To kick off our trip to the Maldives, we flew Qatar Airways Qsuites from Montreal to Doha before catching an onward flight in Qatar Airways First Class to Malé.
Now, I had previously reviewed Qsuites on the Airbus A350, as well as the reverse route of this particular flight from Doha to Montreal on the Boeing 777 – including the Qsuites hard product and all the food and service in detail – back in early 2020.
In this installment, then, we’ll keep it brief and focus on the unique elements of the Montreal–Doha overnight route, the post-pandemic Qsuites experience and how it holds up against pre-pandemic times, as well as what Qsuites is like when travelling with a partner as compared to flying solo.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Booking
I booked this one-way journey using 70,000 British Airways Avios plus about ~$150 in taxes and fees per person. This redemption is one of the best Avios sweet spots these days, with the cost only rising to 75,000 Avios to continue onwards to other destinations in the Middle East.
Incidentally, I had actually booked this flight with 70,000 American AAdvantage miles at first. However, in March 2022, British Airways and Qatar Airways linked up and offered the ability to redeem Avios for Qsuites at a favourable rate.
Since Avios are much easier to earn in Canada and I preferred to save my American miles for other potentially valuable uses, I decided to swap the booking from American AAdvantage for the same nominal amount of Avios.
Note as well that I could’ve actually snagged the entire booking from Montreal–Doha–Maldives for a total of 85,000 Avios; however, the award space was already locked in by the time this became a possibility in March 2022, so I decided against cancelling and rebooking in case it didn’t reappear.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Ground Experience
Qatar Airways business class passengers usually get access to the National Bank Lounge in Montreal. However, the quality of the lounge isn’t exactly up to scratch in terms of the pre-flight experience, at least compared to the glitz and glamour of Qsuites.
Instead, we opted to spend time in the Air France Lounge in Montreal, which certainly makes for a superior experience. We had access to the Air France Lounge not by virtue of our Qatar Airways business class tickets, but rather because of our American Express Platinum Cards.
The lounge is operated by Plaza Premium and counts as a Plaza Premium Lounge, to which the Platinum Card and Business Platinum Card offer unlimited access.
We spent about 45 minutes in the lounge and enjoyed a few glasses of Champagne and some small bites, making sure to save room for the food onboard our upcoming Qsuites flight.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Cabin
We won’t go too much into depth about the cabin and seat features in this review, as I’ve gone over both in great detail in previous reviews of Qatar Airways Qsuites.
Qatar Airways Qsuites Reviews
However, to recap, a majority of Qatar Airways’s Boeing 777s – especially those serving North America – feature cutting-edge Qsuites. Business class is divided into a main cabin and a mini-cabin, both consisting of these luxurious individualized suites.
Unique to this product, the entire column of middle seats is arranged in a customizable fashion. You can combine two seats next to each other as a couple, or indeed, four seats in the centre section if travelling as a group of four, known as the “quad”.
The odd-numbered rows consist of backward-facing seats that are closer together, while the even-numbered rows consist of forward-facing seats that are relatively farther apart.
In our case, my partner Jessy and I picked Seats 7E and 7F, which are backward-facing seats, close together.
I’d recommend these seats for any couple travelling together who wants to enjoy the shared Qsuites experience, whereas solo travellers would be best-served with one of the window seats.
This flight would actually be my first time sitting in one of these close-together “honeymoon” seats, having taken up the window seat on both of my previous solo Qsuites flights.
I had flown Qsuites before, so I was largely familiar with my surroundings. But since this was Jessy’s first time, she was pretty impressed by the cabin around her, and took up the crew’s offer of showing her around the seat features.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Seat
Again, you can check out my review of my maiden Qsuites flight for an in-depth look at all of the seat features.
Overall, the seats are visually striking with burgundy accents, faux marble decorations, and rose-gold detailing.
Qsuites seats feature lie-flat beds and full-length sliding doors, which provide the highest degree of privacy you’ll find in any business class cabin. There’s also a healthy balance of storage and surface space smartly positioned around the seat.
Between the key factors of functionality, ergonomics, privacy, and visual appearance, Qatar Airways Qsuites checks virtually every box you can think of – it’s no wonder this is widely considered the world’s best business class all around.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Amenities
Shortly after boarding, the cabin manager introduced herself and offered us our choice of welcome beverage, along with a choice of a hot or cold towel.
