It was back in March 2018 when I received a call from Qatar Airways inviting our agency out to Adelaide to review their airbus A380 and A350 business class product. Our Qatar Airways business class review is a genuine take on what we experienced on the A380 from London to Doha and the A350 from Doha to Brisbane.
So bags packed and ready to catch the Qatar flight from London Heathrow to Adelaide via Doha. We were given priority security clearing passes meaning we could beat the crowd and swiftly found ourselves airside. With a few hours spent in their lovely Business class lounge the announcement came in that the 09:55 flight to Doha was now ready for boarding.
With priority boarding we were greeted and directed to our seats which would be on the top deck of the Airbus A380. I absolutely love this craft as its so spacious and the separate business and first class cabins on the upper deck means you really feel like you’re flying in a premium cabin. Once seated I was offered a selection of drinks including Champagne. One guess as to what I chose!
Complimentary drinks after boarding our A380 business class flight from London to Brisbane, via Doha.
Shortly before take off one of the lovely cabin crew came over to ask my meal preferences and times I’d like to eat. The dinning on demand is a great service meaning you can eat when you want from a wide selection of al a carte meals. Added to this is the endless supply of snacks and drinks you can request at any time.
The food we received in Qatar Airways business class was excellent – as you can see, this was a morning flight.
The flight departed on time and once we reached altitude it was time to check out the quality of the seats. I’m tall and have found other airlines business class seats to be slightly geared towards the average height so always end up curling my legs when the seats are fully flat. No such problems with Qatar’s dimensions at a generous 80â€. The Seat itself is slightly angled towards the window giving a greater degree of privacy from the other passengers and being able to lower the arm rest fully down gives more comfort. The seven odd hour flight to Doha went by extremely comfortably but as it was a morning departure meant I didn’t actually fully utilise the bed and stayed up watching the latest movie offerings on the 17†mounted screen. This was complimented noise cancelling Bose headsets adding to the dramatization. Although the size of the screen was perfect it could only move up or down which meant the glare from outside sometimes made it difficult to see. Once we reached altitude thankfully everyone closed their window shutters so this didn’t prove to be a problem.
All Isle access seats is certainly the way forwards as you never have to disturb other passengers when going to the toilet or just stretching your legs. After a few hours I decided to check out the exclusive First and business class bar on board. This is a great space where I met other business class passengers and shared a drink or two and found time literally flying by. The cocktails were great and there were offerings of light bar snacks and all the premium spirits.
All-in-all the service and comfort on the A380 was fantastic and I was looking forward to the next step of the flight onto Adelaide on the Airbus A350.
Doha International Airport is enormous and well prepared for the crowds expected to visit during the world Cup 2022. We had a few hours stop over so I decided to walk around the maze of shops before heading back to the lounge and waited for our call to board the next sector to Adelaide.
We boarded the brand new A350 which Qatar Airways was the first to operate back in 2015. Although this craft was notably smaller than the A380, it had remarkable similarities in terms of its 1-2-1 layout and all isle access seating. The functionality and comfort was exactly the same as was the onboard amenity kit with the added comfort of being given a sleep suit. It was on this sector where I fully utilised the flat bed and got to see how good it really was. After having a lovely meal and a night cap I decided to turn in and hopefully wake to up with only a few hours left of the 13 and a half hour flight. The length of the blanket meant I could cover my feet and still have enough to cover my head. I know I sleep funny so this was a welcome surprise to find an airline blanket that caters to my needs. The pillows were soft and fluffy and a bottle of Evian on the side table meant I had everything to hand to ensure I get a good nights sleep.
The business class seating on board Qatar Airways
It didn’t fail and I woke just before breakfast. Having freshened up and a movie later the seatbelt signs were switched on and we were making the decent into sunny Adelaide. Although the A350 didn’t have an on-board lounge the seamless transition from the A380 to the A350 was unnoticeable. The entire travel process from checking in to landing in Adelaide was great. The exceptional service levels by the cabin crew to the quality seats there wasn’t much I could fault on the flights. Even the change in craft made no markable difference as both cabins were brand new and kitted out with all the latest seat functionality. Even the extra stowage space above the seat and below the window was ample. I can clearly see why Qatar Airways is awarded 5* by Skytrax for airline of the year.
Find out more about business class with Qatar Airways or if you would like to discuss your upcoming travel plans please contact us on 020 8554 8866 and our dedicated team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
We hope you enjoyed our review of Qatar Airways business class offering.