Review: Qatar Airways A380 First Class

In October 2016 I had the chance to fly Qatar Airways First Class on the A380 from Doha to Paris. Qatar Airways is a 5-star airline so I had high expectations, especially from the Al Sawfa first class lounge at Hamad International Airport. For this flight, I redeemed 30.000 AAdvantage miles and paid only $ 10 in taxes in fees.

Al Safwa First Class Lounge

Qatar Airways has one of the best first class lounges in the world. At the check-in desk, I was warmly welcomed and was allowed to enter the lounge.

While my coat and bag were taken nicely, I received a short introduction about the lounge. The Al Safwa Lounge has many facilities. There are various private spaces within the lounge. You can find a newspaper, magazine or a complimentary snack almost everywhere. There are two restaurant areas and classic music is playing on the background. There are also spa facilities available, at an additional charge.

Sleeping Room

Like many other First Class lounges, the Al Safwa Lounge also offers sleeping rooms. At around 11pm, I decided to go there and a staff member showed me the way. I told her that my flight would leave at 7:25am and offered to give me a wake up call. After taking a shower, I popped into the bed to enjoy a pleasant night’s sleep for my next flight.

The next morning I was waken up at 5am to have breakfast before boarding my flight. I decided to take something small as I would be served a full breakfast in the plane.

Boarding

Around 6:15am I left the Al Safwa lounge and walked to gate A5 where I had to board for my flight QR 39 to Paris. Unlike Thai Airways, no staff member accompanied me to the gate.

On board I was greeted by a very multicultural crew. The seats looked chic and spacious but did not allow plenty of privacy. Qatar Airways features 8 first class seats on the A380. I was kindly accompanied to seat 2a.

The seats may look nice and spacious but I found this first class looked less luxurious than the Etihad first class apartments. After putting my bag away, I was asked what I wanted to drink during the boarding process. Champagne was not yet available, so I went for an orange juice and an Arabic tea. There was also an amenity kit brought to me which included an eye mask, airplane socks and various products from Armani.

Breakfast

After about half an hour, everyone was on board and the doors were closed. During take-off, I was able to see a great view of Doha. When the lights went off, the crew quickly reappeared to ask what I wanted to drink. I felt that 8am was not too early to drink champagne and I was immediately brought a bottle of Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée.

A few moments later, the crew asked how my experience with Qatar Airways was going so so far. I said that I had a pleasant stay in the beautiful Al Safwa Lounge and that I was certainly looking forward to this flight. Shortly after, the menu cards came out. I had only eaten a waffle in the lounge so decided to have breakfast during this flight. First, I went for the salad with salmon. I also love to eat egg during breakfast which is certainly possible to order in first class. The main course was served soon after the first course. In the meantime, some additional bread was brought to me and the crew kept making sure that my glass was full of champagne.

Besides egg, I also love to eat fresh fruit during breakfast. Various kinds of fruit were served for me, including papaya.

The crew asked if the food reached my expectations and I said that it certainly did. I told her that at Etihad the service is different, more explanation was given about the food and drinks. To finish, I ordered another cappuccino.

After the breakfast, I put my seat in a more comfortable position and I searched through the in-flight entertainment. This looked great! The television had a big screen and a good selection of films and music. After half an hour, I decided to go to the bar.

Qatar Airways A380 Bar

If you walk all the way through the business class, you will arrive at the Qatar Airways bar. This bar is only accessible to business and first class passengers and there are various types of snacks and spirits available. It is quite funny to see such a bar on a plane. Let’s take another champagne here!

Restroom

The restroom located in the front of the plane looked more like a bathroom. However, unlike Etihad and Emirates, Qatar Airways does not offer a shower unit in their first class. The lights give the room a special shade. Everything looked nice and clean.

Turn-down service

A few moments later, the turn-down service was offered so this gave me the opportunity to sleep a few hours before landing. Because seat 2E was unoccupied, it was turned into a real bed for me. There were 3 hours left before landing in Paris, so I figured I could close my eyes for a little over 2 hours and lie back to take a quick nap. About 1 hour before the landing I was awakened for another meal. The bed was certainly very comfortable and I particularly liked the space.

Lunch

Because of my short night sleep in the Al Safwa Lounge and all the impressions, I slept very deeply during these last 2 hours. When I was awakened, the table was covered again and a shortly after I was eating lunch.

The Arabian Mezze certainly tasted great and also the champagne. About an hour later, we were landed in Paris where I left the plane.

Qatar Airways A380 First Class Bottom line

I had a comfortable and pleasant flight with Qatar Airways. The seats are very comfortable, the crew offers an excellent service but I was not given the detailed explanation about the food that was done at Etihad in first class. The bar area is definitely a nice plus on this Qatar Airways A380. The food was certainly not bad, but Etihad definitely scores better in first class.

Compared to first class products from other companies, I think that Qatar Airways is a bit disappointing. I do not completely know why but I feel that it was more of a mix between business and first class. Moreover, unlike Etihad and Emirates, Qatar Airways offers no shower in first class.

Have you already flown Qatar Airways First Class on the A380? Do you share the same opinion as me? Let me know in the comments below.