's 777 rather than the 767.

777-200ER - The stretch 787-9 and A350-800 or even larger A350-900 would be ideal replacements for long-haul trans-Pacific 253 and 258-seat 777-200ER operations. Even the 777-200LR could fit for ultra-long haul operations opening up new markets from the airline's US bases. United is also keen to continue to compete on the US-Australia routes against Delta (777-200LR) and V Australia (777-300ER).

777-200 - As the launch customer for the type back in 1995, United's early non-ER 777s have a range of just over 5,200 nm for 348-seat Hawaii flights and 258-seat trans-Atlantic flights. The 787-3 or A330-300 may fit on these routes designed for high density operations of 5-6 hours or less.

747-400 - As the largest aircraft in United's fleet, the 747-400 could be replaced by four potential aircraft. The twin-engined 777-300ER and A350-1000 are the closest in seat count to the existing 374-seat 747-400. However, the larger 747-8 or A380 would offer significant growth for the airline flying high-capacity long haul routes between large cities.

United appears to be leaning away from the A380 and 747-8 and 777, potentially opting for a mix of 787s or A350s. In addition, a report by Leeham.net says that United is concerned the 787 won't be able to perform the missions the airline is looking for. The report also indicates that any A321 purchase would come with winglets to put them in line with the 757 in terms of performance.

While it is not said explicitly on its website, Japan's All Nippon Airways quietly unveiled the cabin for its 787 Dreamliner this morning.

While the exact configuration of the aircraft is still unknown, ANA's announcement of the selection of the Panasonic eX2 IFE for the 777-300ER and 767-300ER aircraft, we well as the the unveiling of its new 777-300ER cabin leads to one speculative conclusion: This is ANA's 787 product for introduction in late 2010.

ANA already announced in January 2007 that it had selected eX2 IFE for the 787. ANA says the AVOD system will feature 160 programs including movies, videos, music and games, as well as the ability to order food and drinks directly from your seat.

While the 777-300ER will feature a four-class cabin starting in February 2010, there's no guarantee that the smaller 787-8 would also have four classes of service. However, ANA's longest haul aircraft - 777-300ER & 747-400 - both feature a four-class configuration. The airline's medium to long haul 767s have two-class cabins with seating in economy and business class.

Presumably, at least two of ANA's four new classes of service will find their way onto the 787.

First
Re-branded as the ANA First Square, the new first class suite features fully lie-flat beds and a baggage compartment and mini-closet to hang your coat. Each Square will have a 23-inch LCD touch screen with universal power port, iPod connector and USB port. 

Business
ANA's new business class will feature fully a lay-flat seat in a staggered arrangement with a large side table, shoe storage and small in-seat baggage area. Each seat back will have a 17-inch LCD touch screen with universal power port, iPod connector and USB port.

Premium Economy
ANA has selected fixed back shell seats for premium economy and increased the seat pitch from 38-inches to 42-inches. Each seat back will have a 12-inch LCD touch screen with universal power port, iPod connector and USB port.

Economy
ANA has selected fixed back shell seats increased the seat pitch to 34-inches from 31-inches with a sliding headrest and footrest for its new economy cabin. Each seat will have a 10.6-inch LCD touch screen, universal power port, iPod connector, USB port and a special cup holder.

Woohoo cupholder!

The late afternoon sunshine in Hamburg set the scene for the handover of the first 538-seat Airbus A380 to Air France. Operating as AFR380V, MSN033 (F-HPJA) departed XFW at 2:39 PM local time for Paris.

Been writing like a madman all day and came across this ad from Frontier Airlines on USAToday.com. They've used their animal-adorned Airbus tails in advertisements before, but I came across a new one and I thought it would be fun to share. This recession has gone on for over a year now with $11B to be lost by airlines, delays by Boeing and Airbus, and huge numbers of jobs lost. No doubt about it, 2009's been a rough one. Consider this a 60-second escape. I promise this will make you smile.

A lot of people are asking how laptops could've caused the crew of Northwest Flight 188 to overfly MSP? According to the NTSB, using laptops on the flight deck is strictly prohibited during flight, but even a quick glance at the tray table on each side of the Airbus A320 family flight deck shows how a laptop monitor could easily block the pilot's navigation display.

The tray table is available to both crew members because Airbus uses a sidestick controller rather than the center yoke found on Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier aircraft. 

At NBAA 2008 (yes 2008), I was provided a tour of the Comlux A319 ACJ and unfortunately the audio on the video was largely garbled, so the video was never used. This afternoon, I went back and looked at one portion of the video that shows the arrangement of the flight deck tray table in relation to the navigation display. I added some new audio and some annotations on the video to show just how easily a laptop could block the displays, causing a major distraction to the crew. This is why laptops aren't allowed in flight!

Read the full text of the NTSB update on Northwest 188. Also, why was the ACARS off?

Well, here it is! JetBlue A320 (N561JB) was unveiled this evening in Orlando with a new tail design called 'Blueberries' and larger titles on the side of the aircraft? What do you think?

It's a sensational headline I know, but the juxtaposition of two news stories published within minutes of each other caught my attention. CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker said that all is well with Boeing and his company's 787 order, while telling Bloomberg that in regards to an order for CSeries:

Discussions hinge on "a few figures" and Qatar Air won't buy the plane unless its conditions are met, Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker said today in an interview.
    Airbus SAS could effectively kill off the CSeries by offering a version of its own shorthaul family of aircraft with the same geared-fan technology, he said. Qatar Airways already operates a fleet of Airbus A320 narrowbodies.

Al-Baker's very public negotiations on aircraft orders have worked before, and it sounds like the potential for the order has come out of the freezer to thaw.