Hello there! This is my first trip report on this website, so let me know what you think in the comments section below. Visit my blog www.Gweegin.wordpress.com and follow me on my Facebook page / Instagram to read about my latest food and travel adventures.
Introduction: The Long Road to Boston
Review: Malindo Air Economy Boeing 737-800 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Colombo
Review: Plaza Premium Lounge in KLIA
Review: Araliya Lounge Colombo Bandaranaike Airport
Review: Qatar Airways A340 Business Class Colombo to Doha
Review: Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha International Airport
Review: Qatar Airways A350 Business Class Doha to Boston
Earlier this year, I embarked on an epic 30+ hour journey from Singapore to Boston, taking advantage of the incredibly low fares offered by Qatar Airways during its Travel Festival. The only catch was that this flight originated from Colombo, Sri Lanka, and I had to position myself from Singapore to Colombo, a (deceptively) short 4-hour flight away.
I shall start this trip report with the business class experience on Qatar Airways, since the Malindo Air flight I took from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Colombo was largely uneventful. If you are interested, you can read more about my Malindo experience on my blog.
By this point in my trip, after the long and arduous transit experience in Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, I was so ready to sink into the comfort of my business class seat and be pampered silly.
Before that, though, I had to go through another round of security checks at the boarding gate (no priority lane for business class passengers here), and also contend with the crowds at the boarding area.
Qatar Airway's A340 business class is arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration with forward-facing lie-flat seats, which were comfortable enough but made for some awkward moments with my seat mate.
I don't have a picture of the cabin or the seat, but this picture from One Mile at a Time should give you an idea of how it looks like.
The cabin was awash in Qatar's signature purplish/blueish mood lighting, which gave the cabin a warm, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.
Within moments of settling down, I was offered a welcome drink, and I chose Qatar's signature lime and mint drink, which was refreshing.
A large pillow and blanket was already at my seat, and a bottle of water could be found in the small storage compartment under the armrest.
I wasn't offered an amenity kit as this was a short regional flight, but instead received a beautiful pouch containing a pair of socks and ear plugs.
The noise-cancelling headphones provided were of decent quality, but the IFE screen was so far away that I had to put on my glasses in order to watch my inflight movie #firstworldproblem. This would attest to the amount of legroom one gets on this seat.
Qatar Airways offers dine-on-demand service on business class, and I chose to have my meal right before landing.
This is the food and beverage menu for those of you interested:
Dead tired by this point, I reclined my seat into the lie-flat position and proceeded to catch some inflight movies while lulling myself to sleep.
Now comes the awkward part. Because the seats are arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration with the seat pairs angling towards each other, and the seat pairs actually sharing the footrest with a small divider, I was actually playing footsie with my seat mate for parts of the flight.
Imagine falling asleep and suddenly feeling someone else's feet touching your own. Yup, awkward~
I was woken up by the sound of clanging cutlery and the smell of breakfast, and my tray table was quickly made.
I opted for yoghurt with berry compote, toasted granola and nuts, as well as the blueberry pancakes. I also had a cup of delicious spiced chai tea with saffron.
Breakfast was delicious, but because I woke up so close to landing, I did not have the luxury of time to fully enjoy it. The FA had to very politely rush me through my breakfast as they were preparing to land.
All in all, this was a very pleasant ~5-hour flight in flat-bed comfort, with warm, sincere service and delicious food. I just wish this was in a 1-2-1 configuration instead, or at least have the foot cubbies facing away from each other instead of being placed together.