You have such a graceful way of addressing issues without denigrating the airline yet still manage to get your message across. This is rare amongst vloggers. Nicely done and another great video as always.
Could be the same reason why the premium cabin on US flights is branded as first class, while that same cabin on an international flight is branded as business class: it’s just historically how things have been, and no one bothered to change it
My only guess with the naming convention is that Qatar is trying to expand their short-haul flight market for people travelling within the middle east. Giving first class lounge access to local travellers is a nice perk over other airlines.
Qatar sponsers terrorism so....it kind of feels bad you flying on an airline that contributes to a state which sponsers Islamic terrorism in Syria libya and other countries in western Africa.
I'm still very confused. Because the 777 is a wide body long haul jet, does the real first class exist that nobody is sitting in? Or is the business class (branded as first class) the best they have on these short haul flights, despite it being on a long haul aircraft?
If you watched Nonstop Dan’s video, you’ll know that Qatar loves to do equipment changes. You should not have to pay money for an expected Q suite when u actually get a older business class seat. If it’s rare then it’s not bad, but Qatar have a history of doing this and I don’t think that the best way to treat high paying business class customers…
You don’t pay more money. You pay money for a flight between two points in a certain class if service. Everything else is never guaranteed. You must be new to travel. Read a contract of carriage.
You don’t pay more money. You pay money for a flight between two points in a certain class if service. Everything else is never guaranteed. You must be new to travel. Read a contract of carriage.
I mean i would rather take emirates business class even though q suite is better. This is because I can at least be mostly sure that I’ll get the product that I thought I would get. Not saying that Qatar’s old business class is not good or anything, but it make more sense to take an airline that can give you a consistent product rather than one where you have a 50/50 chance of getting a superior product.
The ONE TIME i had "first class" on QR was Kiev-Doha, a few years ago, at night, connecting to DOH-ORD at 8 that morning. I bought the upgrade at the counter in Kiev because i was so tired. I was excited to see how the other half flies. When i boarded, it was exactly the seats you had. "No problem," i thought, "the service will be impeccable!" But... I was asleep before we took off. The nice cabin crew lady woke my about 30 mins out of Doha, just in time to hit the head before landing. Someday i won't sleep through the experience... Thanks for all of your episodes. PS -- Your photos of the HARSH Sinai help us understand the desperation of Moses and his people from wandering there for 40 years. Flying over is enough for me. And -- as for the art you saw -- I urge visits to the National Museum of Qatar (Jean Nouvel), the Museum of Islamic Art (I.M. Pei) and the National Library at Education City (Rem Koolhaas). Each is mind-blowingly amazing.
Always loved your videos and congratulations on your wedding. Very happy for you two. I remember I flew Emirates on business from Jakarta to Jeddah back in the days their seats were still recliners. The Jkt-dbx was labeled business while the dbx-jed part was labeled first class and the seats were exactly the same. I thought, very ignorantly, that maybe because middle easterns didn't like to fly business, only first. This is because earlier I tried to fly Saudia 747-300 on first class but it was fully booked, but business class was completely empty. My family and I had the whole upper deck to ourselves. It was amazing 👏
Love the videos, hope you had a wonderful honeymoon with your newlywed wife! Congratulations on the marriage! And I look forward to more content from this extremely wonderful trip.
I love flying in and out of Doha... and living here, for the matter. It's a beautiful place, if a bit congested during peak times (Arab Cup is ongoing right now, and it'll be the World Cup next year... geez!) Qatar is notorious for equipment swaps on shorter flights - I recently flew from Amman to Doha. I was originally scheduled for a 787-8, then a 787-9, then an A330, an A321, then finally the A350-900 (A7-ALZ) that took us back home. British Airways stored their A380s here during the pandemic, but those are being reactivated. 20 of Qatar's A350-900s and -1000s are grounded currently by the Qatar Aviation Authority due to issues with the paint onboard, and Qatar is currently in a row with Airbus about it. In fact, I booked a flight from DOH-BOS this February, with it being advertised as QSuite, but have since been downgraded to the older, reverse herringbone product aboard. Did you know that Qatar has 5 separate business class products?
Qatar is in the middle of a fleet change, with 787s coming in to swap out the aged A330s and Q-Suites upgrades on the 777s and A350s. The A380s are leaving the fleet altogether. The A319s and A320s aren’t a Business Class product to begin with.
@@afcgeo882 The A330s were deactivated due to the grounding of the previously mentioned A350s. Same with the A380s. Neither fleet type was planned to still be around. The A319s are already gone. Except for the ACJs. Some A320s feature 2-2 lie flat, others feature 2-2 recliners, similar to the U.S. carriers. Not all 777s and A350s will receive QSuites.
