When I first planned this round-the-world trip nearly 6 years ago, the cornerstone of the plan involved flying Qatar’s QSuites. That didn’t happen, but I did still get to check out Qatar’s Business Class for the first time. Qatar Airways B777-300ER Business Class certainly isn’t QSuites, though you still get a comfortable long-haul ride. However, I found the experience a letdown in several other aspects.
I used 110,000 Qatar Privilege Club Avios plus HKD 1,742 (~$225) for this ticket. To obtain the Avios, I used the “backdoor” method by first transferring to my British Airways Executive Club account, then transferring to Privilege Club. I had 56,000 orphaned BA Avios from a canceled redemption. So I topped up with an Amex transfer and then moved everything over. Note that this redemption got me not to Doha, but to Abu Dhabi. You’ll get why I did that in my next post.
Note: this is part of my trip report series covering my around-the-world trip to Taiwan in January, 2024. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
Qatar Airways (QR) Flight 817
- Sunday, January 28, 2024
- Depart: Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), Terminal 1, Gate 35, 18:50, on-time
- Arrive: Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH), remote stand, 23:32, 32m late
- Duration: 9 hours 42 minutes
- Seat: 12A
- Equipment: Boeing 777-300ER (7D3)
Note that Qatar has a truly dizzying array of 77Ws in its fleet, with 6 different configurations. The configuration covered in this review is the “Qatar Pacific” variant (7D3), featuring 53 business class seats. Qatar leased 77Ws from Cathay during the pandemic, and still has several in service.
Check-In and Boarding
Not much to report here. I headed to the gate just a few minutes before scheduled boarding time. Boarding began as scheduled at 18:05, and I soon headed on board and to my seat in 12A.
Qatar Airways B777-300ER Business Class – Seating and Interior
The Qatar Pacific planes feature 53 Saffran Cirrus II business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. How do you end up with 53 seats? Row 15 features one stand-alone seat on the “A” side of the aisle. If you end up on this plane, remember that there is a separate mini-cabin of 8 seats comprising rows 11 and 12. Regardless of where you sit, the seats feature Qatar’s familiar grey/burgundy color scheme, with White Company bedding.
The mini-cabin really does provide a cozier feel with only 7 other passengers around you. On the other hand, you’re in close proximity to both the galley and the lavatories. If you’re a light sleeper, consider whether the noise might bother you. (I sleep quite soundly on planes, so it didn’t bother me any.)
I will say that I didn’t love the design of the seat layout. If you value privacy, the window seats aren’t great, as they angle towards the window and are exposed to the aisle. Personally, I don’t really care about that too much. What DID annoy me a little was how far removed you are from the window. You have to lean forward quite a bit to see out. Meanwhile, in the center seats, you’re still too far removed from your neighbor to easily converse. This illustrates why I’ve never been a huge fan of reverse herringbone configurations when traveling with others.
Before getting settled, I did sneak up to the First Class cabin to take a quick peek. On this ex-Cathay aircraft, Qatar does still offer 6 seats of First in a 1-1-1 configuration. I couldn’t find award availability in First on this flight, so I’ll just have to try again some other time. Needless to say, this older setup is rather outdated in the First Class arms race. But at least they still offer it.
Anyway, back to my seat in the second cabin. These seats measure 20″ wide and fold into a 79″ long bed. On first impression, the seats seemed tighter than other Business Class seats. I don’t think they actually were, but it felt that way. I think it has to do with the location of the storage area on the bottom left of the seat, which juts into your leg space.
Seat controls are on a fixed panel on the seat shell. I found these easy enough to use, similar to the power seat controls in a car.
Once the mood lighting comes on, the cabin looks quite nice in dark mode. I also took a quick look at the larger business class cabin behind the lavatories and galley.
As mentioned earlier, Qatar provides bedding from The White Company, consisting of two pillows and a duvet. I found the setup quite comfortable, especially the larger pillow. Each passenger also receives a pair of White Company pajamas.
Also waiting at each seat was a “Diptyque” amenity kit. I don’t really get excited about amenity kits, but I did find this one disappointing. It was just a box filled with eyeshades, lotion, lip balm, face cream, and eau de toilette. The products themselves were high quality. But for an airline that pushes its premium reputation, the presentation felt underwhelming.
Although the amenity kit doesn’t include a toothbrush or toothpaste, Qatar does stock its lavatories with an abundant supply. Also mixed in were some shaving kits.
When it comes to seat storage, the window seats feature an oversized storage area next to the window. There’s plenty of space to hold a laptop while you’re eating. If you’re sitting in one of the middle seats, though, the storage area is MUCH smaller, as you can see in the photo towards the top.
Then, at the bottom of the seat is an oversized literature holder. It’s plenty large enough to hold a small purse or briefcase. There’s even an additional small pocket to store a phone or wallet.
Finally, next to the seat/IFE controller is a compartment that holds a bottle of water and headphones.
Once it’s time for sleep, the seat converts into a 78″ flat bed. You can ask the flight attendant to make the bed and provide a mattress pad. Interestingly, the seat actually feels less constricted in bed mode, where the literature pocket doesn’t get in the way.
As far as the seat goes, this is a very solid product. I found it comfortable in relaxing mode, but especially so in bed mode. I slept solidly for nearly 6 hours.
Inflight Entertainment
The Qatar Pacific 77W features a 16″ flat screen TV. Although it isn’t the most cutting edge – compare it to Virgin Atlantic’s giant HD screen on the A339 – it’s still a good product and offers excellent resolution.
