I flew this 13-hour flight on Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER Sydney To Doha in March 2017 and chose Qatar Airways as they have decent Business Class seats (which are better than Emirates and comparable to Etihad). You can read my other Qatar Airways Business Class flight reviews to see what Business Class is like on their other planes. You can also read about the second leg of this journey; Doha to London Heathrow in Business Class on Qatar’s A380.
The Business Class cabin had 42 seats in total, which were fully reclining to a flatbed. These seats were spread across 2 cabins separated by toilets and kitchen. They were not, sadly, the new QSuite which will soon be the main seats on the B777. These older seats were in a 2-2-2 formation, which is ideal for couples to talk to one another but not so good for strangers, but there was a plastic divider you could pull up to avoid awkward conversations with overly friendly neighbors.
Airport Lounge
Before my flight, I had access to the Qantas Sydney Business Lounge, which I have reviewed separately.
Seat
When I arrived at my seat, I found useful plugs for USB ports and headphones, Evian water, and an Oryx entertainment system. There was a Bric Amenity kit with Castello Monte Vibiano Veccio products, which was very nice, but the hard case made it bulky, and several people left their kits behind when disembarking. The seat itself was spacious and a good Business Class seat. No complaints there. The position of the seat was less good…
What Is The Worst Seat On The Plane
I was seated in 5B, and a big disadvantage of this seat (and presumably 5E) was that the footrest section extended into the aisle. In the night, one of the stewards collided with my footrest so hard that he kaleidoscoped it back toward the seating area. This could well be the worst seat on the plane.
There was no apology, and I had to get up and reset the bed, which obviously thoroughly woke me up. Unfortunately, this represented the attitude of the staff on this flight, which is a big contrast to my Business Class experiences on other airlines. British Airways in Business Class offers an inferior seat with no direct aisle access in Business Class, but their cabin staff tend to be excellent. Etihad is another airline with extremely accommodating cabin stewards and stewardesses who go the extra mile.
On Qatar Airways, I found it consistently nearly impossible to catch the eye of a staff member to ask for a drink. I noticed that they talked noisily in their kitchen area throughout the flight, including the time that passengers were meant to be sleeping.
Food
The food on Qatar was good but not brilliant. We were welcomed on board with a glass (by choice) of Piper Heidsick rose champagne and hot towels.
Dinner was 3 courses (see Menu). The smoked salmon starter was delicious, as were the warm rolls and butter and the choice of 3 olive oils to drizzle on bread or main course. The main course was a very large pile of rice with chicken breast, which was not appetizing. The dessert of gourmet ice cream was beautifully presented in a glass bowl with fresh raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. The lime pannacotta was equally nice. There were plenty of drinks, but I had orange juice and water. A nice touch was a small box (2) of Godiva chocolates to finish the meal with coffee.
After dinner, the hostess made up the bed for sleeping with a light duvet from Italian Luxury brand Frette to lie on, and a pair of pajamas were provided in the kit. A purple rug was also supplied that was lovely and fluffy and big enough to cover the tallest person.
The breakfast was a very good selection (see Menu in photos). The Bircher muesli was very good (the best bit of the food, along with the Godiva chocolates!), as was the cheese omelet, and again, lovely warm rolls, croissants, and pain au chocolat with nice preserves were provided. I was offered an extra cup of tea, which we didn’t get on the A380.
Other Bits
The toilets were spotless with toothbrushes, razors, etc., and nice perfumed sprays and body lotion, but you sometimes had a lengthy wait, which wasn’t ideal.
Overall, Qatar Airways was a good experience. I got some sleep, and the seats were as good as advertised. However, I found the service to be clinical and efficient but lacking in care. For this reason, I would, by choice, fly Etihad if the prices were similar as I find their staff to be better. Emirates is often the other option for this routing via the Middle East, but they do not offer direct aisle access on their 777 Business Class seats (they do on the A380), making Emirates an inferior product.
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