My experience with Qatar, Qsuite

[SlowlyMan]

I flew Qatar, BKK-DOH-ORD, in the Qsuite with points.

I've flown Qatar before, The Qsuite is amazing. it's always been a great experience. This time not so much.

Out of BKK. No one spoke to me before departure. they usually come by with "Hello, my name is, ...... I'll be taking care of you today. I wasn't offered a pre departure beverage. Although, people around me had drinks.

Once airborne, the flight attendant came by to get my meal order. Most of the things I wanted were not available. I had to settle for the vegetarian dish.

With a 2am departure, I wanted to get some sleep. I was told the pad and pillow were not available on this flight. However, on the way off the plane I saw some seats with the pad and pillow.

I went to the old lounge in Doha with the reflecting pool. It was a nice quiet experience. the deli sandwich was excellent. I wanted a shower, but was told space was not available until after my departure time. Another disappointment. I find it helpful to start the 16 hour flight fresh.

Onboard the Chicago flight, all male crew in business. I was quickly greeted, but the drink came when we were already on the taxiway, so I wasn't able to finish it before they took it away.

Once airborne he came by to ask me about dinner. None of the main courses was available. I had to order off the ala carte menu. Another disappointment. 

Once we got leveled off, I asked for the pad and pillow to make up the bed. He thought about it and said none were available, then later brought me a pillow from economy. I put the blanket down, but it didn't help much. That's a pretty uncomfortable seat without the pad.

Once the lights went down and they went on crew rest getting someone to respond to a call button was ridiculous. I gave up a few times. Once I waited 45 minutes. 20-30 minutes was the norm. they never put out a help yourself snack and beverage tray. On ANA, we had that in PE.

I had the dnd light on, but twice they woke me to ask if I wanted to eat. Once the ambien kicks in I don't like to be bothered. I told him at the start if I'm sleeping well I may not eat. I would call him when and if I wanted a meal.

I know a whole lot of people in economy would have given a first born to have my lay flat seat, but still. It wasn't the experience I was expecting.  I'm a good traveler. I was a road warrior for many years. I'm always kind and friendly to the staff. I can't think of anything I would have done to get me flagged as a bad boy on both flights.  The only thing I can come up with is I was flying on points. They reserve the good food and amenities for the paying passengers. But, I'm guessing.

The whole experience was oddly uncomfortable. It felt like the smiles were fake, and they were doing the bare minimum to get by.

I really like the Qsuite. But, this experience has me looking at other options for next time.

Edited March 24 by SlowlyMan

[Greg_B]

In a situation like this, I would contact them and talk to someone.

More than likely, you will get a free upgrade for your next trip

[swede37]

26 minutes ago, SlowlyMan said:

I flew Qatar, BKK-DOH-ORD, in the Qsuite with points.

I've flown Qatar before, The Qsuite is amazing. it's always been a great experience. This time not so much.

Out of BKK. No one spoke to me before departure. they usually come by with "Hello, my name is, ...... I'll be taking care of you today. I wasn't offered a pre departure beverage. Although, people around me had drinks.

Once airborne, the flight attendant came by to get my meal order. Most of the things I wanted were not available. I had to settle for the vegetarian dish.

With a 2am departure, I wanted to get some sleep. I was told the pad and pillow were not available on this flight. However, on the way off the plane I saw some seats with the pad and pillow.

I went to the old lounge in Doha with the reflecting pool. It was a nice quiet experience. the deli sandwich was excellent. I wanted a shower, but was told space was not available until after my departure time. Another disappointment. I find it helpful to start the 16 hour flight fresh.

Onboard the Chicago flight, all male crew in business. I was quickly greeted, but the drink came when we were already on the taxiway, so I wasn't able to finish it before they took it away.

Once airborne he came by to ask me about dinner. None of the main courses was available. I had to order off the ala carte menu. Another disappointment. 

Once we got leveled off, I asked for the pad and pillow to make up the bed. He thought about it and said none were available, then later brought me a pillow from economy. I put the blanket down, but it didn't help much. That's a pretty uncomfortable seat without the pad.

