Review: Qatar Airways A350-1000 Qsuite Business Class

One of the most revolutionary Business Class seats in the industry, the Qatar Airways Qsuite, hit the market in June 2017 flying between Doha and London. Today it’s fitted on 25 Qatar planes flying to more than 20 cities each day. We boarded one of the newest, a 4-month old A350-1000, which will be flying to Singapore from November 2018, to put the product to the test.

Flight details

• Flight: QR68 Frankfurt T1 to Doha Hamad
• Class: Business (Qsuite)
• Seat: 11K
• Aircraft Type: Airbus A350-1000
• Aircraft Registration: A7-ANB
• Aircraft Age: 0.3 years
• Date: 9th September 2018
• Departure / Arrival: 17:35 / 00:35
• Flight Time: 6h 00m
• Cost: 37,500 British Airways Avios points + S$410.00*

* Note the high level of taxes and charges applicable to Qatar bookings using Avios. This stems partly from the Qatar fuel surcharge, however on this route I was also stung with the significant taxes and airport charges applied when departing from Germany.

If you manage to secure the same redemption in the opposite direction (Doha to Frankfurt) the cost is still 37,500 Avios, but a much more palatable S$171 in taxes and fees.

The Qsuite

“First in Business”. That’s what Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker promised when hyping up the newest Business Class product the airline was set to launch in 2017. When it was finally revealed at the travel trade event ITB Berlin in March that year, it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Direct aisle access for all was a must, already featuring in Qatar’s newest Business Class seats.

With the Qsuites reveal we had a new era for Business Class travel. Individual suites with closing doors, double beds for couples, effective workspace for colleagues or social and dining space for families in dedicated ‘quad’ middle sections.

It was all a bit too much to be true. Had Qatar Airways finished off the need for First Class on planes for good? If Business was this standard, why did you need First?

Seat selection

I was travelling alone on this sector, as Eddie had secured a First Class ticket from Geneva on Emirates the same evening in their newest 1-1-1 fully enclosed suite product (that’s right, the one with the virtual windows). Look out for a review on that coming up soon.

Anyway back to (relative) reality – one of the first things you’ll notice when you book a flight in Qatar’s new Qsuite Business Class is that as a single passenger the seat selection appears to be quite limited. That’s because the ‘solo’ seats by the window are best designed for people travelling alone, while the airline wishes to maintain middle pairs and those elusive ‘quad’ sections for couples and larger groups.

This is actually quite a good policy, unlike the Singapore Airlines new A380 Suites where solo travellers are not directed to only occupy the single suites (3A and 3F) until they are both occupied, instead free seating in that cabin means two people travelling alone can block both ‘double suites’ from all other passengers who book subsequently – a slightly crazy concept.

The downside for solo Qsuite passengers wishing to take their chances on having a double bed or a whole ‘quad’ to themselves is that they won’t be able to break up these seat groupings in case a larger booking is made on the same flight.

The policy

First of all here’s the seat map for the Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000, all of which feature Qsuites. This is also the aircraft type that will be serving the Doha – Singapore route from 1st November 2018.

Here’s how Qatar Airways open up their Qsuite seats for advance allocation based on the number of people travelling on the same booking. Assuming you are booking on a totally empty A350-1000 flight for:

• A solo passenger: Window seats (A/B or J/K in each row). There are 22 of these seats in the Qsuite cabin on the A350-1000.
• Couples travelling together: Rear facing seats which convert to a double bed (odd-numbered E/F pairs). There are 6 opportunities for these pairs in the A350-1000. Also, forward facing seats alongside one another (even-numbered D/G pairs).
• Groups of 3 or 4 passengers travelling together: ‘Quad’ seats (odd-numbered E/F pairs followed by even-numbered D/G pairs in the row directly behind. For example 1 E/F & 2 D/G or 3 E/F & 4 D/G, etc…). There are 6 opportunities for these quads in the A350-1000.

