Featuring Qatar Airways on their A350-1000, A350-900 and B777-300ER aircraft
This is one trip I’ve been really, really looking forward to for months. This trip is three things; first, it’s my first time trying a Tier Point run, second, it’s my first time flying with the much lauded, much awarded Qatar Airways (which means it’s also my first time flying in the much talked-about Qsuite) and finally, it’s also my first time flying on any variant of an A350, which is super exciting. Now, the whole trip includes just one segment with the Qsuite, from Stockholm to Doha, with the other three segments getting me on Qatar’s reverse herringbone hard product on the A350-900 to (and from) Bangkok, and their older 2-2-2 layout on the 777-300ER to head back to Stockholm again. This is set to be a great mix of products to try out from one of the world’s leading carriers.
I thought it’d be fun to compile a review of each type of seat, with a scoring system that looks at both the hard and soft products, including: the pre-departure experience; the ambience of the cabin; the overall design of the seat, as well as its privacy; the comfort of the seat; the comfort of the bed; the storage space available; the internet connectivity as well as the IFE selections; the all-important food and drinks available on board; how the toilets fare; and finally, the service provided by the crew.
I also thought it’d be interesting to take a view on how your perception of an airline product varies depending on the seat you're in, even if the crew are consistently excellent, because I think that’s a very real subliminal psychological thought process, plus the whole concept of expectations vs. reality, and how that plays out too. Like I said earlier, I’ve been excited about this trip for a long time; will my desire for an amazing set of flights be matched by each product? Personally, I think that’s a tall order, because I’m notoriously details-driven, but we’ll see.
Talking of expectations, the tagline of ‘First In Business’ is a bold line to take. The A350-1000's Qsuite gets such an incredible write-up more or less across the board, and it looks fabulous. But is it the best? Other carriers are quickly playing catch-up with similarly designed products. While the reverse herringbone layout on the A350-900 mightn’t have a door, it’s a tried and tested layout that’s used in varying designs across numerous carriers. And yes, the 2-2-2 layout on the B777-300ER is dated, and the bed mightn’t be lie-flat, but the legroom is off the scale (I mean, how many other business class seats get you get FOUR full windows to stare out of?!), plus your feet aren’t enclosed inside a little space while sleeping. I think each, regardless of age or configuration, will have their own stand out elements as well as drawbacks, so I want to try and look at these things in some detail all in one trip; it provides context and impartiality.
Note number one: lounges are all detailed in separate blog posts.
Note number two: I pay for all my flights myself, and any airline I’m flying with doesn’t know I am reviewing them or their services/products.
So, let’s see what I thought…
Round one:
Aircraft: A350-1000
Route: ARN - DOH
Reg number: A7-ALF
Age: 15 months
Seat: 03A (rear-facing)
Introduction and expectations
So having read oodles and oodles of blog posts about the Qsuite and Qatar Airways as an airline, I had very high expectations about this particular flight within the overall booking of four. Let’s see how it went, shall we?
Pre-departure
The pre-departure experience was a great start to the trip. I was like a kid in a sweetshop heading down the jet bridge to see for the first time the Qsuite product. I was warmly greeted by the waiting crew member who checked my boarding pass and directed me to the left towards row 03 of this A350-1000.
I found at my seat not one but two pillows, as well as the BRIC’s amenity kit (for men), a set of nightwear and a blanket. One could argue there was maybe too much stuff waiting for you, but the Qsuite has a good amount of storage, so I put it all away and took some initial photos of the cabin and suite. I was offered a choice of any drink I wanted (which is excellent) and so I opted for a glass of rose champagne which was swiftly delivered in an elegant flute.
Score: 10/10
Cabin ambience
The Qatar Airways A350-1000 is beautiful inside and out. One thing I absolutely love about Qatar Airways is their absolute attention to detail and their tightly defined brand identity; it is instantly recognisable yet subtle. The colourway of the cabin is beautiful, with the familiar grey and maroon tones being used and then offset with touches of gold which adds a certain classiness and glamour to the cabin, without it being crass (which I think Emirates are 100% guilty of). The lack of overhead bins in the centre of the cabin creates an immediately noticeable sense of space and airiness. I was expecting the mood lighting to have been activated, but instead the main cabin lights were used. This was actually preferable as I could take some decent pictures in normal lighting for use in the blog, which you can see below. I've also added some of the cabin with the mood lighting activated after we reached cruising altitude. My only tiny area of dissatisfaction (if you could even call it that) was the window blinds being standard push-pull style instead of the A350-900’s much sexier folding/opaque and black out version. That would have capped it all off for me as a near perfect cabin because honestly, it is absolutely stunning.
Score: 10/10
Seat design and privacy
After reading many, many blog posts and articles about the Qsuite, I did wonder how spacious it would be, and whether there would be any claustrophobia associated with it, particularly with the suite door closed, but I was incorrect in this assumption. I had chosen suite 3A which is a reverse-facing seat (as are all odd numbered rows) so I could have maximum window gazing. The suite feels very spacious indeed in the reverse position as your shoulder isn’t immediately next to the suite wall as it is if you choose a forward facing suite (which are even numbered). Another thing I absolutely loved was the fact you are either facing straight forward or backwards, and not slightly diagonal as per reverse herringbones layouts.