@@aadvantagegold5220 I think you meant to say the A330s and A380’s were re-activated because of the 16 A350’s being grounded. Once the A350s are back, the fleet will go back to being 787s, A350s and 777s (until they are retired in 2024). The 777x will all come with Q-Suites installed.
@@afcgeo882 Thanks for the correction - I did mean that they were reactivated, of course. The 777Xs will be delivered with a “Qsuite 2.0” Some 777xs may include a First Class product, but this is TBD.
Qatar is apparently notorious for switching equipment on flights, so you book and it says Q-suites and then you get regular older business class seats.
Loving following your trip and to see you in the First Lounge, which is amazing. You used to be able to get a bedroom within the lounge for 6 hours, which is pretty awesome and a treat.
They market regional as first class for similar reasons US airlines do it, so frequent flyers can earn more miles and points on the short hops between Middle Eastern countries, and so they can relieve the Al Mourjan Business Class lounge in Doha by spreading the regional “first class” passengers into the Al Safwa First lounge. I spoke at length to a Qatar Airways employee on the ground in Doha about the very same thing!
Thank you for sharing. This was my impression when I just booked my tickets. At least I know what to expect. First Class is actually Business Class with First Class Lounge access.
Nice Jeb! Was that two BA A380s sitting at the airport? I didnt realise that QR had any 777s left with the old seats. First class problem, but inferior to the Q Suite or A380 F seat nonetheless,
Hi Paul, I bet you, like thousands of Aussies are champing at the bit to get O S and return to the ability to enjoy it at will. Look forward to your and Dennis B first airline review when things resume to ' normal'
KE does something similar with the front rows of its A330s where first class seats are identical to business class seats but with upgraded soft products.
For me, swapping out the Qsuite for these “1st” class seats for your trip from Doha to Cairo is worth it because of the access to the 1st class lounge inDoha
Very good video, Mr. Jeb. Remind you again about the return of Qatar Airways A380 in December 15 2021 to London and Paris. 3:50 those 2 BA A380 are still in power down mode while some of them are in active service to Frankfurt and Madrid however those Qatar A350s is a very different story
My guess is that the employment contracts of high level employees of Qatari companies (either private or government affiliated) have a clause that allows travel in first class. As most of the business trips involve short flights within the Middle East, Qatar Airways brands their front cabin product as First Class in order to get the business.
Lovely review, Jeb. Thanks for the tip about QR's regional 'First Class'. Even if I do end up with an older product like this (which is still pretty good I think), I would still book First just to enjoy the Al Safwa lounge and get more FF points when making regional trips to Egypt or Morocco.
i worked for American for years. it was not usual for "domestic" first class to be not as nice as international "business". depends on flight time and many other factors.
Very informative video, Jeb. I love these videos about lesser-known products on major international carriers!! Keep up the great work and it’s awesome that you are traveling with the Travel Time 5164! Such a great watch for this and Suzanne looks lovely with her Oyster Perpetual! Keep up the fantastic videos, they make mine and a lot of other peoples days.
Looks like you timed Africa perfectly. My wife and I are supposed to fly to Nairobi out of Chicago next month in Q-suite. Your videos have got us even more excited, but looks like due to recent outbreaks that may not be happening…
The plane you flew in from the Seychelles A7-BBH, I flew on, in biz seat 3A from Male to Doha on August 9th. We had expected q suite but got the other seat. Still a great flight however!
Jeb, thanks for sharing a flight over unknown country. I realise you were comfortable, but the question remains: did you get what you paid for. In some ways we ( Australians) are lucky when we choose a Middle Eastern carrier, we invariably get what we paid for..but enough of that. Trust the remainder of your round the world honey moon flights go without unexpected bumps, look forward to your ongoing journeys to share. Enjoy!
Woo Hoo! Love the video Jeb even thought I thought this series uploaded on Saturdays so I was thrilled to see it today!! Love seeing Qatar Airways… 🇶🇦 Also at 1:44 In Qatar 🇶🇦 Business Class domestically is sold as First Class because of government regulations. Qatar’s airlines therefore meaning Qatar Airways are regulated just like the U.S. used to be, so similar to the U.S. just how domestically in the U.S. Business Class Seats were sold and branded as First Class seats 💺 The Qatari 🇶🇦 airline industry, unlike the U.S 🇺🇸 are still government sales and branding regulations... Also Qatar Airways 🇶🇦 is government owned so like Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, 🇭🇰 they’re also subject to federal excise tax rules. Just like low cost carriers 💲 in the U.S. 🇺🇸😎 Unusual but that’s why… 🤔 Keep up the excellent work! Cheers 🥂 -Caleb
Yes it’s a little bit strange but cabin is business but you’ll get access to that beautiful first class lounge. I fly from Doha to Dubai and it was same
I wish you had filmed business class seats so we could have compared. Shame they swapped planes on you, but Qatar are always offer, great service. Safe travels. Look forward to your next.
