Review: Qatar Airways Qsuite on the A350-1000
Qatar Airways Qsuite A350-1000
A+C Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Flight Details
We flew on Qatar Airways from Los Angeles (LAX) to Doha (DOH) on QR 740 in January 2023. The flight was scheduled to depart Los Angeles at 3:05pm and arrive in Doha the following evening at 5:45pm. Qatar Airways flies an Airbus A350-1000 on this epic 15 hour and 40 minute flight.
Ground Experience
Check In
Like most international flights out of LAX, Qatar Airways operates out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). We arrived at LAX around 11:30am and tried to visit the Qatar Airways check in desk to retrieve our boarding passes. Unfortunately, the check in desk was not open yet and we waited around 10 minutes before the desks were staffed. Check in was quick and easy and we had our boarding passes printed and went off to security. I was able to check us in online the day before the flight, but unfortunately Qatar Airways does not issue mobile boarding passes for this route. Qatar Airways is a participating airline of TSA PreCheck, so we were able to use the PreCheck lanes in TBIT and breeze past security.
Lounge
Most passengers flying business class on a oneworld airline out of TBIT would head straight for the oneworld Business Lounge inside TBIT. However, you can walk from TBIT to Terminal 4 in around 10 minutes and access the American Airlines Flagship Lounge. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the time as it is well worth a visit.
The American Airlines Flagship Lounge shares the same entrance as the normal Admirals Club, but passengers with access to the Flagship Lounge will be given a black card and directed through a separate entrance inside. When we entered the Flagship Lounge, we were greeted with a glass of Piper-Heidsieck champagne and took in the amazing view of the LAX tarmac. The lounge has an abundance of natural light, seating, food, and drinks. The lounge was not busy at all when we first arrived and it felt very peaceful and relaxing. We enjoyed some light bites and champagne before heading off to the gate. Give yourself at least 20 minutes to get from the lounge to your gate since TBIT is quite large and our gate was at one of the far ends of the concourse.
Onboard Experience
Cabin
The business class cabin onboard this Airbus A350-1000 featured 46 seats in the Qsuite layout with forward facing and rear facing seats alternating throughout the cabin in a 1-2-1 layout. The front cabin consists of 38 suites while the rear cabin behind the galley only has 8.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Business Class Cabin
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Cabin Configuration, Credit: aerolopa.com
All seats lie flat, have direct aisle access, and feature a fully closing door. Solo passengers should opt for the rear facing window seats since these are adjacent to the window and feature more privacy. The forward facing window seats are closer to the aisle and feel a little more exposed. Couples traveling together should pick the rear facing middle seats as the seats are adjacent to each other. A divider can be moved up or down between the middle seats for additional privacy in case you are sitting next to a stranger. If you are traveling with four people, the divider between two rows can also be lowered, creating what Qatar Airways dubs “The Quad" in which all four passengers can face each other and socialize. On this flight we sat in 3E and 3F, two of the rear facing middle seats.
Qatar Airways also opted to remove the overhead bins for the middle seats, which makes the cabin feel more spacious.
Seat
The Qsuite seat is incredibly spacious, comfortable, and had an abundance of storage. The middle seats also feature a privacy divider between the seats that the crew was able to move up and down in case you are traveling solo or together.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Qsuite Seat
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Qsuite Seat with Divider Halfway Down
The walls of the seat are quite high and this helps to increase the privacy when seated. This seat is truly a suite and comes with a door that you can slide open and closed. With the door closed, you almost forget that you are surrounded by other passengers, it is incredibly private.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Closing the Qsuite Door
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Fully Closed Qsuite Door
Amenities
When we boarded, the seat contained two pillows, a blanket, and a Diptyque branded amenity kit gift box. On some routes a traditional amenity kit pouch is offered, but this route only featured the gift box.
The flight attendants came around shortly after boarding to offer the menu, pajamas, a pre-departure drink, and a refreshing scented towel. Qatar Airways has a separate menu just for wine!
Qatar Airways Signature Lemon Mint and Champagne
The Diptyque branded amenity kit contained a few products from Diptyque that smell heavenly. The bottle of Lait Frais or Fresh Lotion is one of my favorites and I would strongly consider buying a full size bottle.
