First Look At Qatar Airways A380!

Hi Ben,

why u git another Pyjama than me, 2 seats away? But btw. my was nicer (I'm thinking)

More pics here:

http://www.svenblogt.de/review-erstflug-der-neuen-qatar-airways-a380-von-doha-nach-london-auf-qr003/

SVEN

"Given how much time I spent at the onboard bar and that they serve Krug, I probably wouldn’t even go out of my way to fly business over first class on this flight next time."

Typo: First over business.

Thanks for the detailed (and much anticipated) thoughts, Lucky! Can't wait to fly them soon.

thanks for an informative post that didnt include a captioned image or gif. its nice to read a travel blog and not buzzfeed.

Both you and Sven took really awesome pics! For the A380 first class lavatory, where are the toilets? Are they hidden? 😉

I liked your blog, but considering hw many blog posts you are trying to get out of a single trip, it becomes more and more boring. Yes, I want to read about it. Once. Not 3-4 times with the same info and pics.

Great report. Looks like a fantastic product. I'm looking to fly this route in December. Can't wait.

woah, unlimited San Pellegrino Aranciata! sold!

Thanks for the report. I've been looking forward to this for a while.

Qatar is going some way towards justifying the idea of super business class with the J Krug both in the DOH lounge and also onboard!

Whilst I didn't get the slippers, I did actually get an Armani kit on a recent QR F flight on the A330. I agree, one of the better kits out there in terms of contents.

So is Sven the guy you met on board thats flying the inagural Etihad residences?!

lovely report and lovely A380.

I actually like the slightly more understated look of QR's A380s as compared to Emirates'. Etihad's looks even more subtle.

And while I appreciate that the service was top notch, and certainly it should be- I wonder how much of that is accounted for by the fact that it was an inaugural service, and thus they were on the very top of their game. Can we expect that 1 month or 1 year in, things would be equally top notch? Hopefully yes.

Lucky, did you get a glimpse of Economy? How was that?

Also hard to tell from the picture, but how does the bar compare in size to Emirates'?

Which program miles did you book this flight with?

Looks really nice. It's a shame I don't really have any desire to fly to Doha. I suppose it might be an option if one were heading to CPT.

Fantastic review. You had me at Krug.

Did you meet His Excellency?

@ HansGolden -- Whoops, old habits... :p

@ Joey -- Yep, they're underneath the "bench." Classy touch, eh?

@ AJ -- I made one post the day of the trip with pictures and no commentary, and now that I've had a chance to rest I wrote a post with actual details. Sorry if that's too much!

@ Troy -- Nope, that was someone else.

@ Adi_T -- Oh, it absolutely could be that the fact that it was an inaugural was the reason for such good service. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to go to economy.

As far as the bar goes, it's a bit larger than the one on Emirates, and also better designed in terms of seating, in my opinion.

@ danny -- I booked a revenue ticket originating in Cairo. Quite reasonable first class fares departing there.

@ Carlos -- Sadly he no showed. 🙁

Would be great to just sit at the bar and relax for the entire flight.

After all the delays, it appears the quality team missed a bit on the inside of the closet.

Re: The hanging bit of trim under the small stowage pocket.

That being said, great review and fantastic to see it in the air. I would love the opprtunity to fly Business not to mention First!

It'd be interesting to see if the service standards continue further down the track.

Lucky, as we all know Qatar's CEO has that traditional international first class is dead and will be replaced by a super business class. So in your opinion how do Qatar's first and "super" business compare? Was there a substantial difference between the two?

On a side note: I am so glad that you enjoyed your very brief time in Cairo. It happens to be one of my favorite cities and I hope you'll get a chance to visit it again.

I, too, hope the A380 will fly DOH-JFK someday. From interviews I've read online, however, his Excellency always stated it depends on the economy. If flight loads are full and economy is doing well, I bet we'll see the A380 at JFK by (hopefully) next year.
For inaugural flights, does the airline handpick the best crew or do you think it's just randomized?

@ Joey -- I don't know for Qatar specifically, but for at least one other Middle Eastern airline they do "hand pick" the crews.

@ Imperator -- For what it's worth I don't think the reverse herringbone seat is actually what Al Baker means by the "super" business class seat. I think there's supposed to be more innovation coming, eventually. At least that's his claim.

That being said, for a business class seat it really is excellent, so I don't think the difference is that huge, especially for a daytime flight with an amazing onboard bar.

awesome!! loved reading to this post!

still waiting for their 787 trip report!!

🙂

Am I the only one who isn't THAT impressed by this first class....leaves a lot on the table

Nice report.

"It’s worth noting that Qatar plans to fly their A380s primarily between Doha and London/Paris, so for the most part the A380s won’t be used for ultra longhaul flying (where enclosed suites are more useful)."

JFK isn't "ultra longhaul?"

"Interestingly it’s not the standard champagne in business class, yet it’s still available at the bar if you ask for it. Why do they offer it, you ask? Because the bar is shared between business and first class, and the idea is that they don’t want the alcohol selection to be a downgrade for first class passengers."

I imagine that will change.

EK F pax don't have a downgraded alcohol selection while in the bar; the FA simply goes to the F cabin and gets whatever you want...

It seems like QR have economy class split on both levels... So is the entire bottom deck and back of the upper deck, economy class? Sounds like an awful lot of economy class seating. And when it comes to boarding, does the economy class all board vie the bottom deck or is is split boarding?

