Qatar Airways first class is available on the Airbus A380, an aircraft the airline was once planning to retire. Circumstances have seen the return of the superjumbo to the fleet, so for now it’s possible to once again experience this super premium experience.
The oneworld alliance airline has a highly regarded business class product, with their Qsuites being seen as perhaps the best in the sky. If their business class is that good, surely first class must be better, right?
Qatar Airways First Class
There are just eight seats in Qatar Airways first class, located on the upper deck of the A380, which you can see on the seat map here. Passengers have exclusive access to two toilets, plus of course there is the business class bar on the same deck towards the back.
How Much Is It?
At the moment the aircraft is flying from Doha to London Heathrow, Sydney, Perth and Bangkok. Checking out flights from Doha to Sydney and return shows the price is QAR 48,010 which translates to €12,353 / AU$19,614 / £10,975 or US$13,185.
Time To Use Some Avios Points
I’m a member of the British Airways Executive Club which Avios for award flights. This is now the same currency that Qatar Airways uses, but that’s really just an aside. It’s perfectly easy to book flights using points for Qatar Airways first class.
How About Some Dates?
I had a trawl through the Avios redemption section of the Executive Club looking for availability from Doha to Sydney. At the time of publishing (7 March 2023) there is one seat available on the following dates in November. The 5th, 9th to 12th, 14th, 21st to 24th and 26th to 29th.
December finds somewhat less, what with it being a peak period. You’ll find seats on the 3rd to 7th and the 10th. January is also sparse, though a seat is available on the 21st and 22nd, 26th, 28th and 29th of the month.
There seems to be a lot less available from Sydney, but you could always fly another class. Business class on the Qatar Airways A380 is really excellent, and something I’ve always liked about the airline is that even economy class is a good experience.
Overall Thoughts
Quite frankly I think 105,000 Avios is a really good price for a 14 or 15 hour flight in first class. The fact that it is Qatar Airways with their superb on board service makes it even better value – and that’s before you consider you can use the Al Safwa First Class lounge at Doha.
Since business class airfares are so high, I think I might burn some Avios on one of these flights. Of course, it’ll mean having to fly in economy to get to and from Doha, but that’s really no big deal. Well worth it, I’d say!
Have you flown Qatar Airways first class before? What was it like? Do you think this Avios pricing is competitive for what you get? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Caviar via One Mile At A Time.
Airbus A380 by BriYYZ via Wikimedia Commons.
My wife and a friend were doing a much belated girls trip and flew home last month, BKK-DOH-ATL with the first segment in first class on an A380 and the second segment in business on a non-Qsuites 777. The first class portion was heaven but Doha airport and the second flight were much closer to hell.
What was so bad about Doha airport? It’s large so there can be some walking, but they have a train inside the terminal. Also, I love the non-Qsuites 777! Those old seats are amazingly spacious and so comfy. The service on board should have been the same. Surprised there was an issue really, I’ve never had anything but great experiences on QR in all classes.
I haven’t tried QR yet – coming in September – but from what my wife said the airport was absolutely mobbed, signage directing to lounges was quite poor, signage specifying which lounge applied for which class was nonexistent, they were directed to the business lounge even though they were supposed to have access to the first class lounge, the business class lounge was so full that getting a seat was literally impossible so my wife successfully pressed her case to enter the first class lounge. The first class lounge was busy but not as swamped. The nap rooms were all taken and instead of some sort of waitlist the attendant said to keep checking back. My wife’s friend kept quietly dozing off in her seat and whenever my wife went to check on the nap room/use the facilities/get food or drink, some passing attendant would repeatedly jostle the woman awake. The staff notably did not do the same to the men sleeping all about. On the last leg, the couple in front of my wife were sufficiently needy/pushy that they largely absorbed the attention of a FA by themselves while my wife was unable to get a bottle of water or have dirty dishes removed almost an hour after finishing her food. I have to wonder how much of this is luck, how much is perception, and how much is societal with two women traveling alone in Asia. It will be interesting to compare experiences once I fly QR later this year.
Qatar Airways do things a little differently lounge wise in Doha. There is the Al Safwa First Class lounge for First Class passengers only, and the Al Mourjan Lounge for Business Class passengers (and First Class). After that, there is a oneworld Emerald lounge called the Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge, one for oneworld Sapphires called the Qatar Airways Gold Lounge. There’s also the Oryx lounge which is open to all of the above, so it depends which one your wife was in. Agree lounge signage is not great to try to find them.
Al Mourjan is so large that I would be surprised it was full, so she must have been accessing one of the others?
Not much can be done about other passengers monopolising the flight attendant’s time. I would have got out of my seat and asked, or pressed the call bell. I’ve never – even in economy – had anything like what you describe from Qatar Airways. I’ve always found the crew to be quite efficient at getting food out and collecting dishes and swapping courses. It’s one of their hallmarks and it’s really noticable.
I’ll definitely be curious to see how you find Qatar!
I enjoy posts like this. Clearly, you compared British Airways Avios to Cash, and it is clear to me which is preferable. However, I thought the post would compare Avios vs AAdvantage Award vs. Alaska vs Qatar (or other one world airlines like Qantas). Still wondering which Avios or which Award program is the best way to book Qatar First Class.
That’s fair enough, but it’s not possible for me to write something like that as I am not a member of those other programmes. Some earn with miles, others with spend and so on. Since most people are members of just one oneworld programme you really should just see how much the awards are when searching your own programme. Avios is just an easy one for me as I am in that environment ecosystem. Thanks for the comment!