Qatar Business Class - Post tour analysis
We’re now back to Seattle having flown on Qatar Air in business class to/from our Egypt: Jewels of the Nile tour.
The routing was Seattle-Doha-Cairo going and the reverse coming home. The Seattle - Doha legs were roughly 14 hours, the Doha-Cairo legs were roughly three hours, and the layover each way was roughly 3 hours.
The seats were Q-Suites, with closing doors on all legs. The configuration for all legs was 1-2-1. On the Seattle-Doha legs we were in the middle section. For the Cairo-Doha legs we were near the windows. When in the middle the wall between the two compartments could be lowered, making a “double” bed type of configuration. Slippers, pajamas, etc. we’re provided.
The food was great on all legs, with nice food and wine menus for all legs. On the longer legs you could schedule/ask for various meals/food whenever you wanted it. On the shorter legs it was served shortly after takeoff. In addition to the menu food you were given a couple of “snack treats”, a wonderful individually wrapped date early in the flight and a box of two chocolates later in the flight.
The restrooms were larger than typical airplane bathrooms. A nice surprise in the bathroom was that there was a drawer containing individually wrapped toothbrushes and toothpaste, and individually wrapped razors.
All of the flight attendants were courteous and attentive.
Now Comments about Hamad International Airport in Doha, where all Qatar flights transit through.
The airport is very new and laced with modern amenities. They have a very quiet monorail type of people mover that operates one level above the main level.
The airport is very busy, which results in some lines to access several of those amenities. The business class lounge is very nice, but it helps if you arrive before peak hours. Heading to Cairo we arrived in the peak time which meant there were significant lines in the lounge to access areas where food was available. Heading home we arrived before the peak and were able to immediately get seated in an area where food and drink was available.
Security - there is a lot. Even though we were just transiting we had to go through one “X-ray” level security station and an additional lesser level check to get into the gate area on the way to Cairo.
On the way home, the first check was the same as on the way to Cairo, but the second check was even more invasive than the first check. I’m glad we left the lounge a little early because we weren’t expecting the extent of the second check. In the second check on the way home we had to remove all electronics from our carry on bags. Previously they just got scanned while in the bag. They wiped all electronics with a moistened rag that I assumed detected explosive materials.
In summary:
I rate the Qatar flights/service at the top of any I’ve taken.
I rate Hamad International Airport (lounge, security, etc) in Doha a step below Istanbul’s airport ( the hub for Turkish Airlines ).
Comments
Smiling Sam...Welcome Home. I agree with your assessment of Qatar Airlines and its lounge. I've experienced the Istanbul lounge (USA) and it is very nice. I'm planning on visiting a friend in Istanbul next year and will get an opportunity to visit the lounge in Istanbul. I'm sue its much better than the one in the USA.
Now...off to planning your next adventure!