Is there somewhere to (without a subscription) get reliable stats of QR equipment by route/flight over time?

[bernardblack]

I'm holding a CDG-xDOH-MEL award booking in J (through AAdvantage), with both sectors showing when booked (and still now) as 77Ws with QSuites. I am also keeping an eye open for alternative routings to get from the US (where I'll actually be starting) back to AU on potentially a mix of QR/EY using Velocity points.

Is there somewhere I can track for given routes or flight pairs, the reliability of QSuites (or any other J config)? I'd like to try QSuites at least once, but I'd be not too dissatisfied if any given sector were swapped to a 388 or 359 with the reverse-herringbone config, which is very comfortable. But the old 777 2-2-2 config would be a dealbreaker, and I want to avoid any long-haul route where there is a material risk of that latter config.

I have an ExpertFlyer subscription but I don't know how useful it is for tracking something like this historically. FlightAware would identify specific tail numbers which could be reverse-engineered into this, but I think that detail requires paid subscription and it would still require a bunch of work to collate the relevant data.

 

[BNEFlyer]

Could you set up a seat alert in EF for a J seat that would only be available on a QSuite 777? The other option is to check the aircraft used on the routes in Flightradar24, not sure if that’s a pro feature or not (I have Gold so can see everything).

 

[SYD]

Personally, I think you’re pretty safe on those sectors. Not sure how many older configs are even left, I read somewhere that they’re used on some of ME short haul.

As you say, there is the chance of one or both going A388. At worst, CDG-DOH might get subbed with a 787.

 

[BNEFlyer]

Personally, I think you’re pretty safe on those sectors. Not sure how many older configs are even left, I read somewhere that they’re used on some of ME short haul.

As you say, there is the chance of one or both going A388. At worst, CDG-DOH might get subbed with a 787.

CDG gets all the widebodies except A330 across 3 daily flights. QR39/40 is always an A380 though.

I saw a video report on YouTube recently filmed this year of a MIA-DOH and that 77W had 2-2-2 J, which I was very surprised by.

 

[bernardblack]

The other option is to check the aircraft used on the routes in Flightradar24, not sure if that’s a pro feature or not (I have Gold so can see everything).

So it turns out yes, I can see specific tail numbers on FlightRadar24, albeit only for the last week or two.

But that, combined with the Flyertalk wiki on which specific airframes are configured with which seats, can help give guidance:

All recent MEL/ADL/BNE rotations on 777s have been QSuite-configured. SYD is currently a 380 and PER will be by the time of my flight.

Of the old-style 2-2-2 777 airframes, the only cities they're hitting in North America seem to be ORD/PHL/ATL. The first two are somewhat surprising to me since they're partner hubs. But it looks like JFK/IAD/BOS/LAX/SFO/SEA are consistently safe (either QSuite 777s, or 350s, for which I'm fine with any config).

Could you set up a seat alert in EF for a J seat that would only be available on a QSuite 777?

I might try this too, although if the equipment swap is hours out from the flight, that's not going to help much. But it'll be worth avoiding a change if it's planned months in advance.

 

[BNEFlyer]

Of the old-style 2-2-2 777 airframes, the only cities they're hitting in North America seem to be ORD/PHL/ATL. The first two are somewhat surprising to me since they're partner hubs. But it looks like JFK/IAD/BOS/LAX/SFO/SEA are consistently safe (either QSuite 777s, or 350s, for which I'm fine with any config).

MIA also gets the old cabin sometimes as well. Not sure about DFW and IAH.

 

[bernardblack]

MIA also gets the old cabin sometimes as well. Not sure about DFW and IAH.

MIA have not received the old config in the last two weeks, but obviously I'd want to monitor these over time.

IAH seems to be getting 350s and DFW a mix of QSuite 777s and 350s.

 

[bernardblack]

This is interesting. Apparently this page is updated by a script which weekly checks FlightAware history for specific routes and compares tail numbers against a known list of QSuites equipment:

Qatar Airways QSUITE: Routes, Destinations, Aircrafts, Availability

Qatar Airways’ Qsuites are widely regarded as the best Business Class product currently available. They are superior in many ways to other airlines’ business class as well as Qatar Airways’ own, regular premium cabin. Unfortunately, this is the biggest problem concerning Qsuites – since they...

travel-dealz.eu

It confirms all AU/NZ flights have been 100% QSuites recently. (It doesn't cover SYD, presumably because it's an A380, and PER is out-of-date presumably for the same reason. It also doesn't have the new MEL second rotation.)