Review: Qatar Airways QSuite – Business Class on the A350 from New York City to Doha

I came back from Qatar yesterday and I wanted to write this post while the feelings and thoughts about this experience are still fresh on my mind. But as I was writing this I realized that no matter how hard one tries, this experience will be a hard one to forget… If you have been following my adventures on Instagram you might know that I just spent an incredible week on an US media trip to Qatar and France, to watch the last Women’s World Cup 2019 (which “we won” by the way) and from Paris we flew to Doha on the A380 (more on that soon). Well, after spending 2 intense days exploring Doha and flying back to New York on a 13 hour flight onboard the A350 with Qatar Airways I needed to share my experience of going back to my regular work schedule not feeling super tired. Yes, that’s a first! I thought that with the time difference and a long flight I would be, you know, something close to a zombie, but nop! So if you are considering flying business class on the Qsuite, this post is for you!

Route

I flew from New York City to Doha, on a 14 hour flight and from Doha to New York on a 13 hour flight.

This was my first time flying with Qatar Airways and experiencing the QSuite made me understand why they have this great reputation and have won multiple airline of the year awards. Will be hard to top this experience!

The QSuite

The Qsuite is like a beautiful blend of First and Business Class.

Apart from all the hospitality, food and drink menu and comfort, the main difference is the fact that you have your own private cabin. Yes, simply slide the door shut and get the privacy you want. But it is also perfect for people traveling with a group as well- more on that later.

Food and Drink Menus

Another great point is that you can order food at any time in any order. If you feel like eating breakfast and is technically lunch time…go for it! There is a generous wine menu with great options to choose from and the food menu offers a nice selection snacks, appetizers, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. You kind of feel like you are in a hotel and flying is out of a sudden very pleasant (at least for me)!

I requested a vegan menu prior to my trip but there were some pretty good vegan options already for light bites- I don’t know you but I can live on hummus and arabic bread. As soon as I boarded the plane and got settled my flight attendant came to read the special menu created for me so I could make my selection in case I wanted to have my meal shortly after taking off. Since we had access to the (AMAZING) business lounge I wasn’t that hungry yet so I was able to schedule the time I wanted to have a meal later but you can request at any time, it takes them about 20 minutes to prepare.

I don’t drink alcohol so I’m used to juice and water but Qatar Airways offers a great selection of mocktails and of course, their signature drink, the mint lemonade, which I lost count of how many I had.

Traveling with friends or family?

The middle seats are perfect for people traveling together. You can literally take down the dividers and have yourself a double bed suite or even a suite for 4 people, facing each other. How cool it is to have your business meetings literally on the clouds? Well, it’d an option but flying business with Qatar Airways felt like a mini vacation, so let’s not talk about work yet 🙂

The beds recline and become a flatbed. Your can ask your flight attendant to make your bed for a better “bed feeling” or you can simply use the soft velvet blanket and pillows already provided. You can control your seat according to your preference. There is also a remote control so you don’t need to sit up to change the channel, call your flight attendant or even turn on the light, they made it all very easy for us.

Storage, Wi-Fi, etc…

Wi-Fi is free for the first 30 minutes but you can purchase for the entire duration of your flight for U$10. I did it on the way to Doha and it worked really nice for almost the entire flight. It wasn’t super fast but it wasn’t super slow either. I just took longer to upload my stories on Instagram but for e-mails and all types of messaging apps, worked really well. Towards the end was slower, but I as able to get everything done and enjoy the rest of the flight.

The cabin is also equipped with USB ports, an universal adaptor, a headphone (noise canceling) and plenty of storage – next to your seat, in front and there is also a counter. The overhead compartment is obviously spacious as well.

Other amenities

I know I usually come prepared but I’m always excited to see what the bag with toiletries will come with when flying international. So for the QSuit e experience they offer the bag itself from BRIC (loved the quality) and it contained a lip balm, an eye mask, socks, earplugs, facial mist and moisturizer from Castelo Monte Vibiano.

I also received pajamas from The White Company made exclusively for Qatar Airways and slippers, which were very useful for the lavatory (nothing compares to the freedom I had of getting up to use the lavatory without having to say “excuse me” and bother the person next to you haha). You can request difference sizes if available. In the lavatory there are endless toothbrushes and toothpaste if you need.

In-Flight Entertainment

Ok, 14 hour flight didn’t feel that long at all with all of the things mentioned above but the nice selection of movies, tv shows, documentaries, games played on a 21.5 inch screen helped a lot and made the experience even better. I was able to watch some movies that were on my list for a while and of course, rewatch F.R.I.E.N.D.S fot the 30th time. The entertainment menu was available in several languages, including Portuguese.

Service

Outstanding. You definitely feel the hospitality that Qatar Airways is also famous for the minute you get on the plane. Our flight attendants were super attentive and made me feel very welcome. I also love how multi-cultural the cabin crew was, I was even able to practice my almost non-existent Japanese!

Overall

My experience was incredible. Even though travel is my way of living, flying sometimes makes me very anxious or I suffer from the after effects – such as bloating and bad blood circulation, sorry for TMI- but on the QSuite none of them were an issue, I was able to resume my activities once we arrived without feeling “funny” for the next days like I usually do. I had such a god time that will be hard to fly any other way from now on haha!

The Qsuite is offered on the A350 plane and is available only on some routes, click HERE to learn more.

Stopover in Doha

If you have a stopover in Doha I highly recommend booking a city tour, they are available year round on comfortable buses with air conditioner (for those traveling in the summer, don’t worry about it, it was hot obviously but doable, you won’t stay outdoors for too long and you can always chose to stay on the bus instead of getting off for pictures). Doha was such a good surprise. The culture, the history, the people, the food, the arquitecture….We were there for 2 days but I could have easily spent 3 or 4, especially in the winter when the weather is even nicer (it can get up to 50 degrees in the summer, that’s why there are so many shopping malls throughout the city). Learn more about stopover in Qatar HERE!

For more NYC and travel tips, make sure to follow me on instagram: @marthasachser! And this was my review: Qatar QSuite – Business Class on the A350 from New York City to Doha. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the A350 soon!

I was invited by Qatar Airways but all opinions are mine.