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627 reviews
Welcome, everybody, to this new Flight-Report! Today, I will be taking you along with me to fly in Qatar Airways' Qsuites on the A350-900 from Singapore to Doha.
This review will cover the airport experiences in Singapore and Doha, as well as the onboard hard and soft products. For each aspect of the experience, I will rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. The final score for the full experience is 91 out of 100.
I apologize beforehand for the lack of Changi Airport photos. The airport was packed with people when I was there, and I generally do not like to take pictures with a bunch of strangers inside. Don't worry, there are plenty of in-flight photos.
Check-in
I arrived at a very busy Changi Airport Terminal 1, some 2-and-a-half hours before my flight. The queues at check-in were rather long, and it took more than 20 minutes before it was my turn, despite it being the Business Class queue. The check-in staff was quite nice, and once it was my turn, I was given my boarding pass almost instantly (what took the people so long I will never know) and I headed toward the departure gates.
The check-in experience gets a 6/10.
Immigration
When departing Changi Airport, I was eligible to use the Automated Immigration Lanes, and I did so. The procedure was a breeze, and I was airside within 30 seconds.
Immigration gets a 10/10.
Lounge
Being a Business Class passenger, I was eligible for lounge access. However, it was disappointing that, at the time of my flight, Qatar Airways' relatively new Premium Lounge only opened from 18:00 to 03:00 to cater to flights QR947 (Dep. 21:00) and QR945 (Dep. 02:40). Passengers on board QR943 were thus made to use the generic SATS Premier Lounge, which was, as expected, completely full. At the entrance of the lounge stood a large menacing sign that screamed “LOUNGE AT MAX CAPACITY” in my face, so I just went to my gate instead. Do note that since then, Qatar Airways has updated the opening times of the lounge to cater to all passengers for the 3 daily flights.
Lounge experience sadly gets awarded a 1/10.
Security and Gate Area
Unlike most other airports, Changi does its security at each of the gates. While this does prevent the scary queues in one big crowded hall found at most other airports, one will be entrapped in a not-very-large seating area by the gate once past security, with no access to toilets whatsoever. On the plus side though, the gate areas generally offer some quite awesome views of the aircraft.
This section gets a 7/10.
^Views of the aircraft
DEPARTURE AIRPORT SCORES 7/10
Flight information
Flight date: 28/05/2023
Airline: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Operated by: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Flight number: QR943
Route: Singapore (SIN) - Doha (DOH)
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:45 (UTC+8)
Actual Departure Time: 11:05 (UTC+8)
Scheduled Arrival Time: 13:30 (UTC+3)
Actual Arrival Time: 13:26 (UTC+3)
Scheduled Flight Time: 7h45min
Actual Flight Time: 7h21min
Aircraft information
Aircraft Registration: A7-AMG
Aircraft Type: Airbus A350-941
Engines: 2× RR Trent XWB-84
Line Number: 207
First Flight: 21/09/2018
Aircraft Age (as of flight): 4 years 8 months
Aircraft Delivered: 26/10/2018
Seating Configuration: J36Y247
*Aircraft parked at DOH 08/10/2021-29/04/2023 due to QR A350 surface degradation issues
^Inside the aircraft
^Quick peek at the flight deck
Welcome Onboard
Once onboard the aircraft, two flight attendants, including the Cabin Manager, warmly welcomed me onboard. I walked through the forward galley and turned right, and found my (spotless) Qsuite quite quickly. Immediately, another flight attendant, Osathee from Thailand, flew over to my seat to introduce himself and tell me that he would be taking care of me on this flight. He then asked me for my choice of a welcome drink, and I opted for a Lime&Mint (QR's signature drink) and Soda water mix.
Soon, Osathee came back with my beautifully presented drink, alongside a Diptyque refreshing towel and the menus.
PRE-DEPARTURE SERVICE SCORES 9/10.
^Lime&Mint + Refreshing Towel
Menu + Wine List
We pushed back soon and the safety video was shown. QR's new safety video features a multitude of their destinations. If I'm being honest, this was far from a captivating safety video, and I miss the old football-themed one (but all this is just my personal preference). During the taxi to the runway, Osathee came around taking meal orders but had to abandon another passenger halfway as we lined up on Changi's runway 20L for our take-off towards the south. The spool-up was at 11:07, 22 minutes behind schedule.
^Taxiing to 02L
^Climbing out of SIN
Now is a good time to take a look at our flight path. Our route out of Singapore was a very straightforward one, which took us over Southwestern Malaysia, North Sumatra (Indonesia), the Bay of Bengal, Southern India, the Arabian Sea, Oman, the UAE, and finally, the Arabian Gulf before we started our descent into Qatar. We cruised at 38000ft and 40000ft.