Once the lights went down and they went on crew rest getting someone to respond to a call button was ridiculous. I gave up a few times. Once I waited 45 minutes. 20-30 minutes was the norm. they never put out a help yourself snack and beverage tray. On ANA, we had that in PE.

I had the dnd light on, but twice they woke me to ask if I wanted to eat. Once the ambien kicks in I don't like to be bothered. I told him at the start if I'm sleeping well I may not eat. I would call him when and if I wanted a meal.

I know a whole lot of people in economy would have given a first born to have my lay flat seat, but still. It wasn't the experience I was expecting.  I'm a good traveler. I was a road warrior for many years. I'm always kind and friendly to the staff. I can't think of anything I would have done to get me flagged as a bad boy on both flights.  The only thing I can come up with is I was flying on points. They reserve the good food and amenities for the paying passengers. But, I'm guessing.

The whole experience was oddly uncomfortable. It felt like the smiles were fake, and they were doing the bare minimum to get by.

I really like the Qsuite. But, this experience has me looking at other options for next time.

I'm not surprised. Most youtube reviews lately says qatar sucks. And one youtuber who made a negative review got threatened by qatar.

[rope-a-dope]

1 hour ago, swede37 said:

I'm not surprised. Most youtube reviews lately says qatar sucks. And one youtuber who made a negative review got threatened by qatar.

Threatened with a complimentary QSuite flight?

[direct_voyage]

That's disappointing. Thank you for the report. I'm now planning a trip to ORD paid business and will opt for a Japanese carrier instead.

I had considered Qatar, expecting more from their Qsuite. It probably wouldn't hurt to share your experience with Qatar Airlines. Maybe you'll get a few miles as compensation, maybe not, but at least they'll be aware that improvements are needed. Just imagine how disappointed you would be if you had paid $5,000 USD for a ticket!

[Wiley Coyote]

I was also disapponted in flying business in   February .

Briefly ,cabin crew said I will receive an apology by email within 7 days ...6 weeks later .... .nothing 

[fatboy21]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-13223933/qatar-airways-airbus-qsuite-a350-doha-heathrow.html

I would not normally trust anything that the Mail prints, but in the last month I have flown in Q suites (not for the 1st time) and the service and comfort onboard was excellent. I have found Qatar Airways along with Singapore Airlines the best in biz.

[ChiFlyer]

19 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

I flew Qatar, BKK-DOH-ORD, in the Qsuite with points.

I've flown Qatar before, The Qsuite is amazing. it's always been a great experience. This time not so much.

Out of BKK. No one spoke to me before departure. they usually come by with "Hello, my name is, ...... I'll be taking care of you today. I wasn't offered a pre departure beverage. Although, people around me had drinks.

Once airborne, the flight attendant came by to get my meal order. Most of the things I wanted were not available. I had to settle for the vegetarian dish.

With a 2am departure, I wanted to get some sleep. I was told the pad and pillow were not available on this flight. However, on the way off the plane I saw some seats with the pad and pillow.

I went to the old lounge in Doha with the reflecting pool. It was a nice quiet experience. the deli sandwich was excellent. I wanted a shower, but was told space was not available until after my departure time. Another disappointment. I find it helpful to start the 16 hour flight fresh.

Onboard the Chicago flight, all male crew in business. I was quickly greeted, but the drink came when we were already on the taxiway, so I wasn't able to finish it before they took it away.

Once airborne he came by to ask me about dinner. None of the main courses was available. I had to order off the ala carte menu. Another disappointment. 

Once we got leveled off, I asked for the pad and pillow to make up the bed. He thought about it and said none were available, then later brought me a pillow from economy. I put the blanket down, but it didn't help much. That's a pretty uncomfortable seat without the pad.

Once the lights went down and they went on crew rest getting someone to respond to a call button was ridiculous. I gave up a few times. Once I waited 45 minutes. 20-30 minutes was the norm. they never put out a help yourself snack and beverage tray. On ANA, we had that in PE.

I had the dnd light on, but twice they woke me to ask if I wanted to eat. Once the ambien kicks in I don't like to be bothered. I told him at the start if I'm sleeping well I may not eat. I would call him when and if I wanted a meal.

