For the first segment of our bucket list trip, we flew Qatar Airways A350-1000 Q-Suites business class from Washington Dulles to Doha, Qatar.
This was my first time flying Q-Suites, and I think anyone who regularly follows the points & miles travel blogs know that it is somewhat of a right-of-passage. Indeed, I met someone at Frequent Traveler University this past weekend who aimed to fly him, his wife, and two kids in Q-Suites roundtrip every year!
Having now experienced this product, I can absolutely say that it was one of my favorite flights I’ve ever taken. It was especially nice to be able to fly it for the first time at the beginning of this bucket list trip! Now, let’s get into the review.
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How I booked my Qatar Airways business class ticket
I booked my Qatar Airways Q-Suites business class ticket using American Airlines miles. American Airlines is a partner of Qatar Airways due to both being members of the Oneworld alliance. More specifically, I booked the following for 70,000 American Airline miles plus minor taxes & fees per person:
2/4 QR 708 Washington Dulles (IAD) to Doha, Qatar (DOH) departing 8:05PM arriving 4:40PM (+1)
2/5 QR 676 Doha, Qatar (DOH) to Male International, Maldives (MLE) departing 1:20AM arriving 8:05AM
This was an absolute great use of miles and really highlights the value you can get from American Airline miles. If you are one of my Europe based readers, you can also redeem Avios through either British Airways or Qatar Airways (you can transfer them back and forth between the two airlines). I don’t know the cost, but I would assume around 50,000 Avios?
Check-in, business class lounge, & boarding
Check-in at Dulles airport is always interesting to me, as you have flights to all over the world departing around the same time. I quickly found the Qatar Airways check-in counter and was quite thankful that we were flying business class. The economy line was easily 50 passengers deep, but we were able to walk right up to the ticket counter to get our bags checked in and get our boarding passes.
Qatar Airways sends its business class passengers to the Turkish Airlines lounge. It’s a decent lounge, but it typically gets pretty crowded, as it’s also a part of Priority Pass. It’s been my experience that once the lounge is starting to get full, they restrict Priority Pass entry and only let in premium cabin customers.
Regardless, I have the Capital One Venture X card, so I simply hopped over to the Capital One lounge right after Pre-check security. It’s got much better views and cocktails, and my wife and I started off our trip with a celebratory champagne toast and some snacks. She had never been there and loved it. It took a few minutes to find a seat (as it’s quite small), but we had a great time regardless.
Boarding was supposed to start at 7:25PM, so we left the Capital One lounge about 7:05PM, as we had to take the train from the main building to the A gates. We arrived at gate A23, and everyone was already lining up to board.
We weren’t quite sure where to go, as there were no signs clearly marked for business class. However, it turned out that they were using two boarding doors, with business class passengers boarding at gate A25. Boarding started 5 minutes late. Using the second door made things much less hectic for us (although I can’t imagine what it was like in economy).
Upon boarding, I was directed across the plane and to the right. My wife and I put our things up and began exploring the seat. The cabin sure is snazzy.
Once we were settled, a flight attendant came by and asked if we wanted anything to drink. I asked for their famous mint lime drink, which came with a refreshing towel. It was absolutely delicious, and you should get it every time you get on a Qatar Airways flight!
They then took meal orders. I’ll go over this a bit more later on, but you need to explicitly say that you want every course. I assumed I would get both the soup and cheese course, but I got neither, because I didn’t explicitly say it. I could have asked during the meal service, but I was pretty tired, so it wasn’t worth it at that point.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 business class cabin & seats (Q-Suites)
Qatar Airways Q-Suites on the A350-1000 has a total of 46 business class suites. There are 38 seats in the forward part of the cabin before the door we entered in and 8 seats right after the door we entered in, but before coach. You can see the SeatGuru map here.
These seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration. The center section alternated between being closer to the aisle and closer to the middle (a true “honeymoon” suite), while sections along the sides alternated between being closer to the aisle and closer to the window. Each row alternates between being forward-facing and being backwards-facing. Note that there are no luggage bins above the center section, but there are luggage bins along the side.
You can find a virtual tour here. Upon sitting down, I checked out the seat. The first thing I noticed was that I had so much room, much more than either the American Airlines 787 pods or the old United 6-across 777 pods. As someone who is tall with broad shoulders, I found the seat quite comfortable. I think what helped it the most was the part of the seat directly to my right by the shelf. It truly made the space feel bigger.
In terms of the rest of the seat, the tray table was under the TV screen and easily popped out and folded out when I needed it.
The TV itself was quite large, and I was easily able to watch all kinds of on-board entertainment. It was both a touchscreen and had a remote that was quite easy to use.
The footwell was quite large, and fit my size 13 US feet quite comfortably (which is very hard to find!).