I wasn't as put out about flying backwards as I thought I'd be. To the contrary, I felt like I had a better view out of the A350-1000's massive windows.
As I mentioned earlier, Qatar Airways have an exceptional level of cabin ambience with excellent attention to detail and brand identity. This has been deployed almost perfectly within the Qsuite, with the same overlapping circular motif and gentle waving designs used in many aspects, but without it being over-the-top or crass and in-your-face (cough Emirates cough). It’s very subtle and I felt the classiness of it was demonstrated beautifully when combined with the use of leather, fabric and Qatar Airways’ immediately identifiable colour scheme with flashes of gold. The only thing I would change is to have an embossed Qatar Airways oryx logo on the corner of the lather headrest just to finish it all off.
I was playing with the suite door when Amiran the cabin manager walked by, and she promptly gave me a warm greeting and offered to give me a full tour of the suite and menu which was fabulous as well as thorough. She even let me video her opening and closing the door. I thought the door would be gimmicky too, but it really isn’t. It’s very high so your personal privacy is unparalleled and the door is very sturdy, unlike what I’ve read about BA’s new Club Suite doors.
Another thing which I enjoyed was the ‘DND’ function on the control panel that set your seat number to red once your door was closed, allowing for no disruptions while illuminated. Excellent privacy!
Score: 10/10
Seat comfort
The Qsuite seat is actually much wider and taller than it looks in photographs. I think this illusion (as it were) contributed to my assumption that the suite would feel claustrophobic but the seat itself is a veritable throne and very comfy to sit in. I had no issue at all with comfort whilst sitting, finding the multitude of easy to use controls just to my left allowed me to configure the seating position to however I desired, which was fabulous. I also like that the seat is upholstered in fabric, with the only leather elements being the head and arm rests.
Score: 10/10
Bed comfort
After finishing my meal and clearing away my plates and glasses, Amiran offered to make up the bed whilst I got changed into my Qatar Airways nightwear, and upon my return I found the suite laid out beautifully for me which was excellent customer service, as I don't think a turndown is the 'standard' in business class.
Unfortunately I found the bed to be quite uncomfortable, particularly in the hip area where it felt very solid/thin indeed, and didn’t make for a good snooze. I managed only about 2 hours of dozing before I gave up. The length and width however were excellent as I am 185cm tall, and my feet didn’t feel cramped or ‘coffin-like’ in the cubby as I’ve found with a number of reverse herringbones layouts.
Score: 6/10
Storage
As mentioned above the Qsuite has a great amount of storage compared with other business class products. One proviso was that Amiran noted in my suite tour that I should not put my shoes under where the bed would extend out to, or they’d become stuck.
To the seat’s left there was a cavernous storage area which contained both the noise cancelling headphones and a bottle of water, as well as the various pieces of literature which I never bother reading. In addition to this, there was also a large shelf area to the left of the screen, which featured perhaps a non-slip surface? I’m unsure if this is the case but it didn’t feel very glossy so was good for placing things that might need to not go flying during take-off and landing etc. Underneath this was a smaller shelf where I kept my menus and the like during the flight, which is on top of the seat controls. I didn’t use the footrest while lounging as I found the perfect lazy-boy style position using the seat controls, so I also used this area as an impromptu storage space for the oodles of gear presented on boarding.
Even though the cabin was missing the central overhead bins, the window-side bins were not full, so there was plenty of room for my things up there too. The table was massive and sturdy, but more on this later.
Score: 9/10
Connectivity and IFE
Internet connectivity (for messaging only) was free for an hour and chargeable thereafter.
Given it was a night flight, leaving Stockholm Arlanda at 2145 and arriving in Doha at 0555 the next morning, I didn’t see the point in purchasing the WiFi, instead choosing to have an hour free to see how it worked. It was ok, not at all as swift as that on my flight from LA to London with American Airlines. I think I’m a rarity re WiFi on planes; I’m genuinely not that bothered about it as I usually come prepared with a loaded iPad or a book. How old fashioned.
There were two USB ports available, one in the curved area of the seat controls to the left of the seat and another in the screen in front of you. There was also a universal plug socket but I didn't use this.
I had real issues with the IFE. Even though the Oryx One system looks great on first glance, I didn’t feel like the interface was especially intuitive, and the remote control nestled beside the seat was nearly useless as it was so unresponsive and laggy. I also felt the responsiveness of the display was laggy. The screen quality on such a new aircraft with one of the most fabulous interiors going was comparatively rubbish. It wasn’t smooth or sharp, instead being a shade pixelated in places, particularly so in fast-paced action scenes, rather like the quality of the files used had been shrunk to make way for more content than you’d ever need which to me is a bad choice. I’d rather have perfect picture quality and ⅓ of the content. I was a bit annoyed by this blatant oversight; the screen should be razor sharp, like the cabin. It’s a shame as the content available was great, if a tad bloated. I also particularly loved the camera views though these were near useless on a night flight.
The Qatar Airways branded noise-cancelling headphones were ok. My own Sony’s are better, but as they’re Bluetooth/wireless, I couldn’t connect them to the aircraft’s own IFE system. I bought some gadgets to try and achieve this before leaving the UK but I couldn’t get them to work together. I don’t much care for over-head headphones; I feel like the ear cups press my glasses legs into the side of my skull and give me a headache.
