[Click above for the video review.]
Overall Impression:
Ever wonder what it’s like to fly on Qatar Airways QSuite Business Class? Come fly with me to Doha aboard their new Airbus A350-1000!
Qatar Airways has recently began flying their Airbus A350-1000 exclusively to New York’s JFK Airport. Like their newly refurbished 777s, the Airbus A350-1000 features the new QSuite Business Class seats. There are 46 enclosed “suites” on this aircraft which are laid out in a 1-2-1 staggered configuration. Some seats face forward, while others are rear facing. The partitions of the “Quad” center seats can also be lowered allowing 4 passengers to “sit together”. I was seated in 8B, a forward facing seat. Come fly with me and join me in my journey on Qatar’s spectacular QSuite product.
What I liked:
The Lounge – The newly renovated American Airlines Flagship Lounge at New York’s JFK Terminal 8 is very nice. The space is expansive and offers plenty of seating a decent food and beverage spread. Due to our status, we were lucky enough to be invited to the Flagship Dining section of the lounge which offers made to order meals and did I mention free flowing Krug champagne?
The seats – I really like Qatar’s QSuite product and I think it’s the best business class product available to date. The seat is private, yet spacious and well laid out. Everything you need including a side storage is all within an arms reach. Even more important is that the seat reclines into a full flat bed.
The airplane – We’ve flown on Qatar’s A350-1000 before and in my opinion it is the Airline’s best aircraft for business class (minus the onboard bar). Large windows with electronic blackout shades, spacious cabin with high ceiling, and the best humidity/cabin pressure of any next generation aircraft available is a sure win.
The food – The onboard catering was excellent as always. I was able to order what I wanted from the menu, and there were plenty of food and beverage offerings as well as an extensive wine list.
The IFE – This plane uses the Oryx One Entertainment system and it offers an array of new and classic movies, TV programs, music, and games. The Airbus A350 also has an impressive outside camera.
What I didn’t like:
Ground Handling at New York’s JFK – The Check-in process at JFK was OK, but we still had to wait a good 10 minutes in line at the Business Class check-in. JFK is also notorious for having very long security wait times. Thankfully, we only waited another 10 minutes to get through security. The boarding process was a bit scattered too and the ground staff looked like they didn’t want to be there.
It was OK…I guess:
The onboard service – OK, I’m really nitpicking here. The onboard service was very good, but the flight attendant working our aisle was a bit slow. I noticed the flight attendants working across aisle were a lot more efficient in delivering the meal service. The meal service completed 3 hours into the flight.Still, the crew was charming and were eager to please and even offered turndown service when I was ready for bed.
TravelingFoody.com 