To my right and front of me under the shelf was the remote, as well as the power outlet, headphone jack, and some sort of blue-tooth speaker connection, I think? I used the provided wired headphones, so I didn’t use it. Also, there was the safety literature there.
Above were some lights and individual air nozzles.
Right behind me to my right above my head was an additional reading light and a place to hang my coat.
The extra space to my right actually folded up and exposed a deep pouch that held the headphones, a water bottle, and a place to put smaller items and (for me) my glasses.
Under the shelf was also a place to store my shoes. As you can see, it probably could be cleaned a bit better, although the rest of the seat was very clean.
For this trip, I had assigned us seats along the right-hand side of the cabin. While we made this out to be a 5-year anniversary trip, we both love looking out the window. Additionally, we were still right next to each other with no one seated directly to our left or right. More specifically, I booked my wife in seat 1K (closer to the window), while I was in seat 2k (closer to the aisle).
While I’ve gone over the rest of the seat beforehand, I did want to mention the famous door at this point. Qatar Airways was the first airline to introduce doors in their business class, and I must say, it delivered! What I found interesting is that with the door shut, coupled with the nozzles overhead, helped create more temperature control that you normally get on an airplane.
I usually want to have a seat closer to the window, but, because of the door, it actually didn’t feel like I was in the aisle. Take that into consideration when choosing your seat.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 business class lavatories
There are three lavatories in the business class cabin of Qatar Airways A350-100: two in the front, and one in the back. What I specifically like about these lavatories is that they have a window (doesn’t really matter when you’re 40k feet in the air), but you can close the shade if you’re on the ground.
To the right of the sink was a drawer with single-use toothbrushes and shaving kits. To the left was Diptyque handsoap and lotion. It also had a makeup mirror, which might be of use to some.
The bathroom itself was quite spacious, as I was able to change into pajamas before we took off and was quite comfortable and had plenty of space to move. Throughout the flight, the bathrooms were pretty clean. They weren’t always perfect, but, generally speaking, they were clean (much more so than you’ll find on a US airline).
Business class amenities
Qatar Airways Q-Suites starts off by having some bedding at your seat. More specifically, they have a small pillow, a larger pillow, and a blanket.
What’s fun was that the smaller pillow had different locations that I assume is where Qatar Airways flies to. Mine said “New York, while my wife’s said “Paris” and had a picture of the Eiffel tower.
I’ll discuss what else you get later on in regards to bedding.
Additionally, I found an amenity kit filled with Diptyque items. I’ve talked at length about what you can do with your amenity kits after a flight, but, on this flight, it just came in a normal cardboard box. Given the quality of everything else, I’m surprised that they chose to have this and not an actual bag.
Anyways, in regards to its contents, it came with a little document advertising how great the perfume is, the actual perfume (“natural spray”), body lotion, face cream, lip balm, socks, an eye mask, and ear plugs. As I said earlier, a toothbrush and shaving kit were in a drawer in the bathroom.
After we settled in, a flight attendant came by and asked for our pajama size. I got a large, and they fit quite well. A pair of slippers were included as well.
In terms of their quality, I loved them. Qatar Airways has made a big deal of their relationship with The White Company of London, and I think it’s fair that they advertise that. My pajamas didn’t get too hot at all, and they were quite soft.
Entertainment & Wi-Fi
Qatar Airways Q-Suites has their proprietary “Oryx One” entertainment. They have tons of movies, tv shows, music, and some games. I watched about half of some movie, and then just watched old episodes of The Office. I then slept most of the flight, so I didn’t watch anything else on this particular flight. Furthermore, they obviously have the moving map to follow along as you fly. Qatar Airways also supplies you with a pair of noise-canceling headphones, which work well.
Additionally, they also have the famous tail camera. What I didn’t realize is that you not only can see from the top of the tail, but also directly under the plane, and looking at the front landing gear. This was my first opportunity to get to use this feature, and I absolutely loved it!
Wi-Fi was available. I forgot to look at pricing it, but I know that on my next flight, it seemed a bit pricy…but it was available.
Departure from Washington Dulles
I can’t remember when we pushed back, but I do remember that it was a very quick taxi to the runway. Dulles is an interesting airport. I’ve never waited a long time to take off once we’ve pushed back (due to airport operational reasons) – had a plane problem or two, but nothing due to the airport itself.
I had the tail camera on the whole time, and I absolutely loved getting to watch the plane take off on the runway!
Qatar Airways business class dinner service
You can find the food menu here (click on arrows to move right and left):
And the wine and liquor/cocktail menu here:
To start off, I ordered a mocktail, which came with mixed nuts. A flight attendant then put down a tablecloth, after which I ordered a glass of champagne. This came with a glass of water (I got sparkling), a “candle,” and a bread basket with both butter and olive oil.
I then ate an amuse bouche, which wasn’t on the menu. It was some sort of scallop dish, and it was quite tasty.
After that, I ordered my appetizer. I got the American style tapas, which consisted of shishito peppers, carrot cumin dip, and marinated olives. The peppers and carrot cumin dip were absolutely delicious, but I ignored the olives (I don’t like olives). I liked the dip so much that I decided to spill it on my white t-shirt to forever stain it.
For my main course, I ordered the goat cheese crusted lamb rack with herb jus, roasted potatoes, baby yellow beetroot, and white asparagus. It was ok, as I thought the serving size was quite small for a main appetizer. It honestly felt like it was in between an appetizer and a main dish.
For dessert, I had the red velvet gateau with Chantilly cream, strawberry, and mint salsa. I almost went with the triple chocolate sundae, but I’m glad I went with the cake. I honestly should have asked for all three (for research purposes, of course!).
Water was continuously refilled, and I had a glass of dessert wine with dessert. All-in-all, it was a pretty decent meal meal.
Qatar Airways Q-Suites bed
After dinner was cleared, it was time for bed. I had the flight attendant make up my bed. They put a mattress cover on my seat while I changed into pajamas, as well as a pillow case on my larger pillow. This is great for those who like to sleep with two pillows. I also found the blanket to be heavy, but not hot.
This was the best sleep I’ve ever had on a flight. What I really appreciated was the cut out to the right (when facing forward) up by the head. It truly allowed me to sleep on my side with my knees bent. Furthermore, the door allowed me to create a private room, which made sleeping even easier!
Mid-flight snacks & drinks
After waking up somewhere over Denmark, I pressed the call button, and a flight attendant appeared almost immediately. I ordered a cardamom karak chai (I forgot to get a picture). I had never had one of those before, but I had read that they were really good. They were not wrong! It was a smooth and delicious milky hot tea. I had the saffron version on my next flight, and I’d recommend getting both of them on your flight.
I forgot to order a glass of water at that time as well, but I had a box from the Capital One lounge’s to-go fridge. Its always good to carry a water or two, even when I’m flying up front, because it’s good to always have one within reach.
Business class breakfast service
About an hour and a half or so before we landed, I ordered breakfast. A flight attendants put down a tablecloth, and I received a breadbasket with a croissant, a cinnamon roll (not a fresh Cinnabon style one), and a roll. I received butter and strawberry jam with it and ordered a glass of orange juice.
I then ordered a fruit plate and a cappuccino.
Finally, the caramelised banana French toast with vanilla cream and fresh berries was tempting, but I made a bold decision. I ordered the breakfast enchiladas with corn scrambled eggs, salsa, cotija cheese, and avocado cream.
I normally wouldn’t order something like that. However, I was pretty hungry, and it sounded more filling. I also didn’t know when I’d get to eat once we landed. Egg dishes are tough on planes, particularly 12 hours after takeoff. This dish had probably been made 18 hours ago and reheated in a microwave, so was a gamble.
It was better than I predicted! I was happy with my choice. It was heavy and not fresh, but it did the job.
After my plate had been cleared, I received chocolates and a refreshing towel. The towel truly was refreshing.
Arrival in Doha
About 45 minutes out, the pilot announced that we would be landing soon. Flight attendants prepared the cabin for landing. I turned on the tail camera and alternated between that and the underbelly camera.
Flight tip: Don’t turn the flight camera on when you’re landing. It actually makes flying a plane look so difficult (which it is!). Watching that video would make everyone, including the 50% of men who think they could land a plane in an emergency, be thankful for the job that pilots do.
We had a smooth landing and a quick taxi to gate A7. We were amongst the first individuals off, and we made our way to the lounge to plan our next adventure for this trip (newsflash: transit tour of Doha!).
Qatar Airways business class service
Let me start off by saying that I’m used to US-based airlines, so contextualize my comments that way.
The service was fantastic. It was efficient and classy. I never received attitude for asking something, and I definitely wasn’t chastised for using my call button. I’ve had flights on US-based airlines that looked at me like I was crazy for asking for a soda…on a 15 hour flight!
Most importantly, they were very professional. I was welcomed by name, and when I hit the call button, flight attendants arrived within a minute. When they placed silverware down, it was always done with precision, and they neither ignored nor forgot my requests. I forgot how spoiled you get when flying a non-US based airline!
Conclusion
This was my first time ever flying both Qatar Airways Q-Suites. This was an absolutely fantastic business class seat, and it was definitely my favorite flight of the trip. I look forward to flying this seat again when I’m headed to the Middle East, India Subcontinent, and Africa in the future!
Have you ever flown Qatar Airways Q-Suites? What did you think of it?
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