Can we also talk the amount of advertising Qatar do on board? This was extremely annoying. It’s not Ryanair, guys. Nothing turns me off like being bombarded with adverts. Even when I had the screen just cycling the flight map, it would still play adverts intermittently. Announcements I understand, but adverts? No. Just stop it.
Score: 6/10
Food/drinks
As this was quite a late flight, the eating menu wasn’t hugely extensive, with a tasting menu and light bites like sliders offered instead of the full shebang. There wasn’t anything ‘wrong’ with this to be honest, it was after all a late departure. I opted for the tasting menu and asked for it to be brought to me as soon as they could so I could relax. I also ordered the customary G&T, as always. This was really good, and perfectly proportioned. Why am I talking about this? Well… American Airlines can’t make a G&T to save their lives; they were bloody awful.
The tasting menu was both beautifully presented as well as delicious; I ate almost everything as it was so good.
The drinks menu on board is expansive, especially in the wine department. I opted to stick with just a single G&T though, given it was getting late, and didn’t want heartburn from loads of wine sloshing about inside me.
Score 8/10
Toilets
The toilets on this A350-1000 were fabulous. Is it weird saying that about a toilet? Maybe. But Japanese Toto toilets are fabulous too, so let’s roll with it. I especially liked the lighting; this was great for selfies (!!!). The toilet and surfaces were all spotlessly clean, being wiped down seemingly after every use. BA could take note of this as their toilets are often a shade… damp. The amenities of soap and hand-cream were stored nicely and smelled incredibly nice after using them. The wood effect panelling was also very classy. I also love a loo with a view!
Score: 9/10
Service
Amiran and her team were second to none - I’ve never had better (or more personalised) service on any flight with any airline. Nothing was too much trouble for these immaculately turned out people, the service was regular without being annoying, and it was always delivered with a smile and a little bit of ‘chat’. One thing I’ve mentioned in blog posts before is how I really value the ability to interact with the crew on a personal level; this for me always elevates a flight and my opinion of those working it, and in turn, my overall impression of the airline. I’ve been doing a lot of solo travel lately and those small interactions are worth a lot when you might not necessarily talk to many people over the course of a long haul flight.
Score: 10/10
Conclusion - reality
This was an awesome flight from start to end, even considering my issues with the IFE. The crew were great, the food was great, the suite was insanely great and the ride was smooth. I am really pleased that my expectations were met, but maybe not necessarily exceeded; this would have happened with pin-sharp resolution on the IFE screen. First in Business? Certainly; the Qsuite with all its bells and whistles blows BA’s First class out of the water. This was perhaps one of the best flights of my life.
Honourable mention to the people up front doing the flying - I audibly went ‘weeeeee!’ as the aircraft accelerated down ARN’s runway - I’ve never felt an aircraft that large take off with such speed before. It felt like I was in a rocket. Amazingly fun!
Total: 88/100
Round two:
Aircraft: A350-900
Route: DOH - BKK
Reg number: A7-ALL
Age: 3 years
Seat: 05A
Introduction and expectations
Well, after QR172 on the Qsuite, this flight on the A350-900 from Doha to Bangkok had a lot to live up to. Would it manage? The seat was certainly not the Qsuite (sadly) but it was a day flight, leaving Doha in the morning and arriving in Bangkok in the early evening - this could be a great opportunity to see a different side to Qatar’s service.
Pre-departure
Well. This wasn’t off to a good start. The on board welcome was neutral at best, merely a nod after glancing at my boarding pass and ‘that way’ with a gesture towards the right. No ‘Hello, welcome” etc, Hmmm. Ok. Anyway, let’s sit down and grab a drink… exceeeeeept… that took ages to happen. The crew were being slooooow in taking drinks orders, so I went to use the loo quickly. I got back to my seat and the crew seemed entirely uninterested in taking an order for a drink or offering any kind of towel. Fiiiiine… I’ll get some pictures of the cabin and seat instead to pass the time while the rest of the passengers boarded. I deliberately didn't use the call bell so I could see just how long it would take for them to remember they'd forgotten about me.
The usual plethora of items were displayed on the seat for my arrival, with the seat belts even being attractively arranged in an ‘x’ shape. The only difference here to their Qsuite was the lack of nightwear, after all, why would there be any on a day flight? This was therefore not an issue.
I was finally offered a drink and a hot (or cold) towel as we were pushing back to head towards the runway. I declined a drink as I didn’t want to neck it, instead opting for a cold towel, as both the cabin and Hamad International Airport I had found to be extraordinarily humid.
My breakfast order was taken and I asked for this to be served about 3 hours into the flight as I wasn’t very hungry and I also desperately wanted to have a short nap.
Score: 3/10
Cabin ambience
Although this A350-900 didn’t feature the Qsuite… suite. Qsuite seat? Whatever… I actually like these reverse herringbone seats. I also loooove the folding window blinds on this aircraft; like I said earlier, I wish the A350-1000 had these instead of the plain manual variety.
Again, the overhead bins in the centre of the cabin have not been installed, so the space feels airy and light which is great.