Couples and larger groups on the same booking can also choose the A/B or J/K window seats.

Seats 1A and 2B, the first two window-aligned solo suites at the front left of the cabin, are blocked for advance selection and can only be allocated by the airport team.

If you are a couple travelling together but on two separate bookings, for example if you each made a redemption booking from your own frequent flyer account, you can call Qatar Airways if you wish to be seated in one of the couple pairs and they will override the seating allocation rules as you’ll be unable to do this online.

The same applies if you wish to combine larger groups on separate bookings into quad seats for example.

Online check in

For most airlines this is where you can usually evade the seat allocation rules and choose any unoccupied seat (for example, row 11 in the Singapore Airlines A350 Business Class cabin). That’s not the case with Qatar Airways. The same seat choice restrictions apply even at this stage.

A tool like ExpertFlyer, which allows you to view the seat map for your flight free of charge, will help you here. On my Frankfurt to Doha flight I was able to tell that the middle pair (11 E/F) was not occupied (shown as blocked on ExpertFlyer), giving me a good chance to ask the crew whether I could move across to experience the double bed once on board. I therefore stuck happily with my original selection, 11K.

Notice on ExpertFlyer how you can determine whether the middle / quad seats are occupied (solid blue) or empty / blocked (crosses). You can also see that 1A/2B cannot be selected, nor can 12B/J unless you are travelling with an infant.

Check-in

The check-in counters at Frankfurt airport for Qatar Airways are in Terminal 1 departure hall C. I arrived 3 hours before departure at 2.30pm to find no queue at the two dedicated Business Class desks, and was quickly checked in both for my flight to Doha and the second leg to Bangkok.

The seats I had pre-selected were assigned for both flights and the whole process was quick and easy. I was directed to use the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge, which is the only option in Frankfurt for Qatar Airways passengers are there are no other oneworld lounges in Terminal 1.

A Priority Pass will get you into the LuxxLounge, which looks a bit average.

I thought the Air Canada lounge in Frankfurt was great, and there’s a full review of that coming up soon. It’s also a nice alternative to the Lufthansa lounges for anyone flying on one of the three daily Singapore Airlines departures from Frankfurt.

Boarding

Boarding for Business Class passengers commenced 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

You are welcomed through the forward left door with an elegant decorative wall featuring the Qatar Airways logo.

The Qsuite seating options

The first thing to note about the Qsuite is that it features both forward facing and rear facing seats. For those of you who’ve had the misfortune of experiencing British Airways’ Club World product, allay your fears as this is quite a different proposition!

If you aren’t comfortable sitting backwards on a flight (many people aren’t and I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of the concept myself) then there’s some bad news here – over half the Qsuite seats on the A350-1000 face backwards (24 out of 46). On the 777-300ER it’s even worse for you, two-thirds of the seats in that cabin (28 out of 42) are rear facing. In the A350-900, 20 out of 36 Qsuites face backwards.

For most people it’s no issue but if it is a concern you will have to select your seat carefully when flying in this cabin. Later in this review we have a guide to help you choose. Before I get into my own seat and experience, let’s start by looking at all the seat types on the aircraft, as I managed to take some photos as I made my way to seat 11K in the rear Business Class cabin.

Rear facing window seats (A and K)

These seats are aligned closely against the window, with your storage compartment and control console / side table between the seat and the aisle.

Forward facing window seats (B and J)

These seats are more closely aligned against the aisle with your storage compartment and side table between the seat and the window.

Rear facing middle pairs (E and F)

Perfect for couples who want to take advantage of the double bed, these seats are directly alongside one another in the middle section with the stowage and side table between the seat and the aisle in both cases.

If you are seated here next to a stranger a large privacy divider provides adequate isolation from your neighbour.

Forward facing middle pairs (D and G)

Still a good option for couples, the forward facing middle pairs are similar to the forward facing window seats in that the seat is close to the aisle with the side table and stowage in the middle in both cases.