I know a whole lot of people in economy would have given a first born to have my lay flat seat, but still. It wasn't the experience I was expecting.  I'm a good traveler. I was a road warrior for many years. I'm always kind and friendly to the staff. I can't think of anything I would have done to get me flagged as a bad boy on both flights.  The only thing I can come up with is I was flying on points. They reserve the good food and amenities for the paying passengers. But, I'm guessing.

The whole experience was oddly uncomfortable. It felt like the smiles were fake, and they were doing the bare minimum to get by.

I really like the Qsuite. But, this experience has me looking at other options for next time.

Thank you for taking the time to document this.

I am planning a trip BKK-ORD for the Mrs and myself in September. I have just recently started looking at flight options. I have never flown Qatar (I am an old One World guy), but Qatar's current prices for Business are attractive. I asked in another thread about them and got a real mixed bag of responses.

I am thinking that I will likely route through Tokyo on JAL. It would cost $2,000 USD more, but for a first time trip taking the Thai wife to the US, I am willing to bite the bullet. JAL is not perfect, but they are dependable and really offer pretty decent service. The HND-ORD flights are on very comfortable planes. I am talking Business Class. The BKK-Tokyo flights not nearly as nice, but not terrible either. 

I used to like CX through HKG, but they seem to have gone downhill.

Edited March 25 by ChiFlyer

[Phil McCracken]

I only fly Qatar, when they are available. Every flight experience has been VIP level; no other airline has been close. Coach seating is more spacious (great leg room, wide thick seat), and luxurious than many business class flights I've taken. Quality movie screen in headrest in front of me. Nice headphones. It's a 16 hour flight for me, and never crowded. Usually $1300-1450. The overhead bin is so large, a person could sleep in it. I get 4 outstanding meals; too much food, actually. Several flights, the Captain came out as was enthusiastically asking passengers how everything was to people, all smiles. He spoke several languages fluently. Enough seats were empty, that I saw many people sleeping, stretched across a few seats. I'm easy to please, and instantly fall asleep for half the flight, so business and Suite are not a value. 

[dontpanic]

Given that Qatar is usually pretty expensive I would be fairly annoyed with that experience. That crap is passable in economy but if you're dishing out big bucks for business then you don't want any crap. Two of the big benefits of business are food and sleeping and if they can't get that right then they have problems. 

They usually allow you to book meals in advance but I can't think why they didn't have enough pillows etc. i presume you are a member so it wouldn't cost them much to top up your miles as compensation.

I've flown Turkish quite a few times in business and while it is no Q suite, the food has always been very good with only 1 item not being available and that was a dessert option. Service, pricing and a pretty good loyalty program. I was actually thinking of trying another airline for my Summer trip but when I read things like this it is hard to justify another 700-1000 Euro.

[davidge]

I was on the 2am flight in December. It was meant to be Q-Suites but got changed at the very last minute. I only realised when I looked at my boarding pass, there was no notification and the check in staff didn’t even tell me. They’d given my an unsuitable seat and it took some persistence to get them to move me as the flight was full.

Staff onboard were good as always and we had the bedding etc. Hardly anyone ate on the flight so it doesn’t surprise me that they don’t put lots of food onboard, they must know it’s often wasted. It’s clearly a ‘low priority’ flight.

It is a pretty horrible flight to be on tbh, at least for me. If I was looking to book again I think I’d rather take the earlier flight and have a longer stopover. If I do take the 2am flight then I’d eat a meal in the excellent Qatar lounge at BKK, just sleep/rest on the flight and then shower, change and have a meal in the lounge in DOH.

One tip re lounges there, the flight arrived at C gates and my next flight also departed from C gates. There’s now a lounge ‘The Garden’ at the C gates. It is much quieter than the main lounge and I could go straight in and have a shower. There’s also a restaurant. 

My next flight on to BHX was excellent.

[seaman]

Qatar is absolutly different from 15 years ago

I remember good service on board, nice planes ...

But in November, the plane was out dated, service on board and food was a sh.t

Hopefully, my plane started with 18h late and my ticket was refounded.

Thats the only good point