This review is a while coming, but I am finally getting to many this week! This is one that I was very excited about since I actually had the chance to check out the brand new Qatar Qsuites one day before the inaugural flight in 2017. So, I knew ahead of time what it looked like, I had flown Qatar business class on their A350 before (so had enjoyed their legendary service), I just had to put the two together in an actual experience – and what an amazing experience it was! Here is the review of the Qatar Airways Qsuites business class – simply stunning!
Some of the photos below are a mix of what I had taken on the tour of the cabin before the inaugural and my flight this year.
Read: To see what the whole cabin looks like, including the double bed seats, check out this post
Review: Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class – The Best Business Class in the Sky
TL:DR: The Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class seats are really the best business class seats in the sky. In fact, they even rival many first class seats, with comfort, privacy, and service. If you are looking for the best way to fly business class on the long-haul, you had better hope that Qatar brings Qsuites to an airport near you!
The Route and Cost
The great view out of the window after takeoff
I was flying from Greece to the US but really wanted to try out the QSuites so actually flew from Athens to Doha to take the flight from Doha to JFK. I always enjoy flying business class cabins in this direction since it lets you enjoy the catering from their home hub and the flight is longer so it gives more time to enjoy it. The flight cost 70,000 American Airline miles for the one-way business class ticket from Doha, Qatar to New York City. If I needed to continue from their, I could added another AA segment at no extra charge in miles.
The flight number on this flight was QR 701, one of the Qatar Airways QSuites-equipped 777 aircrafts.
The Seat Suite
Excuse the sunlight – I wanted to capture the seat without the typical purple light on Qatar 🙂
Another view of the odd-numbered seats
A view of the even-numbered seats
Once boarded, the flight attendants came by to introduce themselves and to bring the amenity kit and pajamas. Yes, Qatar gives pajamas in business class, one more way that they put some first class touches in business class. This is a very nice touch indeed for a flight that lasts over 14 hours.
The suite door in the closed position – the light is to your right when seated
I had selected seat 10K for a couple of reasons. It is one of the solo seats that has the seat on the inside, near the window. This creates a little bit more of a privacy feel with the door and also puts you right next to the window (which I like). And, like the other similar seats on the 777-300, it is a rear-facing seat. These are not all that common in business class (though you can find them) yet I always enjoy the reverse feeling on flying. I’m not sure why, it just feels nice (my first time enjoying that was on an old Southwest plane that had the 3-3 seats facing each other!).
The double bed in business class
Efficient Design
An up top look at the single Qsuites seat (from an earlier look onboard)
The Qatar Airways Qsuites were well-thought out with the suite being large enough for comfort yet putting everything you need within reach. The seat is very comfortable, both in sitting mode and sleeping mode. I was in it for almost 15 hours (counting the boarding time until the time we got off) and I wasn’t bothered by sitting in it at all.
This is the corner table with the amenity kit, blanket, and small pillow. As you can see, the table is large enough to hold anything you want to keep near you during your flight.
In fact, I kept it semi-reclined for most of the flight since this was a good angle to relax while also being able to work on my laptop. Speaking of work, the Qsuites were also designed with people in mind that want to take advantage of this time for work. Having a nice table area within reach allows drinks to be away from your computer.
Inside the Qsuite, you also have plenty of places to plug in your gear, from actual outlets to USB ports (backlist USB ports – very nice when you are searching in the dark for a port to plug your almost-dead phone into!).
In many business class seats like this (not that any are as good!), there is one thing that many people can find annoying – the footwell. These can be cramped, both for sleeping and when you are in a more reclined angle and trying to stretch out. I found the footwell on the QSuites to be have plenty of room and my 6’1″ frame fit in the whole bed nicely when it came time to sleep (and I did sleep very well!).
The footwell
It’s the Little Things
When flying in a business class seat, it is easy to notice things right away that everyone should put in their designs because they are just so simple – yet not all do. There is the lit-USB port (some carriers have them, many don’t) to help you find it when you need it. There is a shelf underneath the corner table that lets you store your book(s), tablet, clothes – really, anything that you want at hand but not causing clutter on the surface areas.