The business class cabin isn’t enormous, consisting of two sections, a larger with 6 rows, and a smaller of 3 rows. For this flight, I was in the larger forward cabin, in seat 05A. Additionally, these A350-900’s have a beautiful central ‘area’ with a mood-lit domed ceiling which is really quite lovely. This was an area where champagne and nibbles were laid out later on in the flight for a self-serve space, and while the footfall wasn’t heavy, it was used sporadically. This area also makes for some nice photographs of the larger forward cabin.
Score: 9/10
Seat design and privacy
Now, I’ve already said that I like these seats generally. They’re tried and tested as a template across many airlines and Qatar Airways’ aforementioned brand identity is clearly stated, but again, without being crassly done. The privacy of these seats does leave something to be desired, though, as there’s no wing by the head area to shield you (or your cabin-mates) from view. These wings were something I particularly loved on American Airlines’ 777-300ER as you felt cocooned without being claustrophobic. While I wasn’t pining for my Qsuite sliding door, a little wing wouldn’t have gone amiss. It’s a shame, as the pod-like feel of these seats is really cool.
Score: 7/10
Seat comfort
Privacy issues notwithstanding, I think these seats are really comfortable. I really, really like them, and I found the variable adjustments available through the console on the seat’s left side allowed for a good range of customisation. Once we had reached the cruise, I popped it into the pre-assigned lounging setting, and tweaked it from there. I also like that you can move the headrest wings to support your head while lounging, and so, after a fairly crappy sleep in the Qsuite, I settled down for a bit of a snooze, managing another couple of hours lazy-boy style, which was much needed.
Score: 8/10
Bed comfort
As this was a day flight of only 5.5 hours, I didn’t put the seat into bed mode at all, instead opting to lounge as above. I will add the score from my return flight from Bangkok to Doha here instead, to make sure it’s fair, but the detail about the bed comfort will be located in that section of the review.
Score: 8/10
Storage
The storage available in these seats is really good, I think, when you compare it to that of the Qsuite. You get less physical space here but I didn’t find there to be less/worse space available for the plethora of things at the seat on arrival.
Beside the window you have two shelves, arranged in a step manner, which allows for larger bits and bobs to be kept there; my iPad fitted here no problem. You’ve also got a literature storage slot and a bottle of water here, too, as well as a reading light. Then you have the smaller console area which also contains the diagonally aligned seat controls. This area is good for things like drinks glasses and bowls of warm nuts etc. To either side of the seat, there are two storage cubbies. The larger being on the left/fuselage side, and this I could fit my small crossbody bag into, or indeed, on top of, without any issues. To the right/aisle side, there was a smaller cubby within the adjustable armrest and this contained the noise-cancelling headphones. There was also a cylindrical nook to place a bottle of water, but not much else.
Finally, at the bottom of the seat in front, there was a slide-out shoe drawer which seems quite shallow. I don’t think boots would fit in these properly.
I think these seats actually have more functional storage space than the Qsuite.
Score: 10/10
Connectivity and IFE
I didn’t actually sample the WiFi on this flight at all, so I can’t really rate it. However the IFE on this flight suffered from the same pixelated state as that of the A350-1000, which again was very disappointing. The issues with adverts prevailed for a second time, only increasing my ire against them. If I’ve paid for a business class ticket, I don’t want to be bombarded with adverts for Qatar Airways, Hamad International Airport, the Oryx Rotana hotel, the city of Doha or Qatar as a state, or anything else for that matter. I think this is the only time I’ve ever experienced this on any non-budget airline and it really is a detriment to Qatar Airways.
The various cameras were really cool on this day flight, allowing me to see directly below and ahead in the sunshine. Again, these camera views were interrupted by adverts, so I turned it all off.
There was a good selection of connectivity for your devices, including a USB port, a universal plug point and some other strange circular ones (what even are these?) under the console table.
I opted to watch The Witcher on Netflix through my iPad, using my own Sony wireless headphones, so I didn’t try the noise-cancelling headphones offered on board. They’d be exactly the same on every flight anyway, and my opinion of them is fairly neutral. Qatar Airways would do well to do away with these and take American Airlines’ route of using Bose noise-cancelling headphones as they were excellent and were very premium.
Because of the above factors and the similarity to that experienced in the Qsuite, I’ve awarded this category the same score for fairness.
Score: 6/10
Food/drink
As this was a 5.5 hour day flight, there was (quite rightly so) only one meal offering, which was breakfast - my least favourite meal of the day. Sadly the options didn’t exactly scream out to me, consisting of prawn congee (yuk), Arabic mezze (I loathe parsley and raw tomato) and an omelette with an inexcusable chicken sausage (I take massive issue with chicken sausages - they’re an abomination!)
The fruit platter starter was pretty tasty, but I wasn’t a fan of the unripe melon or the bland dragonfruit (the latter not being Qatar’s fault, it’s just a ‘meh’ fruit). The omelette was ok; eggs on planes are never especially great but it was served with a nice sauce, a little rosti (which was soggy and not crispy), a grilled tomato and some limp asparagus.
Overall I wasn’t really feeling this menu. As I’ve said, I don’t really like breakfast all that much, and the options didn’t thrill me. That being said, I did have a really nice latte. So nice in fact that I had two. The service from the crew member serving the A/E seats was again lacklustre, but the bits and pieces were at least cleared away quickly.
