You know, I almost cannot imagine it being any better,
almost. Hi there, my name is Kevin and I make honest, unsponsored and to the point narrated
video tours about hotels and flights all over the world. This is my 93rd video and today we’ve got
an exceptional QSuites flight from Philadelphia to Doha. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.
Welcome to, umm, beautiful Philadelphia- Terminal A at the airport to be exact.
If you’d like to know more details about the fare I paid for this flight and the
next five videos I have in queue, please feel free to check the description below.
Checkin today was a breeze with just one flight being checked in at this time with three or four
agents devoted to the business class line. After the agent checked in the family in front of me’s
300 bags, it was my turn. So, super long story short, I’m flying to Singapore. My original second
flight was canceled and when I was reassigned to a new flight I had no ability to select a seat.
After a few calls to Qatar, I was able to get an aisle side center seat, which at least meant
I wouldn’t have to deal with the horror of rubbing elbows with someone in the center honeymoon seats.
The flight was, naturally, full. My last chance to get a window seat was here and now.
And she did it! It was not a quick click of the button but the check in agent
took care of it and won me over. Sorry, that was supposed to be short.
Anyway, today’s flight wasn’t originally supposed to happen- but frankly
if I talked about all of the flights and hotels that also weren’t originally
planned to happen in the past year, I’d probably need to start a new channel.
By the way, welcome to the channel if you’re new here. So, just like 16 months ago,
I had never edited a video in my life- and here I am now diving in full time, so of course you know
how much I would appreciate you giving this video a thumbs up and for subscribing to check out three
new videos every week. I truly do believe that I’m just the guy that is roaming around making content
that you want to watch- so I am always all ears about suggestions to make my content better.
Except of course for you telling me not to talk about Patreon, which I just launched-
link in the description below. Massive and genuine thanks for all that you do.
As you may have noticed, I ended up in the Centurion lounge instead of the Admiral’s
club since the only one available was a schlep in Terminal C. For Centurion lounges,
it’s not that I’m not a fan, I’m just not head over heels for them like many are.
That said, at least there was a decent selection at the bar. As for the food, it was all tasty but
it was just odd to me that the primary, actually the only protein dish was fish. The rest was tasty
and if you’re here do everything you can to snag one of these cozy nooks
because it can get very crowded in here.
Before we head to the gate, let’s check out today’s stats. We would end up taking off to
the west before heading up to 34000 feet for our 12 hour flight to Doha, landing 11 minutes early.
Time to head to the gate and board. Today’s aircraft is a 777-300ER
that was delivered to Qatar new in 2009. In the past, it’s worn both the FC Barcelona livery
as well as the World Cup livery. But today, it’s in the basic silver and
maroon scheme- changed back perhaps when the QSuites retrofit took place.
In the past 10 years or so, I’ve had around 70 long haul flights,
probably around 50 of them in premium cabins. I say this simply to stress what I’m about to say.
This was the best cabin crew I’ve ever had, easily. From the moment I stepped on board
until until the moment I stepped off, I was taken care of, I know that sounds like a very
basic thing to say, but it’s the way in which it was done that made all of the difference.
I’ll get into details about it shortly, first off, let’s take a closer look at the seats on board.
All 777’s have 42 Business Class seats. I wish I could say all odd numbered window seats are
rear facing and closer to the window, but that is not the case- so depending on your aircraft
make sure you look at the seat maps closely. In terms of seats to avoid, 1 Alpha and Kilo have
ever so slightly less room due to the curvature of the aircraft, but it’s really not a big problem.
When booking, I selected 3 Kilo for myself a rear facing true window seat.
These suites are well known for the center honey moon seats being very close together,
which isn’t great if you’re strangers, but if you’re traveling with a partner,
the two seats can be turned into essentially a single double bed.
As for seat measurements I took, It’s a very comfortable 21” wide and 20” deep
providing ample support for long flights with the suite itself being 40” wide at its narrowest.
When lying flat, it turns into a 73” long bed with a decent amount of foot cubby space
and 24” of width with the armrest pushed down. My only complaint is that the seat
is not truly fully flat, which I’ll show you as we take a look at the seat itself.
This is not a layout that feels particularly open, but that’s kinda the point. QSuites
emphasize your own personal space- and they do a very good job at it as well.
Multiple sets of the center seats are also considered Quads
and if you reserve the four seats together, you can slide the IFE monitors to the side
and essentially create a small room with four seats in it- a very clever trick for families.
