Qatar Airways are currently introducing a new business class seat called Qsuite. It is a fully enclosed suite for privacy and features a number of other interesting features such as the ability for parties of four to converse and eat together.
After flying in business class with Qatar on several flights, I could not get my head around why they would do this. The current latest seat is perfectly fine, or so I thought. This business class trip highlighted the shortcomings of the current setup.
QR169 – Doha to Stockholm Arlanda (DOH-ARN)
12 September 2017
Boeing 787-8 – A7-BCE
Seat: Business Class 2A
Departure: 01:50 Arrival: 07:15
Boarding in Doha often involves a bus and I really like how business class passengers get their own posh bus. Once on board there is a wait until everyone is there and off to the aeroplane you go.
Business Class Cabin and Post Boarding Routine
All seats are angled away from the aisle. Window seat passengers face the wall slightly and aisle seat passengers angle towards the person on the other side of them. Once on board the crew swing into action, first offering you a drink and a hot or cold towel.
Tonight’s Menu
The menu on the overnight flight of around 6 hours is quite sparse. It features a late night dining menu along with the light breakfast options.
Late Night Dining
Not long after take off the crew come by and pull out the tray which is located under the television. Your table is then set and the meal is delivered. For this flight I chose the Achari paneer tikka with tomato and onion masala.
Business Class Seat Deficiencies
This is when I found out why Qatar Airways are introducing a new business class seat. I bumped my knee against the tray table under the television monitor as I lay down. I put it down to being a newbie and got on with settling in.
Next I found that the foot well is fairly tiny to the point that it feels like your feet are enclosed. It is pretty bad when trying to turn over as well. Not great, and not a patch on the space you get when sleeping on the Boeing 777 at Qatar. Row 1 has a bigger foot well due to the layout so my advice is to sit there if possible.
Now I can see why Qatar Airways chose a new business class seat. The current one is fantastic for a day flight and has a great layout but for sleeping it is not great. I also managed to bump my knees twice more on the tray and I’m not a clumsy person. Or maybe I am!
Oryx One Movie Time
Happily Oryx One has a decent selection of entertainment options and one Hitchcock Collection movie was still on the system for this flight. Dial M For Murder!
Breakfast O’Clock
During the night I asked for my half litre bottle of water to be refilled. The crew member commented, “You seem very healthy so we’ll give you a big bottle. I wish I was as healthy as you!”, politely ignoring the 75 glasses of Champagne I drank. One and a half litres of Evian kept me appropriately hydrated from then on.
Overall Thoughts
Despite the annoyances with the seat, I did manage to get a little sleep on board. The new Qsuite product looks lush and as this is to become the new business class seat at Qatar Airways it can only be a good thing.
Flying on the 787 is a fine experience if you overlook the window issue. It’s not a big deal on an overnight flight as it is dark outside but still, it should not happen. As always the service from the crew is exemplary and the meals are very nice indeed.
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Curimedia P H O T O G R A P H Y via Wikimedia Commons.
Thanks, Trent. I had no trouble getting the gist of your article. I especially appreciated the sense that “your head was in the aisle”. Great article, as always.
Thanks very much for the kind words! Really appreciate it!
Have you tried the new qsuite for the basis comparison of this article? Or you just simply made things up in your mind?
Of course not. Logically you would not introduce an entire new product if people were raving about your old one. I have seen reviews by others of the Qsuite and it certainly looks like an improvement to me. Either way, the seat above is not ideal for sleeping which is the main point here. Thanks for the comment!
Wow! I hope I have the guts to be a travel blogger and write a review based on someone else’s experience I read somewhere on the internet…. maybe I call myself “Flight Investigator” then…..
You might want to read what I actually wrote. a) This is not a review of the Qsuite. b) I did say the Qsuite “looks” lush, indicating I have only seen it, which is correct. c) I note in the beginning that I did not understand why Qatar would introduce a new seat. Later on I note that having slept in the current seat, there are deficiencies and I conclude this must be a factor in their decision to introduce a new seat.
Quite logical if you ask me. Thanks as always for your input!
Sure, logic. Maybe next time wrote a logical explanation that earth is flat…..
I’ll do my best! 🙂
let me get this straight … your key complaints about the old experience are fogging window and small footwell
but you haven’t really provided justification on how the QSuite footwell will be better … as for the fogging, that’s a plane type issue. even if they retrofit QSuite to the 787 the fogging is still there.
The fogging window is neither here nor there. Both times in the article I specifically note it is a Boeing 787 thing – thanks for pointing it out, but I know that. I certainly did not equate the fogging window to Qatar Airways, that would be ludicrous. I’ve experienced it on British Airways and LATAM also, so I know it is not airline specific.
With regards to the Qsuite, as I mention in the above comment I have read other people’s reviews. In those the pictures of the foot well appear to be more spacious than the ones above. Don’t worry, when I try the Qsuite, if the foot well is the same as above, I will point that out in no uncertain terms. Thanks for the comment!