As this was a day flight, I didn’t actually order any alcohol, but as per the Qsuite flight, the selection on board was extensive. I’ll sample some of the wines on my return flight from Bangkok to Doha. I asked for water every hour or so as I was feeling quite dry, which was dutifully topped up in the original bottle I’d found at my seat.
Score: 4/10
Toilets
The toilets on this A350-900 were largely the same as those on the A350-1000, though there was only three instead of four. That wasn’t an issue though, as the number of seats in the cabin was similarly reduced. My only negative comment is that the two toilets by the large domed area were quite small compared to the toilet by the cockpit.
The toilets were kept sparklingly clean throughout, again seemingly wiped down after each use. The amenities were the same as the A350-1000 which was great, as I loved the smell of the soap in particular.
Score: 9/10
Service
I am sad to say that the service on this flight was actually kinda crap. Here even the overly-familiar and often-sassy wagon-dragons of American Airlines totally outstripped Qatar’s crew. The crew members serving my side of the cabin seemed like they just couldn’t be arsed at all - this was, after the fabulousness of the Qsuite service, really jarring.
I wasn’t greeted particularly warmly by any crew member or served a hot, cold (or any kind of) towel or a drink until we were pushing back, and I didn’t want to neck a glass of champagne in 5 minutes first thing in the morning, so I opted for just the cold towel.
One other thing that frustrated the hell out of my was the crew closing all the blinds after about 90 minutes into the flight. This was a 5.5 hour day flight leaving Doha in the morning and arriving in to Bangkok the early evening. There was absolutely no need to do this and it drives me absolutely insane; the departure times are near perfect and the time differentials between departure location and arrival location aren’t much different either. It gives the message of ‘We are done serving you, go to sleep’ which I defiantly did not, instead opening my blind so I could window gaze the stunning geography of Iran and India, and requesting through the call bell bits and pieces every 45 minutes or so. I also made sure to request my dine on demand breakfast quite late into the flight and with a few modifications to see what reaction it would get; the reaction being consistently disinterested.
I’ve read many things about Qatar’s crew; they’re impersonal, robotic, etc, but this crew really were just crap. They just seemed so uninterested in the passengers, with nothing delivered with any kind of passion, gusto or even a smile, and smiles costs nothing.
Score: 1/10
Conclusion - reality
While this flight had a lot to live up to after flying in the Qsuite, it sadly didn’t come close and that is (in my humble opinion) wholly the fault of the crew. Like I said above, my interactions with the crew make or break a flight for me, and this crew were just so uninterested and unenthusiastic that the flight as a whole was really marred by it. Very, very disappointing.
Total: 65/100 (a full 23 points below the Qsuite!)
Round three:
Aircraft: A350-900
Route: BKK - DOH
Reg number: A7-ALF
Age: 4.5 years
Seat: 07K
Introduction and expectations
Christ, I hope the crew on this return to Doha are better than the outbound crew to Bangkok. That is my only real expectation, as I assume the seat, cabin, IFE etc are all very much the same. There might also be some differential regarding the meal provision though, given that this would be an evening flight leaving Bangkok at 2045hrs, and I’d like to try out some of the wine list.
Pre-departure
I had left the lounge just as boarding was announced so I breezed through boarding pass check and straight down the dedicated business class jet bridge. I was warmly greeted by the waiting crew member as well as two others who were busy getting drinks and what-not in the galley, and was directed to the opposite side of the aircraft to find my seat, 07K.
My seat was stocked with the usual goodies and within 20 seconds Maged, the chap looking after the side of the smaller rear business class cabin appeared, introduced himself and asked if there was anything I would like. As I had boarded fairly early, I asked for a glass of the Tattinger rose champagne and a hot towel, and both of these were brought so swiftly I barely had time to take any pictures of the seat. He also gave me the a la carte dining and wine menus. Fabulous!
Maged asked if I was familiar with the seat and the controls, which I was, so he skipped the tour instead bringing me a set of nightwear and making sure there was nothing else I needed. I was all set, so he went off to take care of the other passengers.
Score: 10/10
Cabin ambience
My outbound flight to Bangkok on the same aircraft type was in the larger forward business class cabin, in seat 05A. For this flight I was in the smaller rear business class cabin, in seat 07K. I think I actually preferred this as it was smaller (by a full three rows) and from here you got a far better look at the central area's fabulous dome and mood lighting. Sites like SeatGuru note that this may actually be a distraction in flight, as well as potential for footfall during the flight, but I didn't think so. You can't really see the toilets being accessed when you're seated as they are too far away from you, and the footfall in the central area was minimal. There is also minimal footfall passing your seat after boarding is complete as there's only a few seats behind you who would need to access the rest of the cabin, and the crew were near silent in their operation.
I think that this cabin design is actually my favourite, even more than the A350-1000; it's just so damn gorgeous.
Score: 10/10
Seat design and privacy
I've already covered the bulk of this off in the corresponding section on the flight to Bangkok, however I think seats 07A and 07K are markedly more private than any of those in the forward business class cabin, with perhaps the exception of row 01. As row 07 is a bulkhead row, with a fairly large gap between the central area, the second set of cabin doors, the toilets and then row 06, you haven't much opportunity to be looked at. The central area's bits and pieces all face forwards, so people won't tend to look at you while using this space, and the toilets (if there's a queue), would have people hovering nearer the second set of doors. Additionally, this seat also has a more attractive wood-effect surround and two storage areas built into it (as you lose access to the cubby on the fuselage side as this is taken up by equipment). Because of the bulkhead/wooden surround, there is no seat in front of you, which gives you a few extra inches of space to get in and out of your seat.