Here, you can see an example of the window seats that aren’t actually against the windows.
Note that these seats have a larger side table and larger side cushion.
The flight attendant brought me a flute of champagne and then surprisingly closed my door,
which was a very nice touch.
Just under your side table is a newer generation remote control for your IFE as well as a universal
power outlet, USB type A port, HDMI port and the mysterious paywave scanner which I’ve seen
on multiple airlines but have never actually seen used. Next to your seat is your armrest cum
seat extension cum storage cubby which can raise and lower as well as of course, open up.
Inside, you’ll find your noise canceling headphones, a bottle of water and plenty of space
to stash some other stuff. Up over your shoulder is a reading light and coat hook- and, just want
to point out the materials used. Of course in this day and age the majority of materials are
plastic or poly or something or other, but here they just look beautiful, really beautiful and
pleasingly understated- especially compared to their biggest competitor, Emirates.
Overhead vents were available- as they are in all QSuite configurations and your window
side armrest could also raise and lower- though it was a bit of an effort to do it.
At your seat are two pillows- one area where Qatar could improve. This maroon pillow will
be slipped into a pillow case at bedtime but it still feels like a throw pillow to me- and then
the super small and flimsy pillow which I think is more of an instagram accessory than anything.
Then, there are the pajamas. I’m not sure the exact cutoff of flight length for when they are
and aren’t handed out, but I was given a pair on both this and my next 8 hour flight.
They’re of a nice quality and well frankly you
know you’re fancy when your pj’s have tissue paper inside them.
Slippers were a touch nicer and larger than standard issue these days.
The blanket is thick and rolled tight enough to do some serious damage should an on board pillow
fight break out. Seriously, as dense as a brick. I love how the blanket is very long- but they could
be just a bit softer- I’m thinking about Etihad’s- which are probably my favorite out there.
Dyptique amenity kits- boxes really, were at each seat at boarding and despite not having a pouch,
has to be one of the nicer kits I’ve gotten in a while. Note, on flights originating in Doha,
you’ll get a proper pouch, which you’ll see in my next trip report. Covid safety
kits are also at the seats. And here is a better look of the foot cubby.
Of course, full paper menus were available which I’ll show you in full during the meal service.
Under the table there was also a storage nook with a well placed lip to
keep things stashed when not needed. The noise canceling headphones on offer were
better than most airlines provide, but still not great.
The tray table, super sized and super stable was great though. If you did need to get some work
done I reckon you’d have more table top space available here than in many office cubicles.
Asked the captain what was taking so long before going back to my seat to watch the FIFA filled
safety video. Had I watched more than a handful of soccer matches in my life,
this probably wouldn’t have all been lost on me.
Pushback came around a half hour late, but I didn’t mind a bit because of the hospitality.
I’ll admit, by this point I was already impressed. It seems, there are three types of airlines
these days. Those willing to do anything to increase shareholder value, those trying but
failing to be the best and those trying and succeeding at being the best. Whatever you-
or I- may think of Qatar, it’s hard not to acknowledge that this airline
is one of the best soft power assets any country on earth could have.
Alright time to actually go somewhere. Ten minutes in and we’re still on the ground!
Philly’s airport is to the south of the city center. We’d be taking off to the
west before making a u turn to join our oceanic track. Best sound on earth is coming up next.
In no time we were at cruising altitude and leaving the Jersey
shore behind while we chased the moon. Our route today would take us just a bit
south of the great circle route to avoid Ukrainian, Syrian and Israeli airspace.
On to the IFE. The safety video mentioned 4000 entertainment options on offer and
while I didn’t count that many, I did count how many movies and tv series there were on
offer which you can see below. Also, wifi. $10 bucks for the full flight- no data caps. That’s
it. Props to Qatar for having what must be the most sensical airline wifi service on earth.
To everyone that skipped directly to this chapter, welcome to the video. Dinner service- which was
my choice, the full menu is a la carte and served whenever you’d like- started with warm mixed nuts
and a glass of pinot. Feel free to pause the menu to take a closer look. The red prices on
the wine pages are sample US prices of the listed wines to give you an idea of value.
My candlelit turbulent dinner started off with a hearty portion of Maine Lobster Bisque
which was out of this world good to the very last drop. The acidity level is what made
it so good- just enough to offset all of that richness and a very good sign of things to come.
Next up were a few of my favorite words.