The shelf underneath the corner desk, with the seat controls along the curved edge
There is also air vents for each suite. Yes, again, that is a small thing that everyone should do but many business class cabins do not have individual air vents for their passengers! As someone who likes to be kept cool, this is a wonderful touch that I was very thankful for.
Storage area in the bin near the seat
There is also plenty of in-suite storage for your tech gadgets (including a phone tray inside of the storage compartment). The massage function may sound gimmicky but you don’t know how good it feels on a long-haul flight until you have tried it. Some of the older business class cabins I have flown have them but they are not as good as they once were. Since the QSuites are new, these are perfect.
Entertainment & Internet
Qatar boasts of a full library of TV shows and movies and there system certainly does deliver on that. There is more than enough content for most areas of media interest.
The 21.5″ screen aboard the Qatar 777-300 in the QSuites
All of this media is delivered to you on a huge 21.5″ display. That is a great size for a business class seat and it is perfectly viewable from lying down position or sitting. If you have your own media device, you could plug it into the HDMI port to play your own content if you didn’t prefer what they have on their system.
Nice option to have HDMI port available
To control all of this media, you have a great remote control that lets you handle the display as well as scroll through their media library right on the control (without interrupting what is on the screen). It can also show you the trip progress, nice for a quick look if something is playing on the screen.
The entertainment remote control
Internet on Qatar is something that I have had trouble with in the past on their A350-900 planes. It was really slow and not that great. The 777-300 aircrafts were getting it turned on on a rollout basis, but this was back earlier this year. I would imagine it is throughout the fleet of those planes that had WiFi onboard.
You can read this post for full details on my internet experience aboard the QSuites flight but it was great on my smartphone and tablet but just horrible on my laptop. I was unable to upload a single photo for a blog post the entire flight. It isn’t free either, it costs $10 for the flight (which really isn’t bad for a flight that long). It is just a shame that it was undependable from device to device.
The Wifi speeds on Qatar’s 777-300
When it did work, it worked great and fast!
The Service – Qatar Qsuites
Qatar service is always great. The flight attendants are quite attentive and very outgoing. Each one I interacted with was most kind and always wanting to know if I needed anything. If I got up to use the bathroom, they were right up to me to see if I was looking for anything in particular.
The on-demand dining with Qatar is something I always enjoy. Sure, eating great food in business class in the air is an amazing thing anyways, but it is nice to be able to pick when and what you want to eat instead of having to go with the meal schedule.
The breakfast plate – very nicely cooked and tasty
Not only is this a nice touch, it also is helpful for passengers that are trying to adapt to the new timezone before landing. I didn’t eat a whole lot onboard but what I did eat was great.
The delicious steak sandwich
In fact, I ordered two of the steak sandwiches because they were just incredibly good! The cheese was perfectly melted and the sandwich was moist yet the bread nice and crunchy. Seriously, they were incredible!
The steak sandwich again, with tomato and cheese (I’m not even a big tomato-fan and I ate it because the whole thing was so good)
All in all, the staff and service aboard my Qatar Qsuites-equipped flight were A+ and there was nothing I would change about it.
One of the reasons I had held off doing this review was because I was disappointed in the quality of the photos and had wanted to wait until I flew it again to get them done right. However, I haven’t had a chance to yet again so wanted to go ahead and get this out before it was into next year!
Bottom Line
The Qatar Airways Qsuites are an amazing way to fly. They give privacy, comfort, and great design touches to make sure that all passengers have exactly what they need during their flights. My experience flying the Qatar Airways Qsuites was amazing and I am really happy that they keep adding new routes. Qatar set out to make this be “first in business” and this is really an amazing hybrid of business and first class in all the right ways.
Thanks for the review! My wife and I are flying on QSuites from LAX – DOH before continuing on to JNB in the older business class and we can’t wait. The details you touched on here make me even more excited for our flight.