Qatar Airways A350 Business Class SEZ-DOH Review

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jan 8, 2022 | 4 comments

The A350-900 with Qatar Airways offers a great product with direct aisle access and comfortable seats. While not the famed Q-Suite, the seats provide more than enough room to stretch out and enjoy the quick overnight flight.

Redeeming Miles or Paying Cash?

We found a heck of a sweetheart deal when booking a one-way ticket out of the Seychelles. Our ticket from SEZ back to the United States was only $1400 in business class, and since we used American Express Membership Rewards with the 35% bonus that the Business Platinum card offers, it only cost us 91,000 membership rewards points each.

Because this was a “cash” ticket, we were then able to credit the flight to Alaska Airlines and earn miles on the flight as well.

On our return back from the Seychelles to Doha and onward to the United States, we were able to experience both the Qsuites product and the regular business class product with Qatar Airways.

Last Minute Plane Change

We thought we’d be flying on the Boeing 777, but we saw it pop over to the A350 without the quad Q suite product. The plane is set up in a standard 1-2-1 setup, offering every passenger direct aisle access.

In the Seychelles they don’t board via jet bridge, instead you walk straight onto the runway and head up the ladder to board at mid-plane. The main business class cabin is to the left while the half cabin for business is just on the right.

Waiting at the seat was the famous Qatar pillow “love work travel repeat!” along with all the other amenities.

The blanket for the seat was there along with the small overnight amenity kit and the “travel with confidence” kit.

The travel with confidence kit includes a set of gloves, hand sanitizing gel, and a replacement face mask.

The amenity kit for a short flight only included lip balm, and eye mask, and socks. On longer flights you get more, but since the flight itself was only 4 and a half hours, you didn’t need much else.

The Seat Controls

As someone who is 6 foot 3, I appreciate seats where I can stretch out completely and not have my feet and knees feel like they’re bending in the wrong direction. While the footrest does sort of end up in a “V” at the end, the length of the bed was perfect to be able to stretch out completely.

Just off to the side of each seat were controls that allow you to push the seat in about any direction imaginable, including the lumbar support, arm rests, and backs. I appreciate seats with lumbar support as on longer flights, they’re a life saver.

Underneath those controls is a place to charge your devices and another area for you to store things during the flight. What I REALLY liked about this was, since I’m a side sleeper, you could extend your arms out and it made the seat even roomier.

There was also a large space to place your laptop, purse, or any other items. Stocked at each seat was a bottle of water and safety card. You’ll notice that you can’t really see the person next to you, so this was great if you’re traveling along. If you are traveling with a partner however, you CAN see each other just by leaning forward slightly.

The Oryx one system works via either a remote or a touchscreen display and was a perfect size for the seat.

Meals and Drinks

First, let’s start with the traytable. For the space you get in the seat, it’s a pretty big area. I didn’t really like that it kind of trapped you in the seat once you were eating.

The wine list was really extensive for such a short flight. They had two types of champagne, both a Rose and a Brut. We tried the Charles Heidsieck and loved it. I could have had the entire bottle, if it weren’t an overnight flight…

As for the rest of the wines, I’ll let you take a look at the pictures below:

If you have ever read any of our posts before, you know that we love dessert wines, so you KNOW that we tried the Nederburg from South Africa…

The flight attendant was a little confused why we wanted to have the dessert wine so early, but we’ll always have the dessert wine with our main course, or… the nuts 🙂 

Here’s the cocktail, beer, and liqueurs list:

We didn’t have a chance to eat anything in the airport, so we ordered a quick meal in order to nap as much as possible.

I opted for the bread and the braised lamb shank. If it looks good, you’re right, it was fantastic.

Last but not least, a chocolate fondant and a raspberry coulis.

We pounded down the food and slept as quickly as possible. On less than a 5 hour flight, we needed to sleep as much as we possibly could.

Arrival into Doha

We were transiting onto a Seattle flight, so transit was easy. When you land in Doha, find the signs for “Transfers” and pass through security again. They’ll scan your boarding pass and you’re on your way to the lounge.

If you have any issues or you need a new boarding pass, the transfer desk can take care of anything that comes up.

Qatar Business Class overview

Qatar does business right, even on the short haul routes. The food was cooked perfectly and the drinks were stocked just as if it were a long haul flight. Since the configuration allows everyone direct aisle access, you’re never going to be disturbed by someone getting up to use the restroom in the middle of the night.

While the Q Suite Quad set up with closing doors is obviously much more comfortable, for a short flight this was a perfect set up.

Do you have any experience with these flights or seats? What do you like or dislike most about them?