Due to the delay on my Yerevan to Doha flight, I had to spend the night in Doha. My flight the following morning was departing at 8AM, so I got to the airport at around 6:30AM, knowing that I’d have to go through extra security prior to my flight. The US-bound flights seem to consistently leave from the low numbered D-gates, since they have all the extra security equipment. On the plus side, this means you don’t leave from a remote stand, making it my first arrival or departure in Doha on this trip where I actually had a gate.

The additional screening process at Doha Airport is extremely efficient — first they pack your electronics in a sealed bag, and then you have to go through a security checkpoint. There’s a separate line for premium passengers, so I was through in a matter of minutes.

While boarding was scheduled for 7:15AM, in reality it only started at 7:35AM. First wheelchair passengers were invited to board, followed by business class passengers.

Qatar Airways 701

Doha (DOH) – New York (JFK)

Sunday, January 14

Depart: 8:00AM

Arrive: 2:15PM

Duration: 14hr15min

Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER

Seat: 11J (Business Class)

I boarded through door L1, and headed all the way back to 11J, the window seat in the last row of business class on the right side. Since I was rebooked onto this flight last minute, that was the last remaining window seat available. The Qsuites cabin has two business class cabins, with the forward cabin having 24 seats, and the rear cabin having 18 seats. I won’t focus too much on the hard product in this installment, since I did so extensively in the New York to Doha review.

Since I was in the last row of business class, I snagged a picture of the economy cabin immediately behind me.

I also managed to snap a picture of the pair of center seats that can turn into a (quasi) double bed.

Window seats alternate between being closer to the aisle (forward facing) and closer to the window (rear facing). On the flight out I had a “true” window seat, which is rear facing and closer to the window, and I loved that seat. This time around I was in one of the forward facing seats that’s closer to the aisle.

While all Qsuites are great, I have a strong preference for the other window seat. In this seat you’re seated further from the window, and I also find the seat to be slightly claustrophobic, as you’re sitting right by the door. It wasn’t problematic, but I think the true window seats give you privacy without making you feel confined.

As you’d expect, the “counter” in these seats is closer to the window, and then the footwell is closer to the aisle.

I didn’t notice a difference in terms of the size of the footwell between the two types of window seats.

Each business class seat has a little compartment that you can use to store things, and that was also closer to the window in this seat.

What I found a bit awkward is the direction in which the compartment opened, which is the opposite of what you’ll find in the other window seats. The side closer to you opens, rather than the side further away.

As usual, there were two pillows and a lovely blanket at my seat.

Once settled in, the flight attendant taking care of me (once again from Sri Lanka, like on the outbound) introduced herself and asked if she could get me something to drink. Another lime mint juice and cold towel for me, please!

I was also presented with the menu, beverage list, and pajamas for the flight. This complemented the amenity kit, bottled water, and headphones that were already at my seat.

Much like the outbound, this flight was full, as every seat in both cabins was taken. As a result, boarding was very busy for the crew. During boarding I noticed that the life vest kept falling out of the panel under my seat. I brought this to the crew’s attention, and the flight attendant tried to fix it for me. She then called over the cabin manager, though neither of them were able to fix it.

Then they called maintenance, who came onboard and “fixed” it, though 30 seconds later it fell out again. I didn’t bring it to their attention again, because I didn’t want the flight to take a delay (or something) over such a minor thing.

At 7:50AM the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 13hr56min to New York. At 8AM an announcement was made that all passengers were onboard, and then 10 minutes later the door closed, and five minutes after that we began our pushback.

At 8:20AM we began our taxi, at which point the safety demonstration was screened.

Our taxi took a while, though by 8:40AM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 34R.

We had a long takeoff roll, and a gradual climb out of Doha.

The seatbelt sign was turned off just 10 minutes after takeoff, at which point I could get a proper picture of the forward and rear Qsuites cabins (during boarding the overhead bins are open, so you don’t get much “clearance” over the seats).

As we climbed out I checked out the airshow for our long journey to the US.

I got a good night of sleep in Doha, so while I usually try to sleep on longhauls, I knew I’d be awake for most of this one. I decided to watch a few episodes of “Great News,” which I hadn’t seen before.

About 20 minutes after takeoff I was asked if I wanted to eat something, so I placed an order for breakfast.

The menu read as follows (the beverage list was identical to the one on the New York to Doha flight, so I won’t post it again):

The snack platters menu read as follows:

About 15 minutes later my table was set for breakfast, including being offered a breadbasket.

To start, I ordered bircher muesli and a carrot and ginger healthy energiser, both of which were excellent.

For the main course I ordered aloo paneer tikki with jeera potato, which was very good. Qatar’s Indian dishes never disappoint, in my experience.

I had ordered a cappuccino, though in reality that was only served to me after the main course. I also decided to order a white chocolate and almond date for dessert.

Qatar Airways crews work harder than just about anyone else — that’s consistent, given how involved their business class service is, and that they offer dine on demand. What varies is how friendly the crews are, and how effortless they make the service seem. My previous three Qatar Airways flights had top notch service while service on this flight was just alright. It wasn’t bad at all, but I felt like the flight attendant taking care of me was just going through the motions, and little more.

I ended up watching a bit more TV, and with 11hr30min remaining in the flight I decided to try and take a nap.

As the flight attendant prepared my bed I walked around the cabin a bit.

The turndown service on Qatar Airways consists of a mattress sheet being placed on the seat, as well as a cover being placed on the pillow.

I found the window seat that’s closer to the aisle to be not quite as good as the true window seats. Sleeping so close to the wall almost felt a bit claustrophobic, though it was still a great suite. I ended up getting about three hours of sleep, and woke up over Northern Europe.

After taking a nap I browsed the entertainment selection a bit more, and ended up watching an entire season of The Middle that I hadn’t seen before. I needed to do some photo editing, and I can do that without concentrating so much, so I basically spent the remainder of the flight watching The Middle and editing photos.

About halfway through the flight I decided to order a snack. I requested the grilled chicken, mozzarella and basil in toasted ciabatta sandwich. While it looked pretty good, it tasted horrible — the chicken just tasted so low quality that I had a couple of bites and sent it back.

Instead I ordered a cheese plate, which was much more impressive.

I spent the next several hours working and watching TV, and before I knew it we were under two hours from our arrival in New York.

Around this time I decided to order lunch. To start I ordered the Arabic mezze, with hummus, moutabel, and tabouleh.

None of the mains on the menu particularly interested me, so I ordered the Thai beef and glass noodle salad from the snack menu, which ended up being a good choice.

Lastly for dessert I had a fruit plate and an americano.

At around 1:50PM we began our descent for New York, at which point the crew prepared the cabin for arrival.

We ended up touching down in New York at around 2:25PM. I always love flying next to the plane’s shadow, it’s such a cool effect on landing.

Our touch down was firm, and we had about a 10 minute taxi from our arrival runway to the gate, as we taxied to Terminal 8, and passed a beautiful Cathay Pacific 777.

Qatar Qsuites business class bottom line

While this flight wasn’t quite as exceptional as the outbound (both because I didn’t get a “true” window seat, and also because the crew wasn’t quite as good), this was still an excellent flight. Qatar Airways has a real winner with their Qsuites, and I consider this to be the world’s best business class. I can’t wait till most Qatar Airways longhaul aircraft feature this configuration, as it’s such a treat to fly.

Thanks for following along on another trip report!