Qatar Airways Business Class Review SFO-DOH

We flew Qatar Business Class Qsuites with miles on our trip to the Maldives. We had wanted to review Qatar Airways Qsuites for several years and were excited to finally have the opportunity. Our Qatar Airways Business Class Review from San Francisco to Doha on flight QR 738 covers all the details on this exceptional flight. The 15 hour flight flew by in the comfort of the best business class product in the sky. Not only did the cabin crew impress us with impeccable service, but the ability to fly facing each other as a family of four made for an especially memorable experience. Flying Qatar Qsuites had been on our bucket list for awhile, so we were happy to experience it as a family. Read our Qatar Airway Business Class review for what to expect flying in Qsuites on the Airbus A350-1000 from SFO to DOH.

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Business Class Qatar Airways Review- WTA Score

**Our WTA score represents our own views based on our personal experience with the entity being reviewed.

Qatar Airways QSuites

How to Book Qatar Airways Qsuites with American Airline miles

We booked our Qsuites with 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles per person for the one-way from SFO to DOH, which is one of AA’s sweet spots for redemptions. We ended up flying from San Francisco instead of Washington D.C. because we couldn’t find availability for 4 people using miles in Qsuites for the dates we needed except out of SFO. We had planned to visit friends in Los Angeles anyway so it worked out to combine the two vacations into one, and just take a quick positioning flight from LAX to SFO with our Southwest Rapid Rewards points and Companion Passes.

Qsuites can be booked for 70,000 each way from the U.S. to the Maldives, which is a bargain for a business class cabin that looks and feels like a first class cabin. Taxes and fees are reasonable when booking with American Airline AAdvantage miles since American Airlines does not charge fuel surcharges on Qatar Airways flights. We paid $7.65 in taxes and fees for the one-way SFO-DOH flight per person, while we’ve seen SFO-MLE costing as low as $15-20 in taxes and fees. For a flight that would have cost $23,893 for our family of four, we were very happy with our redemption.

If you don’t have a stash of American Airline miles, you could open any of the AAdvantage credit cards offered by Citi (click on Citi on our favorite travel reward credit cards) to start earning American AAdvantage miles without flying. If you have a small business you could open both a personal and a business card to earn two sign-up bonuses. Another great option is the Barclay’s AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard which earns a nice stash of miles after making your first purchase with the card, which could be as small as a pack of gum.

**All information about Barclay’s AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard has been collected independently by World Travel Adventurers. Barclay’s AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard is not available through World Travel Adventurers affiliate network.

Check In Qatar Airways Business Class

The check in process went smoothly at SFO. There is a separate business class counter and fortunately we didn’t have to wait in line long. We checked our luggage and received our boarding passes and information about lounge access. The baggage allowance for Qatar Airways business class may vary depending on the route, and this information is provided with each ticket.

Lounge Access at SFO

We enjoyed lounge access at SFO before our flight. Qatar business class passengers have access to the Air France KLM Lounge, which had light food and drinks. The buffet offered sandwiches, salad, fruit, soup, cheese, charcuterie, yogurt parfaits, and brownies. Drink selections included hot tea, coffee, water, soda, beer, wine, champagne, and an assortment of liquor.

We enjoyed a snack before our flight, but didn’t want to spoil our appetite for the much better food options that we would be served on Qatar Airways business class. This lounge, while it was a comfortable place to relax pre-flight, paled in comparison to the Al Mourjan lounge in Doha for Qatar Airways business class passengers.

Qatar Airways A350 Business Class Welcome

We received an incredibly warm welcome to our Qsuites, perhaps the best welcome we’re ever received on a business class flight. Staff greeted us by name, showed us to our seats, and introduced themselves to our family. They thanked us multiple times for choosing to fly with Qatar Airways. The cabin crew showed the kids how to operate the different functions in their suites and asked us to let them know if we needed anything. We were impressed by how kind they were toward our children, helping them figure out how to work the inflight entertainment system and privacy doors.

They offered us welcome drinks right away. We opted for sparkling rosé champagne by Charles Heidsieck. The other option was Lallier champagne or a mint lemon drink, which we also tried. We enjoyed our champagne, served in glass champagne flutes, as we settled into our suites.

Qatar Business Class Amenities

While enjoying our welcome drinks, our cabin crew brought us our inflight amenities. We all received slippers and cotton pajamas by The White Company, which were made exclusively for Qatar Airways. They didn’t have any kid sizes but they gave us a size small for the kids, so now we all have matching Qatar Airways pajamas.

