REVIEW: I Flew Business Class on the Best Two Airlines in the World. Here’s How They Compare.
Qatar was recently voted the number one airline in the world by Skytrax, and Singapore Airlines was number two. Here’s how they compared when I flew both recently.
QATAR
My husband took the word ‘suite’ a bit too literally, in my opinion, even getting changed into his Qatar pyjamas in it. I preferred the privacy of the bathroom, because while it’s true the Q-Suite has a door of sorts, it’s more of a 3/4 door, meaning anyone passing by can see over the top into it.
We are on a Singapore to Doha leg with Qatar, on the A350-900, a flight of just under 8 hours. Not all of Qatar’s flights have the Q-Suites - our Doha to Rome and Rome to Doha flights on the return trip didn’t, so we felt fortunate to have experienced it.
Our tickets hadn’t included seat selection, you were required to pay extra for that, but I figured we’d probably be seated together, and even if we weren’t, given that the suites were so private, we weren’t really bothered by the possibility of being seated next to strangers. In the end, we were given a double suite, 1E and 1F, so it worked out perfectly. We were both offered a drink before take-off, and accepted a rosé champagne. It’s very boring of us, but as it was a late night flight, and we’d eaten dinner at the Qatar Lounge beforehand, so just wanted to sleep. The staff came to our rear-facing double cabin and made up our beds, with comfy mattress topper, gave us a Diptyque toiletries case and pyjamas, and we put on our masks, slid closed our doors, hit the ‘do not disturb’ light and slept. As did most of the other passengers.
So, how was it? The suites are very spacious and with the doors closed and the partition between my husband’s seat and mine down, it really felt like we were sharing a double bed. It was very comfortable and we both slept deeply most of the way. I think I’d quite like the privacy of a single Q-Suite if I were travelling by myself, too.
We were in seats 7E and 7F on Qatar’s onward flight from Doha to Rome, the standard business class, and enjoyed the excellent lunch of meze and salmon with caviar.
As to it being the ‘best’ in the world, I’ve flown Qatar Business a number of times and I’d have to say that the award is a pretty fair call - the food is world-class, (I had one of the best airline meals I’ve ever had on the Doha to Singapore leg) as is the service and the seats are very comfortable. Qatar also have excellent lounges in Doha and Singapore, with a la carte restaurants. I don’t necessarily think they have the best entertainment system, though.
I also have to give Qatar and Doha Airport management kudos - we flew 2 days after Iran bombed a US base in Qatar, shutting down their airspace. By the time we arrived the following day, all the delayed flights had taken off, there were no queues, and there was no sign of the chaos we’d seen on the news the day before. I’d packed everything I thought I might need for a long delay on my carry-on, just in case, but it was as if nothing had ever happened.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
Rated as number two by Skytrax, we were flying from Singapore