The Qatar Airways A380 is currently the only aircraft where passengers can experience the airline’s three cabin classes- First, Business and Economy. All other aircraft types in the fleet only operate Business Class and not First, so many passengers specifically book this flight to experience the First Class product. From 1st July 2015 Qatar Airways introduced a second A380 on the London Heathrow-Doha route, replacing the A330 which previously operated this sector.
Recently we had the opportunity to test out the Business Class on flight QR 003 on the Doha-London route, which departs at 07:45am, touching down at Heathrow around 13:15pm.
The Cabin
The Business Class cabin is located on the upper deck of the aircraft behind First Class, so you board from the upper level at the gate. The 48 seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, offering direct aisle access at all seats. If you’re travelling on your own you’ll most likely want one of the window seats but if you’re flying with a companion, it’s nice to have the middle seats so you can easily chat with one another.
Qatar Airways is one of a few airlines that has an onboard bar on the A380 for the use of guests flying in both First and Business. On this particular flight the bar was actually quite empty for most of the flight, although I was informed by a member of the cabin crew that it can get rather rowdy on afternoon/evening journeys.
With two hours to go on my journey, I stepped back there to stretch my legs and enjoy a ‘Purple Skies’ cocktail. Since it was Ramadan the bottles of alcohol weren’t on display, so passengers had to specifically request any alcoholic beverages. Located at the back of the Business Class cabin behind a dividing wall, the bar feels rather exclusive and separate from the rest of the cabin, so you’re not disturbing anyone. The leather sofas, curved bar, chandelier and fresh flowers make you feel like you’re having a drink on a private jet and not a commercial airline.
After a cocktail or two I switched to a glass of rose champagne, helped myself to some bar nuts and got chatting to my fellow passengers as the bar filled up. The staff behind the bar were incredibly friendly, even posing for photos with excited Business Class guests.
The Seat
I was seated in seat 15E- a middle seat. The seats measure 22.2 inches between the armrests and convert into horizontal, fully flat beds measuring 80 inches long and 30 inches wide. All the seats have direct aisle access and are arranged at a diagonal angle to create more space in the cabin.
In general the seat area feels quite compact and cocooned compared to the A380 seats on Singapore Airlines for example, although Qatar Airways has made good use of the space.
To the left of my seat was a little storage compartment in the armrest containing my noise-cancelling headphones and a bottle of water. On the floor to the left of my feet there was a little drawer for shoes, housed in the shell of the seat in front.
Parallel to my right shoulder there was a large flat table surface where I kept my laptop, amenity kit and headphones to hand during the flight. The side console featured a USB port and a plug socket for charging my electronics, as well as a small storage compartment big enough to hold a DSLR camera and a few bits and bobs. Sadly it wasn’t large enough to fit my 15” Macbook Pro.
The seat controls are located next to the side table, although I did struggle to understand which button adjusted which feature of the seat. When it was time for bed I simply pressed the ‘bed’ button and it folded out to meet the ottoman, creating a fully flat sleeping surface. If you’d like the turndown service, you can call a flight attendant and they will lay down a special blanket on the seat to make you feel more comfortable.
After my meal service, I managed to get a solid 3 hours sleep with no problem at all.
Dining
The tray table slides out from beneath the personal TV and still allows you to get in and out of your seat while dining. It’s not the largest dining table I’ve seen but it’s still enough space to dine or work comfortably.
Prior to take-off I was offered a hot or cold towel service and a non-alcoholic beverage. You are allowed champagne but you just have to request it- something I only discovered on the journey home. The rosé Champagne is really rather good and seems to be a firm favourite with Business Class passengers.
On Qatar Airways you can dine on-demand, so you can request a meal from the a la carte menu at any time during the flight. I had my meal as soon as we were up in the air but I could have chosen to work or sleep, then order something late in the journey. Since this was a morning flight the options were limited to breakfast and light options, so I had the fruit platter, followed by some ravioli pasta and Laudurée desserts.
Later on in the flight I was feeling peckish so grazed on the smoked chicken salad. While the food is very tasty and fresh, the selection of meals is quite limited compared to other airlines, with only around three main meal options.
Inflight Entertainment
The IFE system features a large 17-inch screen, which feels like you’re in your own private cinema. What’s unique about this system is that both the handset and the main screen are touch screen, so you can choose to watch a movie and then play games on your handset at the same time. One thing I would point out though is that the handset can be quite temperamental and isn’t as responsive as it should be. It just didn’t seem to do what I needed it to do. Overall though there was a good selection of movies, new releases, TV shows, music and games.
First Class
Just before take-off I was invited to the front of the upper deck to have a glimpse at the First Class cabin and I liked what I saw. The seats are ultra-wide, with central and aisle-dividers, which can be raised or lowered to create a feeling of spaciousness or privacy.
The highlight is the bathrooms, which look like those of a 5-star hotel. With a long leather seat and red flowers, they certainly don’t look anything like your usual onboard toilets.
The Verdict
For passengers the A380 is always quite a novelty because of the double decker layout and the onboard bar. Landing at Heathrow, I only wished I had more time to relax in the bar and enjoy the usual perks of Business Class. Qatar Airways’ A380 Business Class may not be as extravagant as the likes of Emirates or Singapore Airlines, but it has a certain simplistic sophistication and has been well thought out to meet the needs of the modern business traveller.
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