Hello from Doha, where I am feeling quite refreshed after a 16.5-hour journey on Qatar Airways A350-1000 Qsuite business class. Ahead of a full review, I want to offer my initial impressions of this ultra-longhaul journey over the North Pole.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Qsuite Business Class: My First Impressions (LAX-DOH)
We took a polar routing from LAX-DOH, which took use directly over the realm of Father Christmas. I was chatting with the flight attendant who served my section and he said that flight attendants are only permitted to work these sorts of routes once per month because of the radiation exposure.
In any case, the A350-1000 is Qatar Airways’ flagship aircraft and very comfortable onboard, at least in business class, with fully-enclosed suites Qatar calls Qsuites. I chose seat 3A, a rear-facing seat that included plenty of personal space and privacy.
The Qsuite is beginning to show a bit of wear and tear. There were some scratches and dents on the seat and my American-style 120-volt plug would not stay in the socket…it was too worn down (I solved the problem by a using a EU-style 220-volt adapter, which did lock into place). There also appeared to be no USB-C, though I later found a port had been aded under the window (kudos to Qatar Airways for doing that).
I love the Arabic coffee with dates to start the service…always a nice touch.
Meal service has also been cut back bit from when I last flew the product a few years ago from Dallas to Doha. There’s still an a la carte menu, but the options were a bit more limited. I had dinner after takeoff, including some very good ajo blanco soup (i.e. white gazpacho) with black garlic and sesame oil…though I was expecting it cold and it was served warm.
For my main course I had lamb curry with cardamom and coriander, served with labneh and naan…a very good dish that will probably make my top #10 airline meals list for the year.
That was followed by a cheese course and rounded out with dulcey chocolate mousse.
As for Champagne, there was Tattinger and Pommery Brut Rosé Royal, which I had and was good, through I miss the old Bollinger that used to be a staple onboard.
Confession, though. The highlight of the menu for me was the midflight snack menu, themed for the World Cup:
Kick-off turkey chorizo hot dog with chimichurri
Caramelised onions, smoky red relish and waffle fries
I wrote about the SWISS First Class hot dog recently…well I imagine this gourmet hot dog was something like it. I loved the turkey chorizo and the condiments made it fabulous…even the waffle fries were great. I stopped at just one but easily could have polished off three.
After dinner, I changed into my pajamas…which were specially branded for the World Cup, though I did not care for the baggy design.
I managed nearly eight hours of sleep…something I have not been able to do for a long time on an airplane.
I awoke refreshed and there was still a few hours left in the flight. I wasn’t all that hungry, but ordered breakfast before landing and again was very impressed by the meal, especially the kale and cherry tomato frittata, served with roasted sweet potato and pico de gallo.
My flight featured Starlink Internet…a game-changer in terms of onboard connectivity. It was great to stay connected to my blog and other work at 300 up/down and the internet worked flawlessly and was complimentary on all my devices.
I’ll address this in a separate post, but unfortunately not everyone was courteous (beyond the World Cup issue). The lady behind did not use headphones while doomscrolling on Instagram and there was someone in the cabin conducting a phone call that I could hear (this is permitted on Qatar Airways). I may need to reassess my longstanding view that phone calls would be okay on flights within the USA.
We landed on-time in Doha at a gate with a jetbridge (the last couple arrivals have been at a remote gate with bus service to the terminal).
I like super long flights and thought this was an excellent one overall with great service and food plus a very comfortable and private suite. Is Qatar Airways still the best business class in the world? I’d say so…this flight merely reinforced that.
I’ll share a lot more details about the flight in my upcoming full review, including the IFE, amenity kit, full menu, and seat features.
With respect, phone calls are NEVER a good idea in an enclosed space. It is rude to both your fellow passengers and to your interlocutor who had not agreed to have a dozen other people listening in on your phone call.
We will discuss that this week!
I’m ok with phone calls on the flight as long as we remove the ban on beating the shit out of other passengers during the flight.
Sounds like a reasonable compromise to me !! … lol
Premium Suites passengers that make voice calls onboard should be required to use a “Cone of Silence” (‘Google’ it) while on the phone.
Thanks Chief! 😉
I am looking forward to my inaugural Qatar Airways QSuite flight coming in a few weeks. I have a 13.5 hour flight from MIA. I am seat 3K. Any other tidbits for a first-timer?
Enjoy it – all the dishes I had ordered were delicious.
Radiation? Is that something unique to Polar route flights?
I think so. A gentlemen that does the polar flights regularly advised me to keep shades down. I enjoy getting a few hours shaved off but never pursued that often.
Yes and No. Typically, the further north of the equator one goes the more radiation there is in the atmosphere. Also the higher the altitude the more radiation one will experience. Thus, going over the north pole at typical cruising altitude of 30000-40000 ft. will result in the maximum radiation exposure. Flying to Europe on a consistent basis will also expose people to a certain amount of radiation. The amount depends on the latitude and altitude the plane is flying. The earth has a magnetic protective layer but at 55 degrees latitude, it begins to weaken which causes radiation to increase with the worst being at the north pole. At sea level, there is still a sufficient amount of protection so that people that live near the north pole are protected. The same holds true flying towards the south pole.
So was it 15.5 or 16.5? It says both at the beginning?
Had a similar trip DFW-DOH. Quite the trip.
Did you stop by Al Safwa FC lounge? If so, have you noticed any reduction in quality of F&B offerings? SFO777 mentioned a decline on a recent Insta post.
Q-Suite is hard to beat (so long as you actually get to experience it, because Qatar is notorious for last-minute aircraft swaps to their ancient 2-2-2 business class.)
Have you flown Starlux business class? Wondering how that compares.
Starlux review here – Starlux was also excellent.
https://liveandletsfly.com/starlux-a350-900-business-class-review/
The World Cup branded pillow looks a lot nicer than the usual cheesy quote pillow that always seemed weirdly out of place to me.
Like the idea of a turkey dog! Looked good!
“I managed nearly eight hours of sleep…something I have not been able to do for a long time on an airplane.”
Tell me your secrets! was it the lamb?!
Also… ummm. stay safe in Doha :/
Sounds like you had a nice flight; good for you
1. Nicely written. Good to see there is still place for the written word in the inane world of vloggers. Sigh. 2. The issue of phone calls on board is, sadly, where tech has brought us while manners have been forgotten. Excellent wifi on board will only see this becoming the norm. I really struggle with the growing disrespect travellers show others; no self awareness. I recommend Japanese airlines where this kind of thing is less likely to happen. 3. I agree with you on the champagne. I find Taittinger, if it was the NV, uninteresting and lazy for an airline with such a good wine list generally. I recall one flight where we had the beautiful Billecart-Salmon! Nonetheless, always happy to enjoy bubbles at 38 000ft. 4. I am now even more excited about my flight in a couple days’ time DOH-JNB on the A350k and will go with seat 1K. 5. Keep writing mate.
Thanks, Brandon!