I toured Qatar Airways' $73 million Airbus A319 private jet to see how the ultra-rich travel. Here's what it was like.
- Qatar Executive is the private charter arm of Qatar Airways, catering to the airline's most elite customers.
- The company boasts a fleet of 20 private jets, two of which it showed off at the Paris Air Show in June.
Qatar Airways' award-winning business class is not the airline's only money-maker.
Unbeknownst to many flyers, Doha-based Qatar has a private charter division called Qatar Executive that caters to the airline's "ultra-high-net-worth individuals."
Founded in 2009, the wholly-owned business sports a fleet of 20 customized private jets, including the Gulfstream G650ER, the recently delivered Gulfstream G700, and the Bombardier Global 5000.
However, the biggest and most extravagant option is the $73 million Airbus ACJ319, which is the business version of the manufacturer's commercial A319 airliner. ACJ stands for Airbus Corporate Jets.
Qatar Executive actually has two versions of the plane, one with a VIP layout and one that serves as an air ambulance with two medical stations.
To get an idea of how the company's most elite customers travel, I toured Qatar Executive's VIP ACJ319 at the Paris Air Show in June — take a look inside.
Qatar Executive's ACJ319 is exactly what I imagine when I think of how the world's richest people travel.
According to Planespotters, the converted airliner was actually a Qatar government plane for over 20 years before being transferred to Qatar Executive for private charters.
Starting at the front of the jet, customers will enter and turn right into a narrow hallway that leads to the various seating options onboard.
The grand entrance provides a heightened sense of privacy as the cockpit and jumpseats are completely separate from the passenger area.
Probably the most extravagant room available is the bedroom, which is located towards the front of the plane through a door to the left of the hallway.
Unlike other large business planes like Donald Trump's Boeing 757 or the Bombardier Global 7500, the bedroom on Qatar's ACJ319 is located at the front of the plane instead of the back.
The room is complete with a bed, plush linens, pajamas, a side table, and a large flatscreen television.
The bedroom is fully private and easily big enough for two people to snooze on long flights, especially since the ACJ319 can fly about 7,000 miles nonstop — meaning the jet can connect cities like New York and Río de Janeiro, Paris and Johannesburg, and Shanghai and Sydney.
Near the bedroom is a large private lavatory stocked with towels and toiletries.
There's also a window by the toilet, which is a unique place to be getting a bird's eye view of the Earth.
Beyond the bedroom is an open cabin that looks to be useful for meetings, dining, or playing tabletop games.
There were two sets of four loungers each surrounding a table, which was set up with a tablecloth and silverware for eating.
The reclining seats were huge and comfortable — easily a much nicer place to work compared to an office cubicle.
Separated by a curtain, the aft section of the ACJ319 is where those not lucky enough to claim the bedroom can get some shut-eye.
Qatar's ACJ319 has several seating options onboard with space for 19 people in total.
The plane is good for situations like families traveling together or colleagues heading out on a business trip.
The cabin sports 12 lie-flat beds in a 2x2 layout, meaning they have business-class-like perks but window seat passengers lack direct access to the aisle.
When the aisle seat is in lie-flat mode, the window seat passenger will have to climb over to get to the aisle — or ask their neighbor to adjust the seat, which can be a hassle.
However, considering the clientele, Qatar likely doesn't see this as a big concern since guests are likely to already know each other.
The loungers are actually pretty similar to Qatar's old business class before it introduced its award-winning Q-Suites.
Passengers may recognize the colors and design, a well as the little touches like storage and an amenity kit.
However, the seat did lack the large entertainment screens typically present on lie-flat products — but Qatar Executive has a different offering.
In lieu of a seatback screen, the company has installed a mount for iPads, which are distributed to guests and loaded with movies and TV shows.
This is common on other large private airliners, like the Abercrombie & Kent Boeing 757 that operates "air cruises" with lie-flat business class seats.
Behind business class, customers with find another lavatory, a closet, and two crew rest seats, all of which are curtained off.
Crew rest areas are common in long-haul private jets like the ACJ319 to ensure pilots and flight attendants get their required rest.
You can also find crew rest areas on smaller business planes like the G650ER, as well as on jetliners like United Airlines' Boeing 767 or JetBlue Airways' Airbus A321neo.
As far as the meal service, guests can cater the food they want onboard, which will be served by flight attendants thanks to the large galley in the back of the plane.
Customers can probably eat anywhere onboard, but the aforementioned dining area makes the experience more high-class.
The dining table is common onboard large private jet as companies like Airbus cater to the wants of VIP customers — specifically separate living areas for eating, sleeping, working, or just watching TV.
For those looking to rent the carrier's luxurious ACJ319, it'll cost six figures for long-haul flights.
According to private jet charter broker Air Charters Advisor, the per hour cost to operate the Airbus narrowbody starts at $16,500 but will vary based on factors like fuel cost and demand.
This means an eight-hour journey from Chicago to London could cost at least $132,000 one-way.
While Qatar Executive's biggest private jet option is the ACJ319, those with a smaller party may opt for the carrier's G700 plane once it starts flying.
Expected to start serving VIP customers in the coming months, the newest addition to the Qatar Executive fleet is the G700 with a total of 10 on order. The jet sports a club area with tables and large loungers, an entertainment room with a convertible couch, as well as a separate bedroom.
Albeit smaller, the $75 million G700 is still one of the largest purpose-built private planes on the market — meaning it wasn't originally an airliner reconfigured as a business plane like the ACJ319.
Meanwhile, Qatar also sports the world's biggest fleet of Gulfstream G650ERs, as well as a handful of Bombardier Global 5000 private jets.
The 15-strong G650ER fleet has been Qatar Executive's workhorse since 2015 and the lavish planes come with most of the perks of the G700 — including the bedroom.
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