The Oryx One IFE system is, simply put, incredibly extensive. Does it compare to Emirates’ vaunted ICE system? I don’t know, but there’s more than enough to keep you occupied, even on the longest flights. To start with, Oryx One includes a wide selection of movies in a variety of languages and genres.
Given Qatar’s extensive network to India, Indian regional language films are also available. (Something I’m sure my mother is looking forward to on our upcoming trip to India.)
Dont like movies? There’s also literally hundreds of TV shows and series to choose from.
As an aside, one of the choices included the Smithsonian Channel. One of the series available if you select it? Air Disasters. Kind of like the scene in Airplane where a plane crash documentary is playing on the overhead screen…
Anyway, there’s also plenty to keep the kids occupied, from movies to games. The game selection was the one thing I found mediocre. There’s not very many, and you’d figure they’d at least have the golf simulator.
Qatar also offers reasonably priced WiFi, at $10 per flight. I did connect for a little bit, and found speeds reasonably fast, at least for basic browsing and social media.
And of course, if you just want to AvGeek yourself out, there’s a good quality moving map to watch.
Qatar provides generic noise-cancelling headphones to all Business Class passengers. These were fine; not the fanciest, but I found the sound quality decent.
Overall, IFE definitely rates as a strong suit in Qatar’s Business Class. You won’t get bored, between the massive IFE selection and reasonably priced WiFi.
Qatar Airways B777-300ER Business Class – Food & Beverage
Qatar Airways generally ranks very high in the hype department when it comes to food and beverage. Matthew over at Live and Let’s Fly raved about the food service in his review, and many other reviews have echoed similar sentiments. Unfortunately, it didn’t measure up on this flight.
Shortly after boarding, the FA handed out menus for dinner service. Interestingly enough, despite a scheduled 9 1/2 hour flight time, Qatar offers only one meal service on this route. That seems kind of light to me, though you can order additional light snacks at any time. Qatar does offer extensive mocktail and coffee/tea selections, which is a nice touch.
The Business Class wine selection is likewise quite robust. Things start out with two quality champagnes, Duval-Leroy Prestige Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru and Laurent-Perrier Grand Cuvée Alexandra Rosé 2007. The Laurent-Perrier is particularly pricey; a brief search returned retail prices of $200+ a bottle.
Most of the selections on the wine list, meanwhile, are reasonably priced but pretty highly rated.
Finally, I perused the selection of spirits and cocktails. The spirits selection is rather limited if you care about that kind of thing.
Shortly after boarding, the FA offered a pre-departure beverage choice of water, lemon mint juice, or champagne. I went with the champagne to give the Laurent-Perrier a try. Well, and to check off the obligatory champagne selfie.
Meal service began about 30 minutes after takeoff, with mixed nuts and a choice of beverage. I started off with an Old Fashioned (a pretty good one at that).
The main meal service then began about 20 minutes later. Technically, Qatar offers “dine on demand”, so you can ask for your meal whenever you want it. However, I went ahead and took the meal right away so I could get some sleep. I passed on the soup, and ordered the seared scallops instead. Somehow, I missed taking a photo of the scallops, but I did get the fennel puree. The appetizer came with Qatar’s signature three-in-one bread roll.
I’ll start by saying the meal presentation is certainly first-rate. I concur with Matthew that the fake candle, salt and pepper mills, and high-quality china and flatware provide a premium experience that most airlines don’t match. As for the food itself, the scallops were fine, but the bread tasted burnt.
For the main course, I ordered the ravioli.
Once again, the presentation looked good, but the dish itself disappointed. The ravioli was hard and crunchy at the edges, and I found the cream sauce quite bland. One positive from the meal was the wine I ordered, the red Bordeaux. It has a dark body, but drinks fairly light with balanced dark fruit flavors. Really quite good for airplane wine.
For dessert, I decided to keep it simple and go with the ice cream. It’s hard to go wrong with ice cream, and it was fine. I then capped things off with a Bailey’s.
Overall, I came away disappointed. Based on the hype, I expected the gold standard in airplane cuisine (granted, that’s sort of damning with faint praise). But while the drink selection lived up to expectations, the food didn’t. I found the selection rather limited, and the quality wasn’t up to snuff. I’m hoping it was just an aberration. I’ll find out soon enough when we fly QSuites to India in July.
Shortly before landing, the FA handed out small boxes of Läderach truffles. These were quite tasty, for what it’s worth.
As much as the food disappointed, I found service top-notch as you’d expect. The FA serving our section of Business Class was kind and proactive. It didn’t take long after waking up from my extended nap for her to come by and ask if I needed anything.
Flightseeing
This flight operated in darkness from start to finish, so there was no flightseeing. But I did grab a nice shot of our plane after arriving in Doha.
As an aside – it’s really quite annoying how many flights at DOH still use remote stands, even with the new terminal. Transit security from remote stands remains the disorganized scrum it was 11 years ago.
Qatar Airways B777-300ER – Final Thoughts
There was a lot to like about this flight, with the excellent seat and service you expect from Qatar Airways. This “Qatar Pacific” configuration also provided the added benefit of a secluded mini-cabin. It’s too bad the food situation was so mediocre, though. Judging by other reviews, I’m chalking it up to a bad one-off. We’ll see how things stack up in QSuites later this summer.