Maybe it’s because of the colours, but a glass of rosé before takeoff is virtually synonymous in my mind with flying Qsuites. It was naturally our drink of choice, and we polished off two glasses of Charles Heidsieck each during the pre-departure window.
We were also given the opportunity to flick through the menus, and our orders were taken just before takeoff. The Qatar Airways crew was once again at their spectacular best, kneeling at our seats to take meal orders and walking us through the menu with a great deal of familiarity.
The meal order on Qatar Airways business class goes into an unparalleled level of detail. You’re asked for everything from your choice of vinaigrette to go with the bread – I recommend the tomato chilli flavour – to the type of milk you’d like to accompany your cereal 12 hours later.
And what’s more, when I asked whether I’d be able to sample two main courses from the menu given my ravenous mood that evening, the crew member was wholly unfazed and promised that she’d make it happen as long as there were still portions available.
We were also treated to Diptyque amenity kits waiting at our seats, which featured small bottles of lotion, lip balm, and face cream.
The business class amenity kits now come in a cute paper box tied together with a bow, which, while less luxurious than a leather bag, does offer the upside of being more environmentally friendly.
There was also a “protective kit” pouch for travel hygiene, consisting of hand sanitizer, gloves, and a mask.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Meal Service
As we took off for Doha, I was eagerly anticipating the dinner that was about to be served.
Qatar Airways has recently refreshed its meal offerings out of North America, with special attention on Canadian specialities for the departure out of Montreal. I was therefore quite curious to sample the menu on tonight’s flight.
The dining menu read as follows:
And the drinks menu read as follows:
I opted for the salmon carpaccio for an appetizer, while Jessy tried the American-style tapas. For the main courses, I chose the dill lobster and turbot paupiette, while Jessy picked the Texas slow-cooked beef with rice.
I had then wanted to try the Japanese vegetable curry as my second main course, but unfortunately, there were no seconds left of the dish (which is understandable for the sole vegetarian option on the menu). I therefore decided to channel my appetite towards the seared Canadian chicken breast instead.
First up, a round of drinks shortly after we reached cruising altitude. Having already downed some rosé before takeoff, though, I instead asked the crew for their recommendation of white wine, and I stuck with the Italian Montesole for most of the duration of the flight.
Jessy’s tapas were served first, featuring marinated tomatoes, beet hummus, and olives served with a crunchy baguette. She thought the marinated tomatoes were quite tasty, but didn’t enjoy the dish all too much as she’s not a fan of olives in general.
My salmon carpaccio appetizer then arrived, which I much preferred to the few bites of tapas I tried. The dish was flavourful and smoky, if a little overly oily.
Following the appetizers, my first main course, the dill lobster and turbot paupiette, was up next. The lobster was delightful and creamy, smoothing out the fragrance of the saffron rice.
The vegetables on the side also did a great job of absorbing the creamy sauce, resulting in a cohesive and delicious dish overall.
My meal was accompanied by bread on the side, along with the addicting tomato chilli vinaigrette. We may or may not have kept quite a few little bottles of these to bring home along our multitude of Qatar Airways flights on this trip.
I also stole a few bites of Jessy’s Texas slow-cooked beef main course, and was very impressed. The beef was tender and flavourful, with hints of lemongrass – almost as though it was an Asian-inspired dish, though the menu showed no sign of such.
Then, my second main course of the Canadian chicken breast was served, which ended up being the weakest main dish. The chicken undoubtedly needed extra salt and pepper for extra flavour, while the other elements of the dish didn’t stand out in any way either.
Out of the three main courses, the Texas beef came out on top as my favourite dish, and it’d be my recommended choice if you’re treated to this particular menu out of Montreal.
The meal service was wrapped up with a cheese plate and some strawberry ice cream. Both were presented beautifully: the cheese was carefully arranged on an elegant black slate, and the ice cream was topped with a mint, white chocolate roll, and milk chocolate syrup drizzled on top.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Bed
With the meal service complete, we decided to call for turndown service. Here on Qsuites, you can customize when you want the crew to begin turndown and help make your bed.
