It is about time the secrets are revealed about Qatar Airways longest flight. The flight between Doha and Auckland is also currently the longest flight in the world by distance.
Taking this flight in Business Class means entering another world. Superlative service, mood lighting, pyjamas, slippers, generous pillows and a turndown service are just some of the features on board.
QR920 – Doha to Auckland (DOH-AKL)
26 August 2017
Boeing 777-200LR – A7-BBC
Seat: Business Class 3A
Departure: 03:01 Arrival: 04:35+1
Boarding in Doha is very efficient and business class passengers board separately. I quite like this as it adds a feeling of exclusivity to the service.
The Business Class Cabin Revealed
Setting foot on board is like entering an oasis of calm. Lighting is dim and coloured mood lighting makes the cabin feel very inviting. Seats are upholstered in red fabric with a snow white head rest adding some contrast.
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- Qatar’s 777-200LR business class seats
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- Wide and spacious
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- Magazines and also the bedding storage
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- Looking forward from 3A
Between the seats is bottled water storage which is revealed at the press of a button. A panel slides across and there you find your water. The crew offer a hot towel and a drink before departure and I always select Champagne. On Qatar this is Billecart-Salmon.
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- Champagne and hot towel
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- Press the button and the panel reveals your water
Seats are arranged in three pairs across the cabin with four rows in the forward cabin and three aft. This means there is a total of 42 seats.
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- The cabin from 3A
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- Looking directly across
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- Pink lighting this time
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- Thoughtfully lit storage in the side of your seat
Menus are delivered before take off and once everyone is on board the cabin crew come around asking for your order. You can dine when you like so you are able to specify when you wish to eat.
The Seat That Makes For A Great Bed
In the air you can ask the crew to make your seat up into a bed at anytime that pleases you. A fitted sheet is put over the seat, a pillow added and the blanket is also unwrapped.
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- All ready for sleep
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- You can’t go wrong here
The bed is revealed to be both comfortable and spacious. Unlike newer seats which utilise the floor space better, these seats take up all the room they can. This also means there is no tight foot well to restrict your sleeping position which I particularly love.
An Early Morning Meal
This flight departs Doha at 3am but once in the air I decided I’d like something to eat. I chose a Spiced Tomato Juice from the mocktail menu and selected an Arabic mezze followed by some pasta.
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- Virgin Mary
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- Tray is set and ready
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- Arabic Mezze and water
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- Quite delicious!
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- The pasta on arrival
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- A little closer
As usual the service followed the same pattern. The table is set, the crew member folds a napkin into a triangle and lays it on your lap and then the first dish is presented. The food is very good and the service is timely.
Bed Time High Above The Earth
After the meal was cleared away, I opened up the noise cancelling headphones and watched a movie for a little bit. The Oryx One entertainment system contains quite a few series and on this trip it was Alfred Hitchcock movies for me.
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- Headphones
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- Catch a sleep in here
Eventually it was time to sleep and I retrieved the ear plugs from the amenity kit and slipped into bed. The white pillow with its silver detail matches the silver duvet really nicely. Sleeping is very comfortable – and easy – on this aircraft.
Awake Time Means Breakfast
Waking up means the cabin crew will soon come visit you to ask if you would like anything. Qatar crew have a sixth sense which is uncanny so you never have to really wait for the crew. I ordered a smoothie and an energiser and my breakfast.
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- Energiser and smoothie
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- Bread, butter and another tray
For what it’s worth, the energiser tastes pretty horrible (it’s good for you!) but the smoothie is revealed to be sublime. Soon enough the main course arrives with a flourish.
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- Light and fluffy croissant
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- Arabic Breakfast
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- Ready for a close up!
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- Quite healthy and nice
I quite like the Arabic Breakfast however I thought it was less nice than the one I had on a previous flight. Saying that it was totally fine, perhaps I wasn’t in the mood for such strong tastes.
Bathroom Facilities Revealed
There are plenty of toilets for the business class passengers on Qatar Airways. I never have to wait to use one which is pretty much the expectation when you are paying a lot of money for a ticket.
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- A large mirror with lights inset
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- A fairly normal airline sink
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- The throne and baby changing table at left
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- Shiny and clean looking
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- Infinity hand lotion and body mist
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- Razors and tooth care
My favourite thing in here is the Infinity Body Mist. You spray it all over your head and face and it lands in a cool refreshing dew on your skin. It makes you feel refreshed, hydrated and it also smells nice.