Score: 8/10
Seat comfort
The seat is identical to that of the outbound flight to Bangkok, so I won't talk more about that here, but it will have the same score.
Score: 8/10
Bed comfort
The flight from Bangkok to Doha departed at 2045hrs and landed at 0035hrs with a flight time of about 7 hours, so I hoped that I'd be able to get at least a few hours of sleep. And I certainly did; about 3.5 in total which is good for me for a few reasons: a) I don't sleep well on flights as I'm a ridiculously light sleeper, b) it was only a 7 hour flight and c) I was eating and watching a film for the first three hours. After finishing my meal and crying lots at Interstellar, I popped the seat into bed mode using the dedicated button on the control panel to my right. The arm rests move downwards increasing the functional bed space, and allowing more room for your shoulders. The bed is then also flush with the fuselage-side storage cubby, adding more wiggle room.
I did tweak the setup slightly, raising the head position slightly to emulate having a larger pillow as this is how I prefer to sleep, and then unwrapped the plush blanket (plush side up; I didn't want to get too warm), popped in the earplugs from the amenity kit and bunked down.
I was far more comfortable in this bed than in that on the Qsuite; I didn't find there were any particularly hard/thin spots, and my feet didn't feel restrained in the footwell either. This is good as I have size 11 feet, and could wiggle them about nicely. I felt there was enough shoulder room so that I didn't feel squished, and even without a 'wing' to shield your face when in the upright position, when in bed mode the privacy is pretty good as you have the seats shell around you. That, plus not having any other passengers in front of you in a low footfall area all added up for a nice kip, and I woke up with only 45 minutes until landing!
Score: 10/10
Storage
The main difference between seats 05A and 07K is the storage due to their location on board. While 05A (and all other seats bar those in rows 01 and 07) had the 'usual' storage, 07K had a couple of notable differences.
Firstly, the fuselage side cubby was locked out of use as there's equipment in it, and secondly, because of the bulkhead, there are two storage spaces, one large (for crew use only) and one small (for passenger use). I asked Maged if I could use the larger crew only space for my carry-on bag, given it was entirely empty, which he said was fine. The smaller cubby above this isn't 'small'; I think it would easily hold an iPad, a bottle of water, a pair of headphones, etc with no issues. Thirdly, there is no pull-out shoe storage in seat 07K, but this wasn't much of an issue as I just placed them under the footwell of the bed as there was plenty of room there.
Score: 9/10
Connectivity and IFE
Although the Oryx One system and the noise-cancelling headphones on this flight were exactly the same as the previous two flights, I did in this instance pay for the use of the WiFi, over and above the free messaging-only version that's available. For $10/£8, I got a connection but boy, it was slow, and limited to 100MB which is absolutely paltry. Sending a single tweet with no images/gifs attached took in excess of ten seconds which, for £8, is just crap. I tried to load a speed test website. Ironically the connection was so slow it couldn't even load the page.
Because of the rubbish speed/high cost, I've reduced the mark for this section.
Score: 4/10
Food/drink
Oh man, the food on this flight was so much better than the outbound to Bangkok. It was all so delicious. I think the reason for this is two-fold; the fact that Maged was a great crew member delivering great service and that it was the evening a la carte menu as opposed to breakfast.
The selection available on the evening's flight was really impressive, with certain options having been created by Ian Kittichai (this may be impressive but I genuinely don't know who he is. EDIT: ok so he's actually a really famous Thai chef, that's quite cool). I selected the Arabic mezze, the duck leg confit and the longan cake. I was also offered an amuse bouche of salmon, cream cheese and salmon roe, but my bouche was not amused by it - I loathe salmon! The piece de resistance was the duck leg confit which was absolutely divine; the coconut sugar and soy combined with the coriander, light spice and the richness of the duck was an utter delight. It's not often I harp on about food on board an aircraft, but this was completely wonderful.
I fell down on my pledge to review some wines. I ended up just blurting out "A G&T please!" when asked what I'd like to drink; it's almost like a default response these days. Next time!
Score: 9/10
Toilets
Again the toilets are exactly the same as any other of Qatar's A350-900's, and contain the same amenities, though as I was in the smaller rear business class cabin, I only used the two toilets in the central area, and not the ones at the front of the cabin.
Throughout the flight, the toilets were kept in immaculate condition.
Score: 9/10
Service
This is where this Qatar Airways flight excelled (along with the food offerings) when compared with the outbound flight to Bangkok. The crew on this flight were great; I was greeted warmly on board and all my needs and requests were taken care of. Maged in particular was proactive, diligent, swift and professional, even if he may have been a shade robotic. At least he seemed to be genuinely interested in doing his job and looking after the passengers in his section! I can't count how many hot towels he brought me.
Score 8/10
Conclusion - reality
I actually really enjoyed this flight, and the reason being that with most of the other parts being equal, the differing factors were the really excellent crew and the delicious food. Maged was really professional, and while not being exceedingly verbose, he was very details-focussed and nothing was too much trouble for him. The menu was incredibly tasty; I really want that duck leg confit for dinner tonight! I also appreciated being able to sleep well for a few hours in a comfy, unconstraining bed.