Qatar Airways Amenity Kit Contents
Qatar Airways Pajamas from The White Company
Qatar Airways Food and Wine Menus
I was hoping that Qatar Airways still had the World Cup pajamas onboard, but unfortunately there were no World Cup branded amenities on our flight. We found the White Company branded pajamas comfortable, but not as soft as some other airline pajamas we have received before. On the other hand, the blanket was by far the softest blanket on an airline that we have seen.
Food
In addition to their vast menu, Qatar Airways features dine on demand, allowing passengers to decide when they want to eat, instead of following a schedule from the airline. For a flight of this length, this is greatly appreciated, as your body really has no idea what time it is and sometimes you wake up hungry and wanting more than a light mid-flight snack.
On this route, the two champagnes that Qatar Airways serves are Laurent-Perrier Brut and Charles Heidsieck Rosé Réserve.
We took advantage of the dine on demand, waiting a while after takeoff before we ordered any food. By the time we did have our first meal, the cabin lights had been dimmed which made taking photos of our food a bit more difficult.
Our meal started out with an amuse bouche and our own bread basket.
Next, I had the creamy tomato and coconut soup and Adrienne had the Arabic mezze with pita bread.
For our mains, I had the seared corn-fed chicken breast with sweet potato mousseline and Adrienne had the Asian style sea bass with black forbidden rice.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Seared Corn-Fed Chicken Breast
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Asian Style Sea Bass
I finished off the meal service with the vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
This was a splendid meal and we loved the nice touches of the fake candle, having your own bread basket, and the salt and pepper shakers. The flight attendants were also extremely attentive, filling up our drinks as soon as they were near empty and we did not wait long between courses.
For breakfast, I ordered fresh orange juice, a latte, the platter of seasonal cut fruits, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and the truffle and parmesan omelette. We were a little rushed through breakfast service since we placed our meal order not too long before landing, but it all worked out well. Each item was brought out sequentially and made for a delicious breakfast before touching down in Doha.
Bed
The seat reclines into a fully lie flat bed with buttons located under the storage shelf. We asked the flight attendants to make up our bed while we headed to the lavatory to brush our teeth.
When we returned, the two beds had been made up with mattress pads and another comfortable pillow. Since the seats are adjacent to each other, this really felt like a double bed in the sky. Apologies for the blurry photo, I took it when the cabin lights were dimmed and I did not think to turn on the overhead lights.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Each seat comes with an incredible 21.5” HD IFE that was super responsive. Qatar Airways refers to the onboard entertainment system as Oryx One and it had a vast selection of content, with plenty to watch during this long flight.
The IFE also featured several exterior cameras which provided some amazing views.
The plane was also equipped with Wi-Fi that was available for purchase. However, Qatar Airways Privilege Club members could receive 1 hour of complimentary Wi-Fi, but on a 15 hour flight, it does not last long!
Service
The service on Qatar Airways was splendid and exactly what you expect from a premium business class product. The crew were nice and friendly and went out of their way to make us comfortable throughout the flight. This was truly 5-star service from the entire crew.
Booking
I was able to find award space through British Airways roughly 10 months before the flight and I booked a one way from LAX-DOH-MLE. British Airways charges per segment and we paid 210,000 Avios points and $412 USD in taxes and fees for two people, which means the cost per person one way from LAX-DOH-MLE was 105,000 Avios points.
If I were to book another Qsuite flight, I would look to use Qatar Avios instead of British Airways Avios. Qatar charges less points overall for the onward flight and you can now combine British Airways Avios and Qatar Avios making this a no-brainer.
Booking a cash ticket on Qatar Airways from LAX-DOH-MLE usually costs around $6,300 USD round trip per person on average, so around $3,150 USD one way per person. I felt this was a fantastic use of miles to fly from the west coast all the way to the Maldives and the deal would be even sweeter booking directly through Qatar Airways Avios.
Conclusion
This was a spectacular flight and I can fully understand why Qatar Airways brands Qsuite as “First in Business.” We were wowed the moment we stepped on the plane and throughly enjoyed our experience onboard. The seat, amount of space, catering, service, and privacy really did mirror a first class experience. A ton of miles and points enthusiasts strongly recommend trying Qsuites and I wholeheartedly agree! We would take another flight featuring Qsuites without hesitation. This was my favorite business class experience to date.
One word of caution, Qatar Airways is known to do last minute equipment swaps and not all of their planes feature Qsuites. Do your research on which routes feature Qsuites and which routes have less of a chance for equipment swaps.
A+C Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
No trip to Hamad International Airport is complete without seeing the famous Lamp Bear.