Mocktails and Movies
Since drinking non-stop for 16 plus hours is not really healthy or recommended, I usually switch to the mocktails during the long part of the flight in order to keep hydrated.
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- Spiced Tomato Juice
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- This has ginger in it
All of the mocktails are extremely tasty and I say that having tried all the mocktails. Highly recommended! I watched more movies and also took another nap. Around three hours prior to arrival I decided to have dinner.
A Four Course Dinner
Let’s face it, I like to eat. There is no way I was going to avoid having a four course dinner on board. The great thing about Qatar Airways is the portion sizes are not stupidly huge, meaning you can try many of them.
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- Prawn salad on a mango and pasta bed
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- Another view
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- Tomato soup
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- It has cream in it
I find the soup to be always bursting with flavour and this was no exception. The mango and pasta complimented the prawns perfectly, so once again there was no fault with the meal.
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- Seared fillet of cod
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- A closer look
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- Gourmet ice cream
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- A different angle
Dining can now be pre-selected on Qatar Airways and I chose the Seared fillet of cod with red pepper sauce which is on a seafood and saffron risotto. It is quite tasty! Best of all is the gourmet ice cream though you are left wanting more of it!
Flying Over Sydney
The route from Doha to Auckland invariably passes quite close to Sydney, Australia. To my delight we passed straight over Sydney Harbour and it revealed itself to be quite pretty in the middle of the night from 40,000 feet.
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- Can you spot the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
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- What’s that at right?
Craving some more ice cream, I asked the crew for another helping. I told them I didn’t need the tray reset so they brought me just the dish, a small napkin and a spoon. Perfect!
Right Before Landing
Undercover Boss is on the Oryx One entertainment system so I watched an episode to wile away the final hour before landing. Lots of emotion in that episode! Next to me the screen is on the moving map which revealed our progress to Auckland.
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- Undercover Boss and Map
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- Hot towel before landing
Cabin Crew deliver another hot towel before landing which is quite welcome. I was offered a top up of my Champagne but the crew member returned to inform me the bar was already closed at about 35 minutes to landing. It should be open a little longer. We landed in Auckland on time.
Overall Thoughts
Business Class on Qatar Airways certainly deserves the accolades heaped upon it. All credit is due to the hard working and friendly cabin crew plus what must be a very good training programme.
The only fault I can think of is the bar closed too early. Everything else is perfect – service, food, movies, sleeping, amenity kit, the works. Flying on a long haul flight this long is an escape from the world itself and one I recommend.
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Hi. Does anyone know if the window seat has aisle access without disturbing your neighbor even when the beds are down in lie flat position? Flying business class for the first time and am I’m trying to decide if my normal window preference is best or if I should choose an aisle so that I don’t need to disturb anyone when I want to get out. Thanks in advance!
Hi Jane! I assume you’re flying to Auckland? When the seats are in bed mode, you can get past the person in the aisle as they are set quite a distance from the seats in front. I imagine you’ll have no problem at all. I have never sat next to anyone so I’ve not had the problem, but from memory it was possible to get past. Let me know if you have any other questions!
There are no secrets. Click bait
You could say that, it just depends on your point of view. Thanks for the comment!
What secrets? You wrote a trip report. Having flown QR J on several planes (330, 380, 350, 777) I was hoping to learn something that I may have missed.
For a regular flyer of QR in J, there are no secrets. For someone who has never had the opportunity, my report details all you’ll find up front. Not all the readers of the blog are regular flyers. Thanks for the comment!
The 2-2-2 seating doesn’t sound awesome in 2017 but other than that it seems very nice.
Seems J load was light with empty seats next to booked ones. I find QR does try to keep single flyers on its B777s and A330s with blocked seat next to them unless cabin is more than half full. This fleet will be upgraded to the new 1-2-1 configuration over time and I assume while it’s the longest flight, the route is not a priority for 1-2-1 seating given J cabin loads. Having flown QR’s B777 I find the seat/bed more spacious and comfortable than the newer seats on the B787 and A350. The privacy on these newer planes is… Read more »
You are correct, it was a fairly light load on the flight so many people had seats next to them free. QR should keep seats blocked where possible for solo flyers – actually all airlines should do it where possible in a configuration like this. Not surprised the route is not a priority for the new Q Suite as I don’t think the loads are massive at all. There seem to be more people flying AKL-DOH to be honest. I agree with you completely with the seat/bed being more spacious than the seats on the 787 and A350. I flew… Read more »
It is very good for sleeping because you have loads of space to turn over and all the rest of it. It’s a great experience on the 777. Thanks for the comment!