 

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A plush blanket, pillow, and amenity kits were already waiting in our seats. The Qatar Airways business class amenity kits by Bric’s included an eye mask, socks, Castello Monte Vibiano Vechio City Cream anti-aging moisturizer, hydrating facial mist, lip balm, and ear plugs. The kits came in beige faux leather bags for women, and black bags for men. Each kit had the same amenities inside.

We also had a bottle of water and Oryx One headphones in the storage compartment waiting for us. The kids received children’s kits in a cute bag with some activities to keep them entertained during the flight. They are always excited when they get a special gift during a flight.

Qatar Airways Business Class Seats- Qsuites

The Qatar A350 Business Class Qsuite cabin is perfectly arranged to allow for the “most private business class in the sky” according to Qatar Airways. We would have to agree. The A350-1000 Business Class is comprised of 46 Qsuites, split up into a larger and smaller cabin. Qsuites are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration with some rows facing forward and some facing backwards. Regardless of which seat you choose you’ll have direct aisle access, which makes trips to the bathroom so much easier.

Each suite has a door that closes off the suite from the aisle and there’s even a “Do not disturb” button. There are partitions to give privacy from the neighboring seats, but we never used those since we wanted to be able to interact with each other throughout the flight.

The most impressive feature of the Qsuites cabin is the quad configuration. Our 4 seats faced each other, allowing us to talk and interact easily throughout the flight. We purposefully selected seats 5D, 5G, 6D, and 6G so that we would have this configuration. There are privacy walls that can be extended if you are not traveling with someone you know, or if you don’t want to interact anymore with your travel companions.

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Seats 5D and 5G form a double bed when the seats are reclined to the lie-flat position. Seats 6D and 6G are separated by a console area, so choose your seats wisely if you want to sleep side by side with your travel companion.

This was our best flight experience as a family since we flew Japan Airlines First Class from NYC to Tokyo. Qsuites are widely regarded as the best business class available. Qsuites were recognized as the World’s Best Business Class by the 2021 Skytrax World Airline Awards. They are so private and luxurious that most people assume they are first class instead of business class. Honestly, it felt like first class considering how attentive the cabin crew were, the ability to dine on demand, and the comfort of the suites.

The seats are 21.5″ wide and 79″ long when in the lie-flat position, which was long enough even for 6’6 Bertaut to be comfortable. The suites have cozy spacious chairs, ample storage space, and an all-access power port with USB, HDMI, and NFC capabilities. There is ambient lighting and soothing colors of maroon and grey. The cabin has an elegant and calming ambience.

Qatar Airways Business Class Menu

The Qatar Business Class menu and inflight dining were a highlight of our experience. Our flight left SFO at 4pm so our first meal was dinner. Guests in Qsuites are able to dine at any time in any order from the a la carte menu, which offers both international cuisine and Arabic cuisine. We personally love Arabic food and were excited to try it onboard.

The Business Class Qatar Airways menu included a soup of the day, which was a delicious carrot ginger soup for our flight. It was served so steaming hot that I burned my throat with the first spoonful. It was so good that I waited for it to cool down and enjoyed every last bite. It was served with fresh garlic bread and toasted bread.

We ordered a selection of tapas for our appetizer course which included bocconcini basil, petit Mediterranean salad and feta cheese mousse. The other option was Dungeness crab meat with mango and avocado salad. We found the appetizers full of flavor and liked the presentation.

For my main I ordered the gulf style chicken biryani, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Bertaut ordered the lobster thermidor with crushed saffron potato, which he equally loved. Our kids ordered hamburgers but didn’t end up eating them because they said they were spicy. They came with Thousand Island sauce so we should have asked for them with no sauce. The flight crew also offered a selection of artisan bread and olive oils. We ended our meal with hazelnut cream with berries ragout for dessert, which was a fantastic ending to an excellent meal.

There were light snacks on the menu including crisps, popcorn, chocolates, and cookies, which our kids loved of course. It’s always nice to be able to grab a quick snack if you wake up hungry but don’t want a full meal yet.

There ware other light options on the menu that we didn’t have the chance to try, including seafood ciopinno with sundried tomato. I wish I had tried the afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones and clotted cream, and French pastries. The was also a cheese plate served with grainex, lavish, and assorted accompaniments.

Breakfast included orange juice, mixed smoothies, fresh fruit, greek yogurt with mixed berry compote and granola, and cereal. The main dishes included a cheese omelette with grilled chicken sausage, buttermilk pancakes with cream, berries and syrup, and saffron puma with vegetable uttapam, idii and sambar. I ordered the last option while Bertaut opted for an omelette. Our kids decided on pancakes. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and we all agreed that the food was fantastic on the entire flight.

