QR8 & QR948 London → Doha → Singapore, Qsuite

On the ground

This was my first time in Qatar’s Qsuite, the Business Class seat that set the standard when it launched, on the way to a long weekend in Singapore with my mum. We drove down and left the car in the long-stay car park at Terminal 4.

Check-in was seamless: Qatar has its own enclosed check-in area at Terminal 4 for Business and First, away from the main hall.

Its lounges are split in two behind one reception: straight on, the Premium Lounge for Business and First passengers, and downstairs the Frequent Flyer Lounge for Privilege Club Gold and Platinum members and other oneworld Sapphires and Emeralds flying in Economy. Ours was the Premium Lounge, and a calm start: rosé Champagne by the window, something sweet from the buffet, orchids under the candle wall and a shower room if we’d wanted one, with our 777 waiting at the gate outside.

QR8 was due off gate 7 at 16:00, and rosé Champagne and the amenity kit were waiting in the suite, followed by Arabic coffee. Then the big one: this was my first flight with Starlink. Free, fast and working from the gate, it was a game changer, with the iPad streaming happily alongside the moving map.

In the air

We pushed back at 16:15 and were airborne at 16:31, the take-off roll taking us past the retired Concorde that sits beside the runway at Heathrow. Then up through the cloud and out over the coast.

I was in 3K, a window Qsuite, with my mum diagonally behind in 4J. This aircraft, A7-BAU, has Qatar’s smaller Qsuite cabin of 24 suites in a single cabin, staggered so every seat has aisle access and the centre pairs can open up to each other.

3K faces backwards, as every suite in the odd rows does, and I’m not a fan of travelling backwards. But the odd rows’ window suites are also the ones right up against the window, and on most flights the window and the moving map are my entertainment. It was something of a revelation: going backwards didn’t really bother me, and it gave some lovely views of the wing and engine.

The sun went down over the cloud somewhere over Europe, and the rest of the flight was Starlink on the iPad.

Food and drink

Menu

Cellar

We’d kept it light in the lounge, a few snacks and nibbles while watching the comings and goings on the apron, knowing we were in for a feast on board. Qatar’s Business menu is dine on demand, à la carte and served whenever you like, and I asked for mine as soon as we’d levelled off, having pre-ordered the lobster thermidor with potato gratin before the flight. It started with rosé Champagne and warm nuts, then the table was laid with bread, butter, a candle and a row of Monte Vibiano olive oils.

Forget the garlic bread: the Vibianini tomato chilli oil is the absolute best thing in the sky. Prawns came first as an amuse-bouche, then the classic Arabic mezze of hummus, muhammara and moutabel with pita, and the lobster thermidor with grilled asparagus, which didn’t last long.

Arrival

We landed in Doha at 00:50 and were on stand at 00:57, seven minutes late, with an hour and three quarters before the next flight. Mercifully we got an airbridge: the same flight had been parked at a remote stand and bussed in all of the week before, and so had I on my own previous trips, so walking straight into the terminal made the transfer a whole lot more pleasant. Then on to Singapore, on QR948.

On board

3K again, with my mum in 4J again, but on a different cabin: A7-BEE has Qatar’s larger Qsuite layout, 42 suites across two cabins, rows 1 to 6 and then 8 to 11 behind the galley. Starlink again too.

This was the night flight, with pyjamas handed out before take-off. I hadn’t really slept on the first flight, drinking in the sights (quite literally) instead, so this one was mostly sleep.

Menu

Cellar

The second pre-order was the braised lamb shank with corn mousseline, which isn’t on the printed menu at all, served in the dark not long after leaving Doha. Then into the pyjamas, the seat made up into a bed, and a solid sleep. I woke a couple of hours out, over the Bay of Bengal, to blue sky and scattered cloud, and breakfast was the sweet potato and kale omelette with dill sauce and grilled chicken sausage, before we crossed the Andaman Sea and came down the Malaysian coast to Singapore.

Arrival

We landed at Changi at 15:23 and were on stand at 15:31, 14 minutes early. From the aircraft door to the car took about 15 minutes, bags and all, and our driver from Raffles was waiting for us: Changi certainly lives up to its reputation. By six we were at Raffles, a Singapore Sling in hand where it was invented.