It’s always a little bit exciting when trying a new airline product for the first time. Reading and watching reviews does whet ones appetite, especially when the forthcoming jaunt is on a Qatar Airways A380 in first class.
Before I am tagged as one of those trust fund baby bloggers, I cashed in a stack of frequent flyer points for the privilege. While I lament not having lots of Avios in my account, they’re there to be used and use them I did.
A First Class Jaunt
I have flown long-haul first class only a handful of times and each time has been using points. Us working class schlubs don’t have a spare twenty grand sitting around in the bank with nothing to do but throw at airline tickets. How I wish!
This means these two flights will be a little bit special. I’ve been checking the seat maps regularly to see how many people will be sitting around me. Four of the eight seats on the first flight are taken, but I’m still the only person on the return. Having the whole cabin to myself would be fun!
While Qatar’s first class no longer has special amenity kits or first class pyjamas that are different from the business class ones, the seat still looks eye poppingly spacious and I’m sure to love it.
Overall Thoughts
There is no doubt that I’ll be reporting back on my little jaunt. That makes it sound like I am flying a short hop or something, when in actual fact I’m doing the 15 hours from Doha to Sydney… plenty of time to soak it all up!
Have a think, when was the last time you were really looking forward to a flight to try the new seat or new airline or whatever it was? I’d love to hear about it! Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I’m taking my first flight with Qatar in a few weeks, in first class. It’s unfortunate that some of the amenities are the same as in business class but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless. The only time I have caviar is while flying so I’m really excited about the food and drink aboard.
Oh yes, I’m quite looking forward to the caviar as well – I haven’t had it in a very long time! Agree on the amenities, it is a bit of a shame. Still, it’ll be fun! You’ll have to let me know how you got on after your flight.
I flew QR A380 first twice in 2019 , PER-DOH and return. The same year we flew LH 1st FRA-HKG and CX 1st HKG-ZRH. I felt QR had the best hard product and very attentive cabin crew, great food and beverages. The downside was that the QR flights departed around midnight, and I hadn’t prepared my body clock ahead of time, so ended up wanting to sleep rather than consume alcohol and food. Good news is the bed was the most comfortable I’ve ever flown in. My suggestion is make the most of your time in the DOH 1st lounge, and rest up before boarding, so you can make the most of this fairly unique experience.
Thanks very much for the advice! I’m planning to stay up all night the night before, sleep on the flight from Dublin to Doha, and then stay awake the whole flight to Sydney. With the arrival time, it should mean I’ll be tired and get on Australian time easily. However, in a darkened cabin in a seat that big and comfortable, I have a feeling I might have to nap for an hour or two. Anyway, I’ll see what happens. Looking forward to Al Safwa as well! Thanks for that.
We recently used miles for first-class seats on an American Airlines flight from Buenos Aires to JFK. It was an 11 hr flight and the seat/bed was relatively comfortable for me but my husband – who is taller – wasn’t at all comfortable. And then he had a medical problem that was quite painful. The pilot called for medical people for help and 2 Argentinian doctors came up and were wonderful. They almost diverted to MIA but luckily the doctors managed to help enough to stay on course to JFK. I kept thinking of how miserable he would have been in a coach seat. We didn’t get to enjoy all the luxuries of first-class but it was much better than a crisis in coach. The AA staff and the 2 doctors were all so caring and conscientious that we are eternally grateful. We’ve already started saving miles for another adventure – a healthy one.
I hope your husband recovered well, I imagine it’s a bit scary to have a medical issue when flying between countries, or flying at all for that matter. I’m glad it all turned out well with the medical help on board and the crew. I hope you sent in a compliment letter! Excellent that you’ve started saving for another adventure – it’s all worth it once you book and start planning! Thanks for the comment.
Neither flight may be full in F, but you won’t be by yourself on either flight.
If taking a shower is big thing for you (to me, it’s way overrated), reserve your time with the FA as soon as you can. Most people prefer towards the end of the flight, like T-90 minutes. And remember your water time is limited, so plan your wash.
If you have any taste for Cognac, be sure to sample the Hennessy Paradis. Again, better later in flight, like between meals.
Qatar Airways doesn’t offer showers. Not on the A380 or on any other aircraft that it operates.
Sorry, I misread and assumed Emirates.
And I just took a shower on Etihad and it was transformative. Refreshed me !
Was it a very long flight? I know how good a shower feels after being in the air for 12 plus hours. It really is transformative!