We also appreciated the elegant presentation of the food, with real glassware and porcelain dishes. Some airlines are serving in plastic cups and dishes during the pandemic, which detracts from the overall experience. Qatar elevates service with beautifully plated meals served on white china with white tablecloths laid over the table.

Qatar Air Business Class Inflight drink menu

In case you’re wondering “Does Qatar Airways serve alcohol?”, the answer is yes. Unlike some Middle Eastern airlines,  Qatar Airways does serve alcoholic drinks. We were actually surprised by the variety of alcohol on Qatar Airways. The inflight drink menu was robust with many non-alcoholic drinks, several wine options, 2 varieties of champagne, cocktails, and mocktails.

Non-alcoholic drinks included a sparkling pink bubbly drink made from grapes. There were 5 mocktails including a pineapple margarita, orangeade, pineapple punch, apple cooler, and spiced tomato juice. Juices included apple, cranberry, mango, orange, pineapple, and tomato. The soda selection included Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Miranda Orange, 7Up, 7UP Free, and Ginger Ale. They offered tonic water, still water, and sparking water.

They had a huge selection of teas and coffee, both hot and iced. Iced teas including mint tea, lemon tea, and chai latte. Coffee selections included Americano, cappuccino, latte, and macchiato- all either regular or decaf, served hot or iced. TWG hot tea came in 10 different flavors in addition to saffron or cardamom karak chai. Hot chocolate was also available, which our son appreciated.

The champagne on offer was Lallier Grande Réserve or Charles Heidseick Rosé Réserve. We started our flight with the rosé which we enjoyed. The wine selection included Jean-Marc Brocard Chardonnay, Mohua Sauvignon Blanc, Oro de Castilla Verdejo de Rueda 2018, Couvent des Jacobins Bordeaux, Chateau Ste Michelle Syrah, Albert Bichot Beaujolais, Sensi dessert wine, and Graham’s Port. I tried the sauvignon blanc and dessert wine and enjoyed them with my meal.

Spirits included Giendfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, Chivas Regal Whiskey, Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin, Bacardi Añejo Cuatro, Bacardi Carta Blanca White Rum, Campari, and Martini Extra Dry Vermouth. They offered Stella Artois, Leffe, and Budweiser beer. Cognac and Liquers included Frapin XO VIP, Baileys Original Irish cream, Grand Mariner, and Drambuie. They also served cocktails including a Champagne cocktail, Mimosa, Cuba Libre, Whiskey or Brandy Sour, Old Fashioned, Screwdriver, Pink Gin, and Dry Martini.

We went easy on the alcohol since we wanted to make sure we didn’t get dehydrated on the 15 hour flight. Plus, since we were traveling with our kids we didn’t want to go crazy with drinks. However, we were thoroughly impressed with the drink menu and wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Qatar Airways Entertainment

We enjoyed a generous selection of inflight entertainment in Qatar Business Class, with over 4,000 options. There are new release movies, TV shows, audio options, and games. Our kids loved watching movies and playing games while we watched Hollywood hit movies. There’s an option to pair your device to the IFE, which is really cool if you have specific music you want to listen to during the flight.

Wifi is available onboard for a fee. Super Wifi is available on select flights, including ours, and is cheaper when purchased during online check-in. It was only $10 for our entire flight, which is a great deal. Super Wifi was quick and supported downloads and uploads.

Service

The hard product was exceptional in Qatar Airways Qsuites, but the stellar service was what made the flight even more memorable for our family. We were impressed with the warmth and responsiveness of the cabin crew from start to finish. We especially appreciated how kind and helpful the flight crew were towards our children, showing them how to operate everything in their suites.

They checked on the kids often and made sure we had everything we needed. They seemed genuinely appreciative for our business and happy to do their jobs. They offered to snap photos for us of our family together on this dream vacation. We want to give a special shout out to Jade for taking such good care of our kids on the flight!

 

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Lavatories

The bathrooms in Qsuites were fairly standard airplane bathrooms, with the exception of having a window. We thought it was pretty cool to have a window to see outside while in the restroom. Dental kits were available in a drawer and bottles of luxe amenities by Diptyque included hand soap, hand lotion, and facial water. The restrooms were spotlessly clean whenever we used them.

Final thoughts of Qatar Air Business Class Qsuites

Overall we had an exceptional flight on Qatar Airways Business Class Qsuites. From the warm welcome to the outstanding food, friendly and attentive service, and comfortable suites with the ability to interact throughout the flight, we were highly impressed. We’ve flown in some really great business class flights, but this was by far our favorite. We hope to fly Qsuites again someday if our points and miles align to make it happen.

*Editorial Disclosure-The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.