Again a privacy divider is installed in case you are not travelling with the person seated next to you.

Qsuite features

The solo window suites at the side (A/K or B/J) each have two air vents in the ceiling. If like us you appreciate these it’s important to note there are none in the middle suites (D/G or E/F). Due to the lack of overhead lockers in the middle section the ceiling is so high they would be out of reach and probably ineffective anyway.

I took a moment to sit in the vacant suite 12J behind my seat and actually I preferred it. The forward facing aspect seems much better to me. Even though the seat is closer to the aisle, privacy is maintained and the orientation and positioning of everything appeared to be more ‘natural’.

Here’s the other thing with the A and K seats – the suite access (gap when the suite door is open) is aligned with your head, meaning when the door is open, privacy from the aisle is minimal. With the forward facing B and J seats your head is cocooned away from the suite access ‘void’ while the door is open, so it feels much more private the moment you sit down, regardless of the door position.

It could be a personal thing but in future I would pick a B or J seat in this cabin flying solo over the rear facing A or K options.

Each Qsuite also has a pillow with a slogan written on it like “the sky is a wonderful place to be”, “this is my happy place” and “paint the sky, make it yours”. Presumably this helps a lot for instagram! You are encouraged to take the pillows home with you if you wish.

The seat it is 79″ long in bed mode, an inch or two longer than the latest Business Class seats on Singapore Airlines Airbus A380s or Boeing 777s. Seat width is where things start to suffer in the Qsuite – at 21.5″. Singapore Airlines’ 2013 J seat is 28″ wide and its latest 2017 J seat is 25″ wide for comparison.

Settling in

The amenity kit, pillow and blanket are already provided at your seat for your arrival. As you may notice from some of the photos above the amenity kit is only provided at occupied seats. The crew had also extended the dividers at middle pairs where people were travelling on separate bookings, but retracted them at pairs where a couple was known to be travelling together, for example at 1E/F.

That’s a nice touch and avoids any awkwardness if you’re seated in those middle pairs.

The crewmember working in my area came to explain my suite including the various controls and offered a welcome drink. A range of options was offered, on the Champagne side it was a choice of standard or rosé.

I opted for the standard brut – a Pommery non-vintage. It certainly hit the spot, perfectly chilled and obviously freshly opened. A hot towel was also offered.

The seat has a grey leather headrest and the side console and armrest are also leather, however the rest of the seat is finished in fabric. It’s a little on the firm side compared with other Business Class seats I’ve experienced, however it was still comfortable.

There were three other passengers in the 8-seat rear Business Class cabin on this flight, a single traveller in 11A and a couple who had chosen 12D/G rather than 11E/F, for whatever reason.

After takeoff the crew came round to offer another drink and take the meal order. I appreciated the service pace here – often on other airlines I find the crew rushing to take meal orders on the ground before you’ve really had time to read the menu. There’s no rush on a 6-hour daytime flight in my opinion.

Having said that it did then take a while before I received my second glass of Champagne, served with some warm nuts. First world problems!

The suite door actually can’t be closed until later in the flight on request. The cabin crew use a device to unlock the door allowing it to then move between the open and closed positions. This wasn’t immediately clear and there was a fair bit of yanking on my part before I finally decided to summon some assistance and the door was unlocked for me!

In fairness the crew may have explained this as part of the initial briefing on the suite functions but if so I didn’t register it at the time.

Presumably it is a safety function during takeoff and landing ensuring the suite door cannot be closed, as there is a possibility it can become stuck (there is an emergency release mechanism, but you wouldn’t want to be fiddling with that during an evacuation following a fire-fuelled rejected takeoff!)

Window blinds

Each window in the Qsuite cabin has an automatic window blind controlled by buttons above.

The first stage is the extension of the day blinds. After that you can press again to extend the full blackout blinds. At any position you can press a second time to stop the blinds in an intermediate position, allowing you to effectively modulate the natural light coming into the cabin.