For couples travelling together, the crew will then put together a luxurious double bed in the sky. The bed does have a small separation between the legs, so it’s not a “true” double bed; nonetheless, it’s close enough to snuggle up to your partner and relax at 35,000 feet.
In addition to the mattress pad, blankets, and pillows, there is also an additional thin mattress that goes between the two seats, filling the gap that would otherwise be a hard surface.
Altogether, it was an extremely comfortable sleeping surface, and I got a solid seven hours of sleep or so, before waking up with just over two hours of the flight left to go.
Jessy continued to rest beside me until landing, while I woke up to enjoy just a bit more of a business class experience that’s always such a special treat.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Entertainment
Qatar Airways offers over 4,000 entertainment options as part of its Oryx One system, including 500+ movies available in 30 languages. If you’re the type to pass the time with a movie or two on flights, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
The moving map software, on the other hand, was surprisingly antiquated. I was under the impression that Qsuites would have a much more advanced airshow system to track the progress of the flight; however, it turned out to be the type that isn’t customizable and didn’t provide all too much information at all.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Wi-Fi
Qatar Airways Privilege Club members enjoy an hour of complimentary Wi-Fi onboard select Qatar Airways flights, and I was able to connect to the service by logging into my Privilege Club account.
However, unfortunately I ended up falling asleep before I used up my full hour of free Wi-Fi, and when I woke up, the Wi-Fi service appeared to be out of commission due to a poor satellite connection.
We weren’t flying over a polar region or any particularly unfriendly territory, so my sense is that Qatar Airways’s Wi-Fi connectivity simply isn’t all that reliable throughout the duration of the flight.
It wasn’t a major worry on this journey since we’d be landing soon in Doha anyway, but if this were a daytime flight and I needed an internet connection to work, I would’ve been mildly put off.
Qatar Airways 777 Qsuites Business Class – Snack Service
After a long sleep, I woke up with just enough time to dig into the snack menu.
I kicked things off with one of my longstanding favourites from the drink list: a glass of mango juice, which was sweet and refreshing.
There was one particular snack item that had caught my eye: the signature Canadian poutine was recently introduced as a part of Qatar Airways’s new North American initiatives, so I was very curious how poutine – a dish best served on late winter nights on a frigid Montreal street corner – would turn out in an elevated setting like the Qsuites cabin.
Fries, cheese curds, and gravy served up on a plane – sounds like heaven, right? Well, unfortunately, the dish was quite disappointing in the end.
The cheese was rubbery and lacked flavour, a far cry from the squeaky curds that poutine is meant to be topped with. The overly creative interpretation of the dish was also a detractor, as the sliced beef and large-size potato pieces took away from the essence of what makes poutine poutine.
Catering is typically exquisite onboard a Qatar Airways premium cabin, but sadly, this one was a swing and a miss.
Immediately after poutine, breakfast was served. I had ordered the assiette of cold cuts, smoked salmon, and the hand-rolled truffled omelette. These dishes were executed better, helping to make up for my disappointment with the poutine.
Along with the meal, I also ordered one of Qatar Airways’s signature drinks, the iced cappuccino, which perfectly quenched my thirst while giving me an energy boost for the many more luxury flight experiences that lay ahead.
As the flight came to its conclusion and we approached Doha nearing sunset hour, I finally got a glimpse of the Qsuites cabin with daylight streaming through – a gorgeous sight indeed.
To wrap things up, the crew handed out some chocolates to each passenger. I saved these as a snack for later, but ordered one final glass of iced tea, ending the flight on a high note as we touched down in Doha for a six-hour layover before our onward flight into the Maldives.
Conclusion
I’m pleased to report that the Qatar Airways Qsuites experience is just as strong as it was pre-pandemic, still easily ranking as the world’s best business class.
The menu continues to be largely quite impressive, but it’s worth noting that not necessarily every item on the menu is outstanding to the same level. Some of our more inspired menu choices turned out to be delectable, while others, like the “signature Canadian poutine”, certainly fell flat.
Ultimately though, the hard product simply can’t be beat, while the onboard service continues to be attentive, eager, and personalized, with very few hiccups along the way.
And with Qsuites now bookable via Avios as an industry-leading sweet spot, it promises to be one of the best ways to jet around the world in luxury using your rewards points for many years to come.
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