Lucky,

I’ve always wondered about these A380 J/F bars that are located just in front of the upper deck Y cabin. There would obviously be a closed curtain between the bar and Y cabin but also a tremendous longing from Y pax to try and sneak into the bar to have a far more pleasant flight. If the bar tenders back is turned and a Y pax slips through the curtain ‘looking for the toilet’ into the bar is anyone really going to notice? Presumably the Y cabin crew won’t be going through the bar area much (and won’t have memorised the faces of every upper deck Y pax) and the J cabin crew won’t memorise every J pax either. The average clueless Y pax could easily ignore the curtain and think the bar area was for them and for those cluey Y pax it would be quite a game on a long boring flight in Y to try and sneak into the bar on the premise of 'looking for the toilet'.

How is this policed? I assume they can’t have a locked divider for emergency reasons (not to mention that crew would walk through there many times).

I have found the openness in Qatar's old First too much, as passengers separated by only an aisle make eye contacts at an uncomfortably close distance, the new privacy screen looks helpful, though. Guessing it's because usually the cabin is occupied by people from a same family (who have BMW7s waiting to pick them up directly at bridge/remote stand)?

Given Qatar isn't very consistent in First Class service (which varies from excellent to good but not memorable) and the flight is to short to really enjoy it, I'd probably take CX Business instead

Acqua di Gio? Come on Qatar Airways, I had that when I was 16.

buy your self a better camera....your pics are sucks

@alex

haha, exactly what I was thinking. I think I wore Gio to prom?

@Lucky,

Awesome report, keep up the great work.

**In SQ Private Room, having a great satay!

@alex - Precisely, and it also sells for all of $25 for a large bottle on online discounters.

My initial impression of Qatar first-class upon your report is, MEH...

First, thanks for the review and the whole blog...I'm quite new to this "game" and find your blog very entertaining and interesting. Unfortunately, in Germany we don't have so many options for collecting miles and points like in the US.

Could anyone book an award yet on the A380 first class? I looked on Qatar's Privilege Club but couldn't find one seat in the A380 First Class. Seemed, like it is blocked for awards!? A340 was available most of the dates.

@ AJK -- That's why I said "primarily." Only confirmed destinations are London and Paris, and I wouldn't be surprised if they just increased A380 frequencies on the route. I wouldn't be surprised if JFK doesn't get the A380.

As far as the champagne goes, I specifically spoke to a manager that was aboard, and he specifically said it would stay that way.

@ Joe -- Yep, it's a high density configuration with lots of economy. I believe the upper deck economy passengers would still board via the upper deck jet bridge.

@ Ben -- The curtains between cabins are thick and closed, so I don't think it happens very much. Certainly didn't happen on my flight. It's a good question, though.

@ Thomas -- For a while availability was wide open:
https://onemileatatime.com/qatar-airways-a380-first-class-award-space/

Unfortunately they seem to have closed it up for now. If I see space again I'll be sure to post.

@ Lucky - thanks for the report! Just like with Etihad's route to London, I think first class makes more sense on a longer flight, e.g. to New York. If fares ex-CAI stay this low when they put A380 on DOH-JFK, that will be a great time to visit Egypt (of course, revenue fares TO Egypt aren't great...)

Has any airline considered having a bar accessible to all three classes? Although I understand that takes away the exclusivity factor, it would be a huge selling point for the airline. Economy passengers are crammed like sardines and on an ultra long haul flight that would be a major advantage. They can even have separate bars for premium and non-premium passengers.

Please please please post more pictures of the outfit that the crew member(male? female?) who was serving you coffee(tea?) was wearing. Plum pants and that shirt! High fashion like that needs to be finished off by a nice sweater. Know where His Excellency could get some? But seriously I want to see more pics of the outfit.

It looks like the amenity kit holder in the First class closet is already broken in your photo. His Excellency won't be too happy!

Hi Ben,

Nice review, thanks for posting. It doesn't seem you mentioned anything about the TV screen or the entertainment system. So, what were your thoughts ? Was the TV screen picture quality pure class ? Its HD isn't it ? How's the movie/sitcom selection ? Is the entertainment system different to what QR currently use in their other aircraft such as the 346 or 788 or 77W ?

Keen to hear your thoughts on the above.

Cheers

Nizar

@ Nizar -- To be honest I didn't use it a lot as I almost always bring my own entertainment. The selection was good -- not quite as good as Singapore's or Emirates', but very good. Picture quality was good as well.

Hello Lucky, thanks for a really nice report..

I hope you can advise me on seat selection. I'm trying find any information but not much is available and Seatguru don't yet have QA A380 in their site.

I will be traveling be flying on this A380 3 times next month, all business class. The only decent seat map I found is at http://www.theqatarsource.com/a3808f48j461yseatmap.html however it doesn't reveal much details. I'm flying solo so obviously selected window seats however I really appreciate a good view and it look that all business seats are positioned all above the giant wings. I know you flew First but can you tell which business seat has the best view.. Thanks

@ Khaled -- Since it's all one cabin, I don't think any one seat is much better than another. I'd probably just do any window towards the middle of business class, and I think you'll be happy. Enjoy the flight!

@Lucky: did they charge you if you get the food and drink at the A380 business lounge? or it is unlimited all you can eat and drink ?

@ Joel -- Nope, it's free.

Dear Ben,

I was on the flight QR003 Friday, 10 October 2014 from DOH to LHR but unfortunately I had an economy ticket and had a seat in the bulkhead just behind the lounge area on the top deck of the A380. I'm writing an article on the experience and do not have any photos of the first class cabin. Would it be possible to get your permission to use 3-4 four of the pictures you have posted?

I appreciate your consideration.

Regards, Lee

The Armani amenity kit is not exclusive for A380 fyi, they give the same pouch on their other airplanes as well.