^FlightRadar24
As we make our way towards our cruising altitude of 38000ft, this is a good time to take a good look at the QSuite.
Seat (Suite) Details:
Seat: 3K (Backwards-facing starboard-side window suite)
Seat Type: QSuite
Seat Manufacturer: Collins Aerospace
Class: Business (J)
Cabin: Forward business cabin (between doors 1 and 2)
^Qsuite 3K
^High suite walls, Sliding door, Marble counter
^Seat controls + some storage space, conveniently above some charging ports
^Footwell
^Qsuite cabin - Aisle view
^Qsuite cabin - overview
Some thoughts about the seat:
Seat Comfort: The suite was very spacious, and the seat, along with the large leather headrest, was well padded, making it very comfortable. The seat also came with a massage function, which didn't seem to work very well on my flight. There were also many set positions available via the seat controls, and I had some fun playing with them. 9/10
Seat Privacy: The high walls and sliding doors ensured absolute privacy for the entire flight. It's as good as privacy gets in Business class. 10/10
Legroom: Is that even a question? My legs could stretch out in whatever way I liked throughout the flight! 10/10
Seat Storage: There were many places where one could store their things, there was an ottoman-like raiseable armrest beside the seat that opened up to reveal some storage space. This came with a pair of headphones and a bottle of water before every flight. There was also some storage below the marble-like counter, conveniently right above some charging ports. The footwell could also be used to hide the bedding if one wishes to. 9/10
MY OVERALL RATING FOR SEAT COMFORT IS 10/10
Qatar Airways offers Dine-on-demand in Business Class, meaning passengers could have their meals whenever they wanted to. I opted to have my meal as early as possible after take-off since I could not have any breakfast in a lounge and I was getting quite hungry. Note that aside from the main meal, there were also light hot snack options available throughout the flight.
Nuts and Bubbles
Meal service started off when Osathee came over to my suite to hand me some warm nuts and a beverage of my choice. I went with a glass of So Jennie, a luxury non-alcoholic bubbly. This was quite a nice way to start a meal service and scores 8/10 from me.
^Toasted nuts and So Jennie, Amenity kit and Accessory pillow in the background
Table Set-up
Osathee then came back to my suite and set up my table for me. The table set-up included a massive white tablecloth, some delicious butter, a bottle of Monte Vibiano Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, QR-branded salt and pepper shakers, a bread basket, an electric candle, and a glass of water. This is simply a brilliant presentation. 10/10
^Table set-up
^Candle
Amuse Bouche: Smoked Salmon
A trolley came by just as I was wolfing down some of the delicious Artisan Bread. The flight attendant told me that they were serving Amuse Bouche, which is kind of like an appetiser for the appetiser. She then proceeded to hand me this tiny portion of Smoked Salmon with Bechamel sauce and Roe, even topped off with a small piece of gold!
I finished it in two small, but heavenly bites. 10/10 from me.
^Amuse Bouche
Appetiser: Classic Arabic Mezze
Having heard some brilliant reviews about QR's mezze, I was very excited to try it out. This particular combination of Singapore-made mezze consisted of Moutabel, Muhammara, and Hummus. All this was served cold as a dip for the two pieces of warm Pita Bread.
I started to dig into the Moutabel: Oh dear, the texture was way slimmer than it looked, the taste was extremely bitter, and it was way too underseasoned. Of course, this is only my personal preference, but the Moutabel sadly gets a 1/10 from me.
I moved on to the Muhammara. Surely this wouldn't be as bad? Nope, it wasn't as bad. In fact, I rather liked it. It was fantastic tastewise, and had it not been way too overseasoned, I would've loved to eat it by itself in large portions at a time. 8/10
Finally, the Hummus. Like the Muhammara, it was very good tastewise but overseasoned. This gets a 7/10.
All this was served with two small pieces of Pita Bread. Even after getting Osathee to heat up some extra pieces, I still finished them before the mezze. 6/10
Overall, the Classic Arabic Mezze gets a 6/10 from me.
^ Classic Arabic Mezze: Moutabel, Muhammara, Hummus, Pita Bread
*The other appetiser option was some seared tuna with green papaya salad.
Main: Braised beef short ribs
The main soon arrived at my table. This was some Braised beef short ribs with creamy polenta, sautéed asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and Kenya beans.