I’m weird, I enjoy turbulence. We had a trio of prawn salad which was a bit of a disappointment.
It was tasty, but it was the same prawn salad delicately
placed next to various items to make it seem as if it was a trio.
The turbulence related main
course delay gave me the chance to show off the beautifully etched flatware.
For the main, I had Chicken hariyali with vermicelli rice. And here’s where the wifi package
came in handy- because I had no idea what the dish was, but was able to google it- essentially it’s a
green curry from either northern India or Pakistan- you can decide on that one.
Next up was what is usually my favorite course in the air. A cheese plate with a glass of port.
The service concluded with a chocolate and praline crunch cake. I think, it was enough.
The moving map was decent, but not the newest generation- though I did find the
Titanic marker a bit strange and the only thing that really bothered me throughout the flight
were the number of ads and PSAs that ran during the moving map. Honestly I don’t care at all
but when I’m trying to get some rest I like to keep the moving map on-
but had to turn it off since the screen brightness was constantly changing.
The toilets were nicely appointed with more diptyque products- highly recommend the
facial mist for long flights. Also, a bench is available and something that when I first saw it
made me think, “gross”... in reality the crew put a fresh seat cover on the seat in between
every passenger’s use- and also constantly folded the toilet rolls.
Let’s pretend we’re not over the desert and it’s not broad daylight,
I just wanted good lighting to film the bed.
Just after meal service, the crew offered to put the seat cover on or totally make the bed.
Everything was comfy and cozy- except for the only thing I truly hated about the seat.
It doesn’t lay completely flat. You can see the flat armrest to the side which would be totally
level. This, combined with the obtrusive headrest make it difficult, if not near
impossible for side or stomach sleepers. Back sleepers, feel free to disregard all of this.
Snack baskets were brought around a few times- a few times that I saw at least,
the doors are actually high enough here so you really don’t notice the aisle traffic-
a big different from the like of BA.
Anyway, my morning started over northern France. While we take a small tour, let me talk about
the service. I’ve flow 6 segments on Qatar in the past years. I can say with confidence that
all cabin crew are trained to the letter and know how to do their jobs well. Today’s crew went much
further. I have never felt so taken care of on a flight and that’s what made this flight different.
It wasn’t about attentiveness or friendliness, which was also on point,
it was much more a sense of genuine hospitality. The crew serving my aisle were let’s say
exceptionally exceptional, but in general all crew on board were warm and effortless.
Middle Eastern airlines employ crew from every corner of the globe.
There is no inherent level of cultural hospitality like you’d find on ANA or Singapore, for example.
But at the same time, how the hell do you train someone to offer such great
hospitality on a daily basis with a group of a dozen or two strangers. It was perfect.
Breakfast service started soon after- and it was the best breakfast I’ve had in the air, I think
ever. Let’s be honest, normal breakfast is not the most exciting meal on an airline, but today’s menu
was not normal. I ordered two dishes, Breakfast Nachos as they were called and Shrimp and Grits.
As I suspected, the Breakfast Nachos were in fact chilaquiles, which are a popular Mexican breakfast
dish of tortillas usually topped with salsas, eggs, beans, cotija cheese a few other toppings
and either a red or green sauce. This hit the spot in so many ways I don’t know where to start-
and how it made it’s way on a plane from Philly to Doha is beyond me. That came with some pastries, a
greek yogurt parfait, a strawberry basil smoothie and copious amounts of freshly brewed americanos.
Not to be outdone by Mexico though, the American south had something to say loud
and clear with the Shrimp & Grits served with warm cornbread that were up next.
It tasted even better than it looked and I’ll leave it at that.
The further we flew the more surreal the landscapes became.
The cabin was prepared for landing as the crew gave out more cold towels and chocolate-
by the way, you can choose cold or hot towels.
Our approach brought us across Saudi Arabia before crossing over Dammam and Bahrain
as we turned south through what I’m assuming was a mixture of moisture, pollution and sand.
Finally, some turquoise waters came into view
before we landed at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport.
We were followed in by one of my all time favorite special liveries, which is worth a double take.
Taxiing to the gate didn’t take long and before I knew it,
this 12 hour slice of paradise was over. But, let’s just say the airport was pretty good too.
Let’s get into the Flip Flop Score. Feel free to pause if you’d like to take a closer look.
Genuine thank you to anyone who liked this video or subscribed because of it. I really hope I see
you again on Wednesday for the first in my nine part Bali series at the very new Andaz Bali.