Among frequent flyer programs, one negative change seems to follow the next lately. Unfortunately, this now applies to Qatar Airways as well. Last year, the airline massively increased fuel surcharges for award flights, and now they’re cutting back on what used to be included services.
Effective immediately, Qatar Airways has removed free seat selection for Business Class award tickets. Anyone who wants to reserve a seat in advance before check-in will now have to pay around €100 per flight. For frequent flyers with Oneworld Sapphire & Emerald status, seat selection remains free.
This change was not officially announced by Qatar. It was first noticed by a Reddit user. According to the user, Qatar customer service gave this response:
As per the latest guidelines from the Loyalty team, passengers who upgrade to Business Class(U) using Avios or Qcredits, or those who book Business Class tickets under the U RBD, will no longer be eligible for complimentary seat selection. This change is part of an update to the seat selection policy and has been effective starting 03 November 2025.
As I have checked, this information was published internally. The policies are subject to change anytime without any prior notice.
Response from Qatar customer service according to Reddit user lurker3212
The change apparently came into effect on November 3. This can also be verified through a test booking on the Qatar Airways website. In the first step of the booking process, it still shows that seat reservation is included:
But in the next step, charges are applied as soon as you select a seat. For example, on Frankfurt – Doha, each seat costs €95.37:
We assume that the booking channel does not matter, because award flights booked via e.g. BA Club are also issued in the same booking class U.
For paid Business Class tickets, there has long been a Light fare that includes neither lounge access nor seat selection. It remains to be seen how long lounge access for award flights will continue to be included.
Translated by Ditmar