Total: 85/100
Round four:
Aircraft: B777-300ER
Route: DOH - ARN
Reg number: A7-BAH
Age: 10 years
Seat: 02E
Introduction and expectations
Pre-departure
I am going to come out and say it; I don't think I like Hamad International Airport. I don't like the layout, the humidity, how busy it is, the poor signage, or the gates. Because my transfer from QR835 to QR169 was only an hour long, I decided to not bother going to the Al Mourjan lounge and just head to my gate. After waiting ages for boarding to start, I went down the jet bridge to our ride to Stockholm, a 10 year old Boeing 777-300ER, which features Qatar Airways' much older 2-2-2 business class layout.
I was greeted by Amy, the cabin manager aboard this flight, and she pointed me to my seat, adding that she would come over shortly to assist me further. Before Amy could get to me however, I was taken care of by another crew member who quickly went to fetch a glass of (very tart) orange juice and a hot towel. Once these had arrived, I settled into my seat.
Score: 8/10
Cabin ambience
Although this 777-300ER was an older bird, and perhaps lacked the pizazz of the Qsuite or the elegance of. the A350-900, I didn't feel like the cabin was a let down. The mood lighting was activated shortly after boarding, and the Qatar Airways signature music by Qatari songwriter and composer Dana al Fardan was playing in the background.
There were two business class cabins on this flight, the marginally larger forward cabin with four rows, and the marginally smaller rear cabin with three rows. I was in the forward cabin, in seat 02E.
The seats, although in a more dated 2-2-2 configuration are like thrones, and the legroom is absolutely bonkers. Because of this huge amount of space, the cabin felt very open, and even from the middle seat 02E, I could still see out of no fewer than eight windows to my right and left.
This aircraft had central overhead storage bins but they still didn't cramp the feeling of the cabin. I rather liked the set up, despite its age.
Score: 7/10
Seat design and privacy
I had chosen seat 02E as it offered direct aisle access, and I was travelling solo I didn't want to have to step over a stranger if I needed to leave my seat in the middle of the night. As this flight was departing Doha at 0150hrs and landing in Stockholm at 0620hrs, it also didn't matter that I didn't have a window seat as the nighttime views aren't exactly staggering from 38,000ft in the dark.
It's a well known fact that a 2-2-2 configuration in business class is outdated by modern standards, especially on the same airline proudly showing off the Qsuite, but I do like these seats. Why? They're massive, that's why. The amount of legroom you have is simply gargantuan, the seat is wide not only in the bottom-area but also across the shoulders and headrest. The headrest (due to its size) has two very large wings that can be folded out to support your head if you're dozing. The armrests are perhaps a shade narrow but they're hardly slender by any stretch of the imagination.
The seat controls are simple but do exactly what they need to and there's even a gentle massage function. Awesome!
There's a curved arm that holds an individual reading light that can be rotated to suit you.
The dining table folds out of the very large central console in two halves, so can be used as a smaller table for a snack, or the larger version for full dining. It's a very smart lacquered dark grey walnut (?) effect with a silver trim, which I think looks very classy. The table is (like the seat) large, and moves forwards and backwards to your taste, but you can't leave your seat if you're eating. The table is also the 'bounciest' of those I used, and not as solid as that of the A350-1000 or -900's.
The seats themselves are upholstered in a textured burgundy fabric that matches Qatar Airways' very strong brand identity. The burgundy leather headrest also featured a similarly burgundy cloth embroidered with the Qatar Airways oryx logo.
The privacy, or lack thereof, is what lets this seat down. If these seats had a large wing on the aisle side and a much larger central privacy screen, then I think they'd be near perfect. Honestly, I do. I really like these seats. I am sure people will say I'm mad but there we go. They're big, comfy, and spacious.
Score: 7/10
Seat comfort
In case you'd not realised, I like these seats. I found them to be very comfortable in a standard sitting position, or in any of the varying degrees of lounging positions that I experimented with during the course of the flight. They have good padding in addition to the amount of space they offer.
Score: 8/10
Bed comfort
As well as finding this seat comfortable in the standard chair/lounger position, I also found it comfortable as a bed. Even though these seats aren't 'true' lie-flat, coming in at around 177 degrees, I found it good for a three hour nap on what was a 6 hour flight. Another thing I like is that there's no cubby to put your feet in, rather there's a fold out flap that stops your feet flopping off the end of the bed, and the end of the bed is really wide so you have some good wiggle room. The panel that this flap comes out of can also be extended via the seat control panel depending on your height, though I found this maxed out at 185cm, or my height, and wouldn't go any farther.
Because the chair itself is so wide, you get a lot of space for your arms and shoulders which makes for a more relaxing sleep. Again I used the seat control panel to adjust the head area to be slightly more raised, and folded the headrest's wings up to cradle my head while I dozed.
Like the chair, there are privacy issues, but as you're nestled within the shell of the seat, this is less pronounced than when sitting, and if you pull out the centre divider, the person next to you shouldn't be able to see you properly.
