Observations From 24 Hours in Qatar Airways Business Class [Review]

Spending nearly 24 hours in Qatar Airways business class — including almost 14 hours in a Qsuite — gave me plenty of time to assess the experience. My trip spanned 2 long-haul flights, a night in Doha, lounge visits, and 5 inflight meals.

Here’s what stood out to me, from a surprisingly excellent non-Qsuite A350 to average catering and Starlink Wi-Fi in one of the world’s most celebrated premium cabins.

Booking Qatar Airways Business Class

I needed to get from Cape Town (CPT) in South Africa to Australia towards the end of November 2025, ideally in style.

I started my search on Google Flights to check cash fares across all cabins and was surprised by the great value cash fares available in business class from airlines like Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines. However, it would take much longer to go via those airlines’ hubs than to take Qantas’ direct flight from Johannesburg (JNB) to Sydney (SYD).

After much deliberation, I decided on Qatar Airways from Johannesburg to Brisbane (BNE) via Doha (DOH). It meant spending almost 24 hours flying Qatar Airways business class, including almost 14 hours in Qsuite.

As much as I love getting a bargain with points and miles, I get an even greater thrill when I find great-value cash fares for premium tickets. This trip was a great example of that.

The cash fare for this almost 24-hour stint in Qatar Airways business class cost $2,310. I realize that in no world could that be considered cheap, but it’s the value of this ticket that’s compelling. Comparable Qatar Airways itineraries from London (LHR) to Brisbane were more than $5,000, even though they had fewer total flight hours.

Factoring in that the second, and longest flight, would be in Qsuite — one of the most treasured business classes in the skies — I was sold.

I booked using my U.K. version of the Platinum Card^® from American Express. The U.S. version earns 5x points on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year).

You can, of course, book Qatar Airways business class with points. I did check that first using my British Airways Club account, but there was nothing decent enough to tempt me to part with my Avios.

The Non-Qsuite A350-900 Was Very Good

We managed to get a last-minute flight change in the wee hours before our flight from Cape Town was due to take off. My travel buddy Phil called Qatar on the off chance it wouldn’t cost too much to switch our departure from Johannesburg (JNB) to Cape Town (CPT) instead.

Hot Tip:

If you’re flexible with routing, it’s always worth checking alternative routes. Prices were showing at $5,500 for the route from Cape Town to Brisbane, which is why we ended up booking from Johannesburg for less than half the price.

With some stroke of luck, it was only $200 to change. He also called South African Airways, which confirmed we’d get a full refund for the business class tickets we’d booked with South African to Johannesburg.

Our aircraft from Johannesburg would have been a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 that has so-called Qsuite “lite” seats. However, at the time, Qatar was flying its Airbus A350-900 to Cape Town, some of which don’t even have seats with closing doors, let alone the Qsuite.

Truthfully, I wasn’t really looking forward to it as much as the mini Qsuite.

Cue me sitting in 3K on the A350, absolutely loving the experience. I was very happy we made the change.

The added bonus of flying (most) Airbus A350s was cameras!

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I think I preferred this flight to the longer Qsuite flight.

There’s Private Immigration for Business and First Class Passengers at the Doha Airport

As our total journey time was 44 hours, we spent the night in a hotel outside the airport. There are 2 arrivals lounges for business class passengers: 1 airside before immigration and 1 landside after baggage reclaim.

We used the huge airside lounge. It’s probably a bit of a waste of space, given that most passengers arriving at Doha’s Hamad International Airport are transiting and don’t clear immigration.

Refreshments were available, including small sandwiches, mini cakes, and a variety of hot and cold drinks. We grabbed a quick snack and drink of water before heading to the immigration desk, where we were processed in a matter of seconds.

It was 11:30 p.m., and we were the only people in the lounge.

Al Mourjan Garden Lounge Was Fantastic, Especially When Empty

The next day, we headed to the airport several hours before our departure time to soak up Qatar Airways’ lounges.

As we were so early, we were between the airport’s peak times and had Al Mourjan Garden Lounge pretty much to ourselves.

The dining area was huge, with lots of natural light and a ton of seating options for your preferred dining style.

The à la carte dining was top-notch and certainly better than the food I ate on the plane.

The views into the Orchard were pretty iconic, too.

Hot Tip:

For comparison, have a look at our review of Qatar’s other business class lounge: Al Mourjan Business Lounge South.

The Gym in Al Mourjan Garden Lounge Was a Waste

The idea of a gym in an airport, or better still, in an airport lounge, would definitely mean I’d get to the airport even earlier than I already do.

Last time I passed through this lounge and had a lengthy overnight layover, I was over the moon when I spotted a gym sign. I didn’t get to use it because it was still under construction.

This time, even though I wasn’t planning on using the gym, I popped my head in to take a look. Given Qatar’s knack for doing things a little over the top, I had high expectations.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the sparse fitness center.

It was a large, basically empty room with a few pieces of cardio equipment and 4 dumbbells. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t turn up at the airport hoping for a decent workout before my flight.

Boarding at Doha Left a Lot To Be Desired

Both times I’ve boarded a long-haul flight in a premium cabin from Doha, boarding has been chaotic.