The beef was delicious; it was soft and tender and melted perfectly in my mouth. 9/10
The polenta smelt very strong, but I was surprised when it turned out to be rather bland when it entered my mouth. Still, it was quite enjoyable. 7/10
The asparagus though, reminded me of bar soaps: both the texture, and the taste. 1/10
The cherry tomatoes were fun, dangerously fun. They explode when poked with a fork. And they tasted like cherry tomatoes. 7/10
The Kenya beans were a little less fun, they were rather soggy and cold by the time I got to them. 3/10
Overall, I give the main course, a 7/10
^ Beef short ribs with polenta, asparagus, tomatoes, and Kenya beans
*The other options were Singapore roasted chicken rice, Prawn biryani, or Shanghai noodles
Dessert: Fresh berries with rose water syrup
Dessert was served soon after. I decided to give the berries with rose water syrup a try, after having heard great reviews about it online.
The berries were great. These were very fresh and juicy and were very enjoyable. 9/10 for the berries.
BUT - the rose water syrup. It neither tasted like rose nor was it a syrup, so I just ended with some berries in water. SAD! 2/10 for the water and 5/10 overall for this dessert item.
^ Berries with water
*The other dessert choices were a chocolate brownie or some gourmet ice cream.
OVERALL RATING FOR THE MEAL SERVICE IS 8/10
Amenity Kit
A Diptyque branded amenity box was waiting in every Qsuite during boarding. This consisted of multiple expensive-looking Diptyque creams, lotions, and perfumes. There was also a pair of loose socks, an eye mask, and a pair of cheap plastic earplugs.
The amenity kit receives a 10/10 from me.
^Amenity Kit
Bedding
On this flight, a full-size pillow, an accessory pillow, and a blanket, was provided. These all worked quite well and were very comfortable. Keep note: the blanket comes extremely tightly wrapped in a plastic seal, and is rock hard and extremely dense when unopened. Should an onboard pillow fight break out, this could do some serious damage in your favour. (Stolen joke but ??♂️)
However, as this was a daytime flight, many amenities, such as pyjamas, mattress covers, and slippers, were not available. The bedding gets 8/10
Lavatories
The lavatories weren't the cleanest that I've ever seen, and towards the end of the flight, the floors were slightly sticky. More Diptyque products can be found here. Lavs gets a 6/10 from me.
THE OVERALL SCORE FOR AMENITIES IS 8/10
IFE System
Each Qsuite comes equipped with a 21.5-inch IFE Touchscreen and is of High Definition quality. It features Qatar Airways' “Oryx One” system, which is advertised to have over 4000 entertainment options, including movies, TV shows, music, and games. Everyone gets loaned a pair of high-quality noise-canceling headphones for the duration of the flight. Each Qsuite in the A350 also comes equipped with a touchscreen Panasonic remote control. Moreover, Qatar's A350s come with not one, not two, but THREE outboard cameras!
IFE System gets a solid 10/10.
^Tail camera in action
Onboard Wi-Fi
Qatar's A350 aircraft are equipped with what they call “Super Wi-Fi”. The connection speeds of this are relatively fast and have absolutely no problems with text messaging. Privilege Club (QR's frequent flyer programme) members get one hour of free Wi-Fi, and a full flight pass only costs US$ 10.
Wi-Fi gets 9/10.
Onboard charging
There was a power socket, a USB charging point, an HDMI port, and a card reader for contactless payment (?) on the side console. There were more USB charging points under the IFE Screen. 10/10
THE IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SCORES 10/10
After watching a couple of movies on the IFE, I decided to take a nap. I simply pushed the bed button on the seat controls to convert the seat into a bed and threw on the provided bedding.
^Qsuite bed
^Ample amount of foot space
Some thoughts about the sleeping surface:
Bed comfort: As I said before, the surface of the seat is very well padded. This made for a very comfortable time laying down. However, do note that the seat does not go fully flat, although it is barely noticeable. Also, the large headrest may get in the way of side- and stomach-sleepers. As a back-sleeper, I had no problems with the bed whatsoever. 10/10
Bed length and width: The bed measures 200cm long and 55cm wide, enough for the average traveller. 9/10
Foot space: The footwell was pretty big, and my feet had plenty of space to move around. 9/10
Sleep quality: Really not bad, I'm in a private suite on a comfortable bed, in a spacious cabin (Qatar's A350 doesn't have central overhead stowage in Business class, which makes the cabin very spacious), on a very quiet aircraft. I couldn't ask for more. 10/10
THE OVERALL RATING FOR THE SLEEPING EXPERIENCE IS 10/10
Just mere seconds after I woke up from my 2-hour nap while we flew over Oman, Osathee magically appeared at my suite and offered me a rose-scented hot towel to freshen up, as well as a hot beverage. I opted for a hot chocolate which I enjoyed while I caught up with some light work. The hot towel scores 10/10, the hot chocolate also scores 10/10, and the work probably gets a fail.