Score: 8/10
Storage
The storage capacity of the seat was a little deceptive. On first glance, it doesn't look like there's much room for your bits and pieces, but on closer inspection, you have a good few places to keep things, each in varying sizes.
Immediately to your side located within the central console is a slender space where the noise-cancelling headphones are stored. This area could also be used for things like wallets, passports, phones, etc. It's quite discreet though, so don't forget anything!
Farther down the central console there is a much large space. This easily held my iPad, and could also hold a bottle of water as well as other smaller items. It's also more obvious as it's uplit with blue lighting.
Within the central console itself are two compartments (one per seat occupant) that are activated by pushing a small button, and these contain a bottle of water as well as space for small items, such as a phone.
Located within the seat in front are a number of slots. Directly in front of you, located under the IFE screen, is a large bin that held both the blanket and my crossbody bag nicely. Next to this are a pair of slots for storing your shoes, and then at right angles to this are slots holding things like safety cards and air sickness bags.
My only real issue with the storage in this seat is that because of how much space you have available, some of them can't be easily reached unless you get up as they're just too far away.
Score: 8/10
Connectivity and IFE
Again, Qatar Airways on all aircraft utilise Oryx One as their IFE system, and so this system was loaded on board this 777-300ER too. The screen position was slightly lower than on the A350-1000 and the -900's, and I found this somewhat easier to look at, particularly while lounging. Also, I think that because the screen is quite far away, this appeared to give the impression of a sharper display resolution.
I only found one universal power point which is right at the bottom of the central console hidden underneath a flap. I couldn't find any USB ports.
I didn't use the WiFi on this flight. Given how crappy it was on the flight from Bangkok to Doha, there was no way I was going to spend money on it again.
Score: 5/10
Food/drinks
As this was a very late night departure from Doha at 0150hrs, the menu consisted of lighter fare. Amy came around and took everyone's orders, as well as requesting when they'd like to have them served. I do really love Qatar Airways' 'dine on demand' service; it just makes everything much more personalised. Having been thoroughly stuffed on the flight from Bangkok, I opted just for the carrot and coconut cream soup with some bread rolls. I'm not normally a big fan of soup but this was absolutely delicious.
For breakfast, I decided to try the omelette again. I know I moaned about eggs on a plane (starring Samuel L. Jackson) before, but there was nothing else on the breakfast menu that grabbed me (again). I guess I'm just not a fan of breakfast unless it's a full English. Similarly, I ditched the much-dreaded chicken sausage. The omelette was actually ok, being filled with cream cheese instead of peppers and onions. Breakfast was also served with a pre-ordered latte which was very nice.
Score: 7/10
Toilets
The toilets on this 777-300ER were clean and well maintained, if not as modern or as 'classy' as their more modern counterparts. There were two toilets in the forward business class cabin, one was slightly larger than the other. They contained all the same amenities. Apologies for the selfies, but the lighting was good.
Score: 8/10
Service
Amy the cabin manager was amazing; nothing was too much trouble and she was friendly, chatty and personable. She kept me up to speed on our arrival time into Stockholm as I was anxious to try and catch the 0720hrs to London Heathrow from Stockholm (however due to slow baggage delivery that plan went down the loo). The cabin was kept clean by all the crew working in it, with meals brought out and taken away promptly so that the passengers could maximise their sleeping time.
Score: 10/10
Conclusion - reality
People seem to deride these seats on the 777-300ER (and the similar ones on Qatar Airways' A330's) but I genuinely enjoyed myself in this cabin. I would really enjoy flying in this cabin if I was with a companion. Again, the service on board was excellent, the flight was punctual, the seat and bed were great, and the food was good. I wouldn't go out of my way to fly this over say, the Qsuite, but if this was what was operated as standard on a given route, or if there was a last-minute equipment swap, I wouldn't be mad about it.
Aaaaaand the winner iiiiiiis: (unsurprisingly) the A350-1000 and its Qsuite!
A350-1000 total: 88/100
A350-900 total: 65/100
A350-900 total: 85/100
B777-300ER total: 76/100
Overall conclusion:
It really goes to show that for me, a good crew makes or breaks a flight and how much I enjoy it. It doesn't even matter so much if they are formal or informal, what makes it is their passion for their job and their diligence in delivering excellent customer service. Even a 10 year old aircraft with an older hard product trounced the first A350-900 flight, and I still blame that squarely on the crew who were just altogether really poor.
Obviously the Qsuite won, but this wasn't all as clear cut as I thought it'd be, nor did it end up having a huge lead over the other challengers. After all, the A350-900 flight from Bangkok to Doha was just three points behind it. It's not just about how modern (or not) my aircraft is, or how fancy (or not) my seat is; the crew and the food/drinks are instrumental in my perception of the experience, and any good airline should have highly consistent crew and customer service levels. This is their bread and butter and this is an area BA and AA often fall down on. Lesser considerations for me are glamorous toilets and IFE (as I am usually armed with a well-stocked iPad), though charging points for me are critical considerations.
I am flying the Qsuite another couple of times in a few weeks' time, to and from Hong Kong (coronavirus issues notwithstanding), so I am keen to see how I enjoy those flights given they're at varying times of day. I'm also flying the older 777 again, which I am keen to try on a day flight to see what the difference is.
I hope you enjoyed reading this somewhat massive set of reviews as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Happy travels :)