Each time, there has been security screening before being allowed into the gate area. Coincidentally, the 2 flights in question were to Brisbane and Sydney, so I’m not sure if this is something specific to flights departing for Australia.

Regardless, the priority boarding was completely redundant as it just merged with the regular line.

Most annoying of all, no water is allowed past this checkpoint, even if it’s in a sealed bottle you just bought at the airport. I was told I had to go to the nearest bathroom to empty the refillable bottle I’d just filled up with icy cold water.

There’s nowhere on the other side to refill. It was very hot, and several passengers expressed their frustration. Then, when boarding started, it was pretty much just a free-for-all.

Qatar’s Business Class Food Was Distinctly Average

My first premium long-haul experience with Qatar Airways was in first class. Dining like a king for 14 hours from Doha to Sydney has ruined me.

It’s also likely what has led me to have such high expectations for Qatar Airways’ business class food. On both flights, the meals were fine but not particularly memorable.

On the first flight from Cape Town, the first meal started with an amuse-bouche of a cold, solitary prawn. I caught myself laughing when it was set down in front of me, but it’s still more than most airlines do. It was followed by a very simple prawn dish as a starter; I went for the Qatari chicken machboos (which I usually do when flying Qatar) for the main course, and a dark chocolate and salted caramel tart for dessert. Dessert was the highlight of the meal, as the starter was bland and the machboos was disappointingly dry.

I was hungry on this 9-hour flight, so I made the most of Qatar’s dine-on-demand service. About halfway through the flight, I ordered the pan-seared salmon fillet with couscous from the same all-day dining menu. Again, it was bland and unmemorable.

Then, about 90 minutes before landing, I was peckish again and ordered what was basically a posh hot dog. The chicken frankfurter on a toasted baguette roll with cheddar and potato wedges didn’t look like much, but I think it was my favorite meal of the flight.

On the Qsuite flight, I decided to sleep first to try to get on Australia time. I made full use of dine-on-demand again to order breakfast when I woke up, and then had dinner before our 5:30 p.m.-ish arrival in Brisbane. That’s the reverse order to what the menu suggests. Of course, this was no problem at all.

This time, the tuna niçoise salad starter was great, and the pan-seared cod main dish was, too.

However, after 5 meals, I was left thinking: Does the dine-on-demand option and gorgeous restaurant-style table lay-up disguise the fact that the food itself was mediocre?

Champagne Problems (Well, for Some)

The brand of Champagne served by airlines is an important factor for premium flyers and connoisseurs of the bubbly stuff.

While I prefer Champagne to other sparkling wines, I can take it or leave it. On the shorter flight from Cape Town, we were served 1829 Bollinger Special Cuvée, which retails for around $50 to $70. Then, on the almost-14-hour flight in Qatar’s most premium business class seat, we were served Duval-Leroy Brut Reserve, which retails for $50 to $65.

It got me wondering why Qatar Airways serves the well-known premium brand Bollinger on one flight and a brand some (myself included) might not have heard of on another. In any case, they both retail for about the same price, so if we’re using price tags to judge quality, there shouldn’t be any issue here.

Separate Amenity Kits for Men and Women

This was the first time flying Qatar Airways that I noticed there were both black and white amenity kits waiting at the seats. I mentioned this to Phil, who schooled me with the fun fact that Qatar matches female and male amenity kits to the passenger information on its manifests.

This level of attention to detail is a great representation of how Qatar tries to differentiate itself from other airlines in the premium space.

Having Starlink for 24 Hours Was a Game Changer

Regardless of your views on its founder, Starlink has revolutionized inflight connectivity. I chatted, surfed, and streamed to my heart’s content during both flights, without so much as a split second of disconnect.

Qatar is just one of many airlines installing the best-in-class Wi-Fi on its planes. I recently tried out Starlink on Air France’s Embraer E190, and it was equally as fantastic. The reason I appreciated it even more on this day-long journey with Qatar is that I found the IFE content a little underwhelming. Everything I was remotely tempted to watch I’d already seen before, so I decided to stream “Married at First Sight U.K.” Don’t judge me, it was a spicy series!

Does Qsuite Still Have It?

Yes, it does, but it’s starting to show its age.

Competitors are now rolling out incredible new business class seats, and having experienced more business class cabins since my first Qsuite flight, I’ve noticed some imperfections I didn’t see before.

For example, at almost 10 years old, the quality of the IFE screens lags far behind that of more modern 4K screens. Worse still, the clunky moving map’s interactions and personalization were limited.

A final observation is that the hard, immovable headrest occupies a large portion of the seat’s top. For side sleepers like me, this makes getting comfortable a little tricky.

Final Thoughts

Qatar Airways’ business class offering remains my top 5 favorite, but after this last trip, I view it slightly differently.

For the most part, the premium experience Qatar offers at its Doha hub (excluding boarding), its lounges, and the quality of its hard product is outstanding. However, I can’t help but think a reputation halo protects Qatar Airways from scrutiny in some ways.

For Qatar to nudge its way back into my top 3, I’d need the inflight food and service to match the 5-star experience it provides elsewhere.