Storage options and table

At the entrance to the A/K rear facing window seats there is a stowage compartment containing your noise-cancelling headphones, a bottle of water and the in-flight magazines. There is a handy mobile phone shelf and below that plenty of storage space for other items such as an iPad.

In the suites where the seat is aligned closer to the aisle the storage compartment is at the far side from the door, but is essentially the same design.

Closing the lid of the compartment increases the space you have to spread out, particularly useful when the seat is converted into bed mode.

Finally a button on the side allows you to extend the compartment upwards for use as an armrest. I thought this was really clever use of the console and gives you a better feeling of being ‘shielded’ from the open suite door when extended.

The half-leaf table is stowed beneath the TV screen and first extends towards you. In the folded position it can be adjusted backwards and forwards, however once it is fully opened it is in a fixed position.

Luckily the seat moves forwards and backwards using the seat controls allowing you to get in and out easily while dining (having retracted the armrest as seen above).

The table is a sturdy surface ideal for working or dining and there is plenty of space for everything.

Amenity Kit and Pyjamas

The amenity kit comes in an attractive BRICS toiletry bag. The company is a leading Italian fashion travel brand so the bag, exclusive to Qatar Airways, is a nice perk in itself.

Inside the contents are from Monte Vibiano, also an Italian brand specialising in cosmetics and wellness.

You’ll find socks, eyeshades and ear plugs alongside lip balm, facial mist and moisturiser.

Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving equipment and combs can be found in the Business Class toilets if required.

It’s a nice touch how the socks, eyeshades and ear plug container are colour-matched to the toiletry bag itself. There are a few colours to collect including brown, dark blue and pink.

Pyjamas are only provided in Business Class on overnight Qatar Airways flights. As this was a daytime service, they were not offered, however I was provided with a set of The White Company pyjamas on my next sector from Doha to Bangkok.

These are equivalent to those you would be offered flying an overnight Qsuites sector. I believe pyjamas may also be available on daytime Qsuite flights if you request them from the cabin crew, however there may not necessarily be any loaded.

I’ve always preferred to change into my own clothes to sleep on planes and this trip was no exception, however these Qatar Airways pyjamas are very good quality and look really comfy.

Toilets

Three toilets are available for the Business Class cabin on the A350-1000, two at the front and one at the left side directly ahead of seat 11A in the smaller second cabin. The passenger to toilet ratio is 15:1 at maximum cabin occupancy, which is good for Business Class.

For comparison, Singapore Airlines offers a ratio of between 13:1 and 17:1 in its long-haul Business cabins.

The toilet is reasonably sized and features a full-length mirror, dental kits and toiletries by Rituals.

Wi-Fi

The Qatar Airbus A350-1000 is Wi-Fi equipped, with a small complimentary allowance of 30 minutes (limited to 8MB) for all passengers on each flight. Thereafter access is charged based on the data volume you wish to acquire, as shown in the following table.

Data Volume	Cost (USD)
30MB	$5
100MB	$10
200MB	$20

The Wi-Fi was extremely slow and difficult to connect to for the first 45 minutes of the flight. That’s probably because all passengers are logging on to use their free 30-minute allowance, somewhat overwhelming the system. After that the speed became usable, though it was never particularly fast.

I went for the 200MB option, which was actually a waste as I didn’t even use half of it. Given that there’s no ‘discount’ as such on a per MB basis, I’d recommend going for the 100MB option first then topping up again later in the flight if you need it.

The Wi-Fi speed was slow, I tested it on three separate occasions during the flight, just after we reached cruise altitude, again around halfway to Doha and for a third time just prior to our descent. These were the speeds recorded:

• 1st test: 0.31mbps down / 0.60mbps up (ping 1,129ms)
• 2nd test: 0.33mbps down / 1.14mbps up (ping 1,084ms)
• 3rd test: 0.35mbps down / 0.86mbps up (ping 1,104ms)

In-flight entertainment

‘ORYX ONE’ is the Qatar Airways in-flight entertainment system. It’s controlled directly via the 21.5″ HD touchscreen, or optionally using the remote control.