It's not really a quirk when you think of European airlines selling economy class with the middle seat blocked out as "business" class and American airlines selling premium economy seats as "first" class.
Nice review but I think you’re just playing safe. Lol. I mean, it’s all good comments you got there. I think it’s okay to feel bad that it’s not Qsuite as what you originally booked but I understand the aircraft change though. Overall, it was a good review and QA service is still the best. I’ll be flying to Cairo from Doha soon. Congrats to the newly wed.
I just flew Qatar First Class Cape Town-Doha-Cairo and on the outbound flight from Doha to Cairo I got the 777-300 Q-suite which is the same excellent product I had on the CPT-DOH leg in Business Class. I must say it is impressive for a rather short flight. From CAI-DOH it was an older A330 so not the suite, but still a bit better and more modern that what was in your review. So conclusion is that it depends on the aircraft and I suppose they fly bigger planes on busier days. I don’t find the big difference between First Class and Business Class Lounge.
I'm assuming you aren't offered pajamas on this flight, right? Thank you for the video! I was wondering what this was like when it popped up on my Google Flights from CAI:BKK
Simple answer: Qatar Executive... "Beyond First Class" isn't that different in price on a Gulfstream if you're a large wealthy Middle Eastern family, plus you get to travel on your own schedule. Also 'cos A380's were grounded, and QSuite on a regional short-haul flight (did Doha-Muscat back in September as got equipment swapped from A320 to B777ER) is massively overkill compared to other regional first-class... so yeah, I think QR got the ticket coding right! 🤝
My hunch on the 1st Class/Lounge access would be to cater to the ultra wealthy who can afford the long haul first, but chartering their smaller jets for short haul just isn’t worth it. They still promise a truly premium offering while the flight itself is with the rest of the “peasants”
You gotta love the 777. A really nice aircraft. This was a cool video, having a "first-class" on this plane is quite interesting. Because like you said the seats are technically business class seats but Qatar says there first-class. Still its a nice seat overall and its way nicer than what i've ever flown in. Great video as always Jeb! Cya in the sky! :D👍🛫
This is an informative video. I find it curious that you didn’t mention anything about flight attendant service. Maybe it is beneath Qatar’s flight mechanics (or whoever) to repair equipment.
For shorter flights I actually prefer Qatar's older business class product, what you loose in privacy is made up in the comfort of the seat imo. I find these seats more comfortable due to the ability to achieve the "zero gravity position".
@@Horizon301. That's why I said for shorter flights, it also does fully lie flat if you want, but if you just want to watch a movie or something this seat can get you into a better position for doing so.
Fantastic flight review. Q Suite is absolutely much better than this seat, but I'm still OK with this seat for this 3 hour-flight if I paid a reasonable price
Labelling short-haul premium products as "first class" is pretty common in the US, no? I know how intra-Europe flights are generally sold as business but in the US, the premium cabin on domestic flights is always called first. I've been on an AA flight from Honolulu to Charlotte on an internationally configured 777 and the premium cabin, which signage on the plane labelled as business (this was a plane AA uses on international routes), was sold as "first class" on AA's website and on the tickets, since this was technically a domestic flight.
Yes but Qatar promises the 'Q Suite' - which has a closed door - and then often changes their equipment to a much lower class business/first class. This is not a semantics issue, unlike the US version of first class vs. business class.
@@ajayASMR323 Oh I was responding to his question about what we thought of selling short haul premium cabin under the first class branding. I too would have been thoroughly miffed had I been promised q suites and downgraded at the last minute.
@@mt_xing oh sorry, got it!! Yes as an American the first class/business class thing is so crazy. Sometimes I feel like they make it confusing on purpose.
@@mt_xing oh sorry, got it!! Yes as an American the first class/business class thing is so crazy. Sometimes I feel like they make it confusing on purpose.
Jeb are u sure of the airline u were flying ? Looks old school Jeb remeber north America’s first class is also business class but without lounge access
The only issue I see with the Q suites is those stupid rear facing seats. Having said that, I'm flying Manchester UK to Doha next April. My bookig confirmation shows that I'll be on a 787 - 8 but they often change it to a 777.