^Views of Oman from 40000ft
^Rose scented hot towel
^Hot chocolate
Just as we started our descent into Qatar, Osathee came by every suite to hand over a box of Laderach Swiss chocolates to every passenger, as well as thank everyone for choosing Qatar Airways. This is a very thoughtful gesture by the Qatar Airways cabin crew, and I greatly appreciate it.
^ Läderach chocolates
The chocolates were fantastic by the way, they score 10/10.
PRE-LANDING SERVICE SCORES AN EASY 10/10.
As we descend into Doha, I'll share some of my thoughts on the cabin crew of this flight:
Osathee the Flight Attendant
Osathee was always walking down the aisle to check on his customers and was very attentive and professional. Conversations with him were always very pleasant, and he did a very good job to make me feel entirely at home for the entire flight. Felt good to (kind of) know him. Osathee will score 11/10.
Service speed (general)
Meal service overall was not the fastest I've ever seen, but was just fast enough seeing that the flight was completely full. Personal requests for Osathee, however, were fulfilled with speed. General service speed gets a 9/10.
Service attitude (general)
All the flight attendants appeared enthusiastic about their jobs and always smiled in front of the passengers. The Cabin Manager, an older Southeast Asian man, also actively engaged in conversations with the passengers. General service attitude gets a 10/10.
OVERALL, THE CABIN CREW ON BOARD WILL GET A SCORE OF 10/10.
We were soon on final approach into Doha Hamad International Airport's runway 34R, and we touched down at 13:26 local time, 4 minutes ahead of schedule.
^Final approach 34R
^Taxiing to the gate
^Nose of A7-AMG, seen from the jet bridge
^Final views of the aircraft
Welcome to a very empty Doha’s Hamad International Airport! Now, I have around 3 hours to spare before my next flight to London Heathrow departs. Our aircraft parked at the B gates, so it’s just a short walk to the transit area. At this time of the day (early afternoon), Hamad Intl Airport is almost completely deserted, with very few flights coming in and out of the airport.
Transit Security
As I was on a Business Class ticket, I had access to fast-track security, though it wouldn’t have saved that much time anyways, since the normal lanes were empty as well. The security staff here in the fast-track lane were extremely friendly, they engaged in very whole-hearted conversations. I must say, this was one of the best airport security experiences I’ve ever had.
10/10 here.
We're in the main departures concourse! Let's take a moment to appreciate the giant 23-foot statue of a lamp-impaled yellow teddy bear.
^Teddy bear statue
From here, I am headed toward the prestigious Al Mourjan Business Lounge - South, which is Qatar Airways' flagship business lounge. However, I will not cover that in this review, since I will be doing that in a later review for the connecting flight.
This means that this flight report has come to an end! Below are my ratings for this flight.
Airports
Airport Experiences: 8/10
Hard Product
Seat Comfort: 10/10
Bed Comfort: 10/10
In-flight Entertainment: 10/10
Aircraft Comfort: 10/10
Aircraft Cleanliness: 8/10
Soft Product
Meal Service: 8/10
Amenities: 8/10
Other Service: 10/10
Cabin Crew: 10/10
OVERALL RATING: 92/100
So, that was a dive into my excellent Qsuites experience on Qatar Airways' A350-900 from Singapore to Doha!
Qatar Airways' Qsuites certainly offers some of the best hard and soft products, so if you ever come across a good deal to fly it, don't hesitate to try it!
If you made it so far down, thank you so much! I really hope this flight report, as well as all my future ones, can help you decide how you want to travel in the future.
Travel safe, and goodbye for now!
So, that was a dive into my excellent Qsuites experience on Qatar Airways' A350-900 from Singapore to Doha!
Qatar Airways' Qsuites certainly offers some of the best hard and soft products, so if you ever come across a good deal to fly it, don't hesitate to try it!
If you made it so far down, thank you so much! I really hope this flight report, as well as all my future ones, can help you decide how you want to travel in the future. Do feel free to drop a comment if you have any questions or, well, comments, and leave a like as well if possible. That would be appreciated.
Travel safe, and goodbye for now!
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 13 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Singapore (SIN) → Doha (DOH).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Qatar Airways avec 8.3/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 7 heures et 37 minutes.
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4 Comments
Welcome and looking forward to future reviews !
It’s difficult to go wrong with the Qsuite, it’s a fantastic product.
Sad for the QR Premium Lounge that was closed for your flight though.
Looking forward to more review from you ;)
Indeed, the Qsuite is a great business class product, with an almost flawless hard product, helped on by QR's exquisite dining and their brilliant cabin crews.
Although I was quite disappointed about the QR Premium lounge, I'm quite happy that passengers now won't have to face the same situation that I did. Looking forward to checking it out some time in the future.
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