The seat is actually very close to the screen (remember the Qsuite is not that big), so I found no need to use the remote.

Noise cancelling headphones are provided. The first set in my seat didn’t work, however the crew quickly rectified this and the replacement set functioned well.

If you run out of movies or TV shows to while away the hours you can also choose to watch a number of external camera views, a nice option during takeoff and landing never installed by Singapore Airlines for some reason.

Seat controls and positions

The seat controls are in easy reach in the side console. This also houses the TV / IFE remote, multi-standard power socket and USB charging socket and the headphone jack.

There is an NFC contactless payment reader, which is reserved for future use.

There are several pre-set positions for the seat such as a dining position, relaxing reclined position and of course the bed mode. A single press is all that is required and the seat will then move continuously to the preset position. Press a second time if you wish to stop in an intermediate position.

Of course you can also adjust some individual movements of the seat with the custom controls on the right of the panel, such as sliding the seat forwards / backwards for dining or working at the table.

Beverages

The crew distributed the food menu and a separate wine and beverage menu, shortly after boarding.

The wine and beverage menu is reproduced below (click to enlarge):

Champagne	Wine 1	Wine 2
Wine 3	Dessert Wine	Other Drinks

Here’s how the white and red wines rated through our favourite app Vivino, scored out of 5:

White

• Rodney Strong Chalk Hill, Chardonnay, USA (2015) – 3.9 stars
• Max Reserva Errazuriz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chile (2016) – 3.7 stars
• Abras Torrontes, Argentina (2016) – 3.7 stars

Red

• Chateau Cap de Mourlin, France (2007) – 3.6 stars
• M.A.N. Family Wine, Skaapveld Shiraz, South Africa (2015) – 3.4 stars
• Miolo Cuvee Giuseppe, Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Brazil (2015) – 3.9 stars

Aside from the Pommery Champagne, I sampled a couple of glasses of the M.A.N. South African Shiraz which went down very nicely, despite picking up the lowest Vivino rating among the wines offered.

Food

I noticed when logging on to my booking on the Qatar Airways website to select my seat that their Pre-Select Dining was advertised for my booking, alongside the usual special dietary requirements options.

Unfortunately this was only available on the second sector of my trip, between Doha and Bangkok on the Airbus A340-600. That wasn’t too concerning though, as I’d always had very good or excellent food on Qatar when selecting from the in-flight menu. More on that later…

It’s worth noting here that unlike in Singapore Airlines Business Class, you can’t preview the in-flight menu online prior to your flight.

Dinner was served on this evening flight to Doha, with a dine-on-demand concept allowing you to eat whenever you choose during the flight. That’s a great option for those whose body clock doesn’t match a set mealtime.

I asked to eat around 7pm Frankfurt time, 2 hours 30 minutes into the flight, which was obviously no problem.

Dinner	Beverages	Snack Platters

I wanted the Lamb Biryani which sounded great, also I’m not a fan of gnocchi and rarely choose fish on a plane as I find it tasteless at altitude.

Unfortunately by the time the crew reached the smaller rear cabin the lamb had run out. I’m not sure what the passenger in 11A selected, however I overheard the two passengers in 12 D/G also asking for the lamb and having to settle for another option.

That’s quite disappointing, a first for me on Qatar and especially frustrating given that a ‘Pre-Select Dining’ option was not available on this sector.

Indeed on my subsequent flight from Doha to Bangkok in Business Class (not Qsuite) the omelette breakfast option had also run out by the time my order was taken while still on the ground in Doha. I was in row 2 on that flight and in total there were just 9 of us in the Business cabin, a 30% load.

Qatar really needs to get its act together on simply skimping on Business Class catering. To have this happen on two consecutive flights is not acceptable. Flying 20+ sectors in Business Class each year I can’t even remember the last time this happened to me on any airline, suffice to say 100% never on SQ.

