For the second segment of our bucket list trip, we flew Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER business class from Doha, Qatar to Male, Maldives.
This was my first time flying the Boeing 777-300ER. Before the flight, I wondered what the experience might be like, given my love for the A380.
Note that only a subset of the Boeing 777-300ER has the seating arrangement I will write about, as my plane had first class, which makes it an ex-Cathay Pacific plane.
Now that I have flown this product, I can say that it was a great flight, primarily due to the service and attitudes of the cabin crew. As I noted in a previous post, the crew thanked me for being an elite with Oneworld. You don’t see that very often! Now, let’s get into the review.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe below!
How I booked my Qatar Airways business class ticket
I booked my Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER business class ticket using American Airlines miles. This is the connecting segment after my Q-Suites flight from Washington Dulles to Doha, Qatar.
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)
2/6 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’re 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 did some digging for a friend of mine, and found that the flight between London & Doha would be 43,000 Avios, which I would consider to be a steal for a daytime flight!
Check-in, business class lounge, & boarding
While we were connecting, we partook in the Doha Transit Tour and had to go through check-in and security. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures of the check-in desk and security. However, there were at least 10 check-in desks for Qatar Airways business class with no lines whatsoever, and security took less than 5 minutes.
Given that Doha is Qatar Airways megahub, you have access to many lounges. I recommend their newest lounge by The Orchard. We were able to shower and have a sit-down meal, which is great for anyone who has another flight flight that is technically overnight. I had a steak, and it was great! It was what I would expect in a normal restaurant in DC.
Boarding was to commence about an hour before takeoff. I checked the board and we proceeded to a gate. Turns out, there are two flights to Male departing around the same time, and we went to the wrong gate! We went over to our new gate, which was about a 5-10 minute walk away.
This is a mobile bus gate. We stepped into the priority line and showed them our tickets. We were directed to take a seat in the gate area, as there would be a separate bus for first and business class customers. After about a 10 minute wait, we lined up, scanned our tickets, and boarded a bus for premium passengers.
We had a long drive to the plane. Once we got there, we had to climb up stairs, which I always personally enjoy.
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.
Once we were settled, a flight attendant came by and asked if we wanted anything to drink. Like our first flight, I again ordered their famous mint lime drink as well as a sparkling water. I was also given a refreshing towel.
Flight attendants then came around and asked if we wanted a meal once we were up in the air, which I declined. This is only a 4.5 hour flight, and I wanted to maximize sleep. However, when asked, I did ask to be woken up for breakfast if I wasn’t already awake.
Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER business class cabin & seats
Like I noted earlier, this Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER is a dry-lease from Cathay Pacific. Within the business class cabin, there are a total of 53 business class suites. Almost all of them are behind the second door, with 8 seats being between doors 1 and 2. You can see the SeatGuru map here.
These seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration. All seats are forward-facing. For seats in the middle section, they face inwards toward each other. For seats on each side, they face toward the window. There are luggage bins above every seat.
Upon sitting down, I checked out the seat. As someone who is tall with broad shoulders, I again found the seat quite comfortable, but not as wide as Q-Suites.
In terms of the rest of the seat, the tray table was to my right under the shelf and easily popped out and folded out when I needed it.
The TV itself was quite large and popped out of the pod in front of me. I was easily able to watch all kinds of on-board entertainment. The screen wasn’t as good as in our previous flight, but it worked perfectly for this short overnight flight. It was both a touchscreen and had a remote that was quite easy to use.
The footwell was massive, and fit my size 13 US feet quite comfortably (which is very hard to find!).
To my right was a shelf with the remote, power outlet, reading light, and button controls. There were also ports to plug in an old video game system and some kind of other old visual cable port (I used one with my PS2 when I was in middle school).
There was also a cabinet that opened up. In it were a mirror, a bottle of water, and the headphones.
This cabinet is also where you plugged in the headphones to be used with the entertainment.
Above were some lights, but no individual air nozzles.
Right to my left was a place to hang my coat.
Under the shelf was also a place to store my shoes that had a little door on it.
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 21K, while I was in seat 22k.
Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER business class lavatories
To be frank, I didn’t take any pictures of the lavatories. I think there were 7 bathrooms around the massive first and business class cabins. Given the size of the plane, they were big enough for me to stand up in them easily.
I’ll go over this more later, but I did not receive an amenity kit. If we needed anything, it was in the lavatory. I grabbed a toothbrush so that I could brush my teeth once we had landed.
Business class amenities
While our Q-Suites flight had a few more amenities, for this flight, we received only a pillow and a blanket.
Like I said earlier, amenity kits were not distributed, but you could get what you needed from the bathroom.
Entertainment & Wi-Fi
Qatar Airways has their proprietary “Oryx One” entertainment. They have tons of movies, tv shows, music, and some games. I 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.
Wi-Fi was available. A full flight pass for this flight was $10.
Departure from Doha, Qatar
I can’t remember when we pushed back, but I do remember that it was a very quick taxi to the runway. It was the middle of the night, so I don’t have any pictures for you.
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:
Since I ate in the lounge, I did not order any of the a-la-carte tasting menu options, and I went right to bed.
Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER business class bed
After I finished dinner, it was time for bed. Flight attendants did not make the bed up for me on this trip, but I am 100% ok with that. I was so tired, I didn’t even get any pictures in lie-flat mode. The bed was made, and I slept for 3 hours.
I slept pretty well. I actually didn’t get too hot. Additionally, as someone who normally sleeps with two pillows, I still slept like a baby.
Mid-flight snacks & drinks
After waking up somewhere about an hour and a half outside of Male, I pressed the call button, and a flight attendant appeared almost immediately, where I ordered breakfast. I ordered a saffron karak chai (I had had cardamon on the previous flight), and it was delicious! I recommend getting both at some point in your flights.
Business class breakfast service
A flight attendants put down a tablecloth, and I ordered a croissant with jam, a fruit plate, a glass of orange juice, and a cappuccino. Similar to my last flight, I received butter and strawberry jam. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the photos of my food. #nice
The view was great, though.
I also had a glass of sparkling water. The cups are cool with the Qatar logo.
After my plate had been cleared, I received a mint 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 watched the moving plane map and listened to an album I listen to on every flight.
One thing that they did that I had never done before was spray something right before we landed. If I were to guess, it’s COVID-related (as it never happened on any other trip I’ve been on) and by order of the Maldives.
We had a smooth landing and a quick taxi to the “gate.” Until they finish building their terminal, everyone departs via stairs and takes a bus to (the most chaotic ever) immigration. We were amongst the first individuals off, and we made our way to meet up with the Park Hyatt Maldives representative for my ultimate bucket list location!
Qatar Airways business class service
The service was fantastic. As I wrote on Tuesday, this is the only time I can remember being thanked for being loyal to Oneworld.
It was efficient and classy. I never received attitude for asking something, and I definitely wasn’t chastised for using my call button.
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.
Conclusion
This was the perfect 4.5 hour overnight flight from Doha to the Maldives aboard the Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER. I found that both flights were a great use of 70,000 American Airlines miles, and I look forward to flying with Qatar again!
Have you ever flown Qatar Airways? What did you think of it?
Comment (1)