In hindsight I do in fact recall the last time this happened to me was in British Airways Club World from London to Male in 2014 when I asked for the full English breakfast before landing but was told they had run out. They then happily served the exact same selection to the BA staff passenger next to me, who had been upgraded by the cabin crew after departure. I complained in writing to British Airways but never received a response. Needless to say that was my last ever ‘Club World’ experience!

It would concern me with Qatar based on these last 2 flights with them that I may not get a full choice of food in Business Class. I would certainly recommend sitting as far forward as possible to minimise the risk of this in future, another potential advantage of the forward cabin on this plane.

Dinner service starts with an amuse-bouche. The cabin crew described it thoroughly. “It’s a prawn…”. Amused I was.

Aside from the fact I have made it look enormous courtesy of a Canon zoom lens, it was actually small as you would expect, but perfectly pleasant.

The table setup is completed with a breadbasket, butter, olive oil and individual salt and pepper grinders.

One interesting addition Qatar Airways have made in the table setup for Qsuite flights is the individual flickering candle on each table. It’s not real of course, for obvious reasons, and I imagined it would be a slightly gimmicky addition, however it did add to the ambiance and is a nice feature I think.

The hummus, tabouleh and muhammara are presented immaculately in individual dishes.

The flavours were wonderful but unfortunately the accompanying pita bread was mostly stale and very hard. One of the slices was slightly soft on one side but the other was rock solid and broke up like a biscuit.

That was disappointing but thankfully there was still plenty of bread in the basket to use instead.

Again full marks for presentation, however my worst fears were realised as I found the fish chewy and tasteless. The tartar sauce wasn’t really to my taste either. The saffron mashed potato was good though.

I would have gone with the crêpe for dessert, however the crew came and immediately cleared my table without even offering it. No sooner had I thought about asking they had whisked everything away and vanished back into the galley. They certainly seemed more keen to finish the service than to offer any more.

Obviously I could have then been difficult and then asked for a dessert, however I decided the moment had gone.

Bed

Each Qsuite extends into a 79″ flat-bed. Although the seat is narrow at 21.5″, the armrests on either side retract increasing the bed width slightly especially around the shoulder area.

The bed itself does narrow somewhat at the foot end. A comfy mattress pad is provided. This is vital as the seat is rather firm otherwise, so if you’re making up the bed yourself which is easy to do with a single touch control, don’t forget to ask the crew for a mattress otherwise you may find it too firm.

Easier still if you ask the crew to help you make up the bed they will use a mattress pad automatically.

Double bed

Since seats 11E and 11F were not occupied I asked the crew if it was possible to make up the double bed in the middle. One of the senior crewmembers was clearly excited by the prospect to show off the product and came to assist.

For those of you wondering about the gap between the two seats where the divider has been retracted, the crew place a ‘filler’ mattress in that area meaning a true flat double bed is achieved. If you are travelling alone and can move into one of these double seats there is literally stacks of room to stretch out however you wish.

The double bed is very spacious and comfortable, again this is assisted by the mattress pads. With the suite doors closed the feeling of private space is of course fantastic, with twice as much room as you get at the window suites.

At the foot end of course the double bed separates into the two foot wells though this is a minor unavoidable issue of the design.

Notice the pillow covers, which are provided for the silk cushions provided at each seat. This makes them much more comfortable to sleep on.

Seat recommendations

There are a couple of downsides to the small two-row rear Business Class cabin where I sat on the Qatar Airbus A350-1000.

Firstly there’s the obvious proximity to the bassinet positions in Business Class itself (seats 11B and 11J). Then there are the bassinet positions in row 16 directly behind, the first row of the Economy cabin. There was absolutely no disturbance on my flight, however it’s worth bearing in mind.

Secondly the issue is privacy as the suite doors themselves at the window seats are closely aligned with the suite doors in the middle seats. That means for periods where the doors must be open, such as during takeoff and landing, you are looking into your neighbours suite and vice-versa.

This is not the case in the larger forward Business Class cabin, where the suite doors in the middle seats almost perfectly alternate with those at the window seats, meaning when you open your suite door you are facing the fixed wall of the suite alongside you. When all the suite doors are open it still therefore feels very private.

Ironically the opposite is true if you’re flying the Qsuite on the Boeing 777-300ER (such as on the Bangkok – Doha route). Here the window and middle suite doors are almost perfectly aligned in the forward cabin section of 6 rows, so privacy is actually better in the rear cabin section of 5 rows on that aircraft as the suite door positions alternate back there. It’s a minor aspect but worth bearing in mind.

How to redeem Qsuite award seats

Besides their own frequent flyer scheme, Qatar Airways is a oneworld member airline which therefore allows you to redeem frequent flyer miles from any other oneworld airline account to fly Qsuites provided there is sufficient availability.

Qatar Privilege Club itself was devalued by stealth in May this year and now represents a relatively poor value way to redeem these seats compared with many other schemes.

I used British Airways Avios to secure this redemption from Frankfurt to Doha, relatively good value at 37,500 points for a 6-hour flight (or a slightly longer 6 hours 35 minutes in the other direction for the same rate).

Avios uses a distance-based chart for partner and oneworld redemption rates and this particular routing exploits the ‘edge’ of their zone 4 (2,001 – 3,000 miles). Frankfurt to Doha is 2,853 miles. Once you exceed that and move into zone 5 (3,001 – 4,000 miles) the rate shoots up to 60,000 points. That would apply for example between Doha and Paris or London.

Other oneworld schemes don’t work that way however. American Airlines AAdvantage miles works on a region-to-region rate for oneworld redemptions. Here you’ll pay 42,500 miles in Qsuites whether you fly from Doha to Frankfurt or Doha to London, as you’re simply paying the ‘Middle East’ to ‘Europe’ zone pricing, in a similar fashion to KrisFlyer’s Star Alliance award table.

Which scheme is best is therefore based on the kind of miles you intend to use (or can easily transfer into, from your credit card points for example), and the zone / distance banding of your proposed routing.

Remember that Qatar make award seats available on a city-pair basis rather than sector-by-sector. For example you may be able to find a Business Class redemption award seat from Frankfurt to Bangkok via Doha, but not from Doha to Bangkok in isolation on the same second flight.

Here are the ‘simple’ redemption rates for a Singapore to Doha flight, though it gets more complex if you extend your journey into Europe or the USA for example due to the reasons above.

Qatar Qsuites redemption Singapore-Doha
FFP used	Business
	67,500
	50,000
	60,000
	65,000
	40,000

Which Qatar planes have Qsuite Business Class?

At the time of writing (30th September 2018), 25 Qatar Airways aircraft are fitted with the new Qsuite product:

• 4 out of 30 A350-900s (13%)
• 4 out of 4 A350-1000s (100%)
• 1 out of 9 777-200LRs (11%)
• 16 out of 48 777-300ERs (33%)

No narrow body aircraft in the Qatar fleet (A320 family) have the Qsuite, and it is not currently fitted on any A330, A340, A380 or 787 aircraft.

The A380s and 787s are planned to receive the Qsuite, however it will have to be a modified version as the current design does not fit in the narrower cabins of those aircraft (for the A380 that refers to upper deck cabin width).

The aircraft most relevant to our readers in Singapore is the Airbus A350-1000, more of which are set for delivery this year and all of which feature Qsuite Business Class, as these planes will be progressively used to fly between Singapore and Doha from November 2018. See our article with the details if you want to secure a Qsuite flight.

There is also a 777-300ER in Qsuites configuration flying daily between Bangkok and Doha until at least March 2019.

There are now around 20 cities linked with Doha each day by at least one Qsuite configured aircraft and for the upcoming winter season there are at least four cities exclusively served by the Qsuite – Frankfurt, Washington, Canberra (via Sydney) and Shanghai.

Do be aware that last-minute aircraft substitution can always occur and you are not guaranteed to be on a Qsuite aircraft on any flight (though if you are flying on an A350-1000 it will definitely have Qsuites).

Does it “feel like First Class”?

Brian Kelly of The Points Guy, who has extensive experience of First and Business Class seats across the world, made this claim at the Qsuite launch in March last year. It’s certainly what Qatar intended with their “First in Business” promise.

I actually wouldn’t go that far. Qsuite is a fantastic and revolutionary product, however it’s much smaller than a First Class seat or suite and the soft product on my flight didn’t come anywhere close to that you’d expect flying First.

Excluding the new Singapore Airlines Suites product, which is insanely big, I’ve been lucky enough to fly other ‘regular’ First Class seats this year on a Cathay Pacific 777, a British Airways 747 and a Singapore Airlines 777. The Qsuite doesn’t come close to the space offered in any of those products. “First in Business” is a nice tagline, but don’t take it literally.

The hard product is superb, Qatar’s Qsuite pioneered the individual suite with a closing door in Business Class. That exclusivity didn’t last however. Delta started to fly the ‘Delta One Suite’ on their A350 aircraft four months after the Qsuite entered service, and it now also appears on at least one of their retrofitted 777 aircraft too.

We also understand that Turkish Airlines has selected the Thompson Aero Vantage XL seat in a 1-2-1 configuration as its new Business Class product on their upcoming 787 and A350 aircraft, with closing doors installed (possibly the Vantage XL Suite, as used by Delta).

If that’s the case the ‘Business Suite’ certainly seems to be becoming the new norm into the next decade.

Concluding thoughts

For privacy you really can’t beat the Qsuite. The closing doors provide a truly secluded experience if that’s what you want when you fly.

The suite isn’t big however. Qatar Airways has cleverly incorporated a suite in a Business Class seat floor space and I’d go as far to say that some may even find it rather claustrophobic with the high walls. Others of course will find it the perfect sanctuary and personally I was fine with it.

The whole food situation was unfortunately a bit of a disaster from start to finish and left me wishing I’d eaten more in the lounge in Frankfurt. Though I did genuinely try to make the best of a bad situation, the fish I didn’t want was bad. The mezze starter was wonderful but accompanied by hard stale pita bread. Dessert wasn’t even offered, the crew seemed more keen to clear the table.

The wines on the other hand were good and the IFE system is excellent, though the Wi-Fi was slow almost throughout the flight.

Overall I found the service a little disinterested. Asking for anything felt like a bit of an inconvenience, which is a shame because it sets the tone for the whole journey.

Summary

In summary I loved the Qsuite. It’s a genius design with exceptional privacy and finished to a high standard.

In fact I wish Singapore Airlines had it. And that’s the problem. The soft product on Qatar Airways did not live up to the physically excellent Qsuite, and that spoils the overall experience. I want Singapore Airlines to have it, only because the Singapore Airlines service is so consistently good.

Service and food was not on a par with what SIA are offering in Business Class, however the seat steals the show here with ultimate privacy, good options for couples and families and a comfortable spacious bed. For that reason I would definitely fly the Qsuite again.

For the cabin crew service, I may have been unlucky. The crew on my next flight from Doha to Bangkok were excellent in comparison. The food situation was just as bad though, with my preference of main course already finished by the time they got to me for a second flight in a row. That’s either enormously unlucky, or more likely Qatar is cost cutting in this area, which is disappointing.

Compared to other Business Class offerings, for the food and the service – 3 out of 5, for the seat – 5 out of 5. Hence our overall Qsuites score.

Review Summary
Review:	Qatar Airways A350-1000 Qsuite Business Class
Summary:	The Qsuite is a genius design with exceptional privacy, finished to a high standard. Our flight was only let down by the food and service.
Author:	Andrew
Date:	September 2018
Among Business Class flights:
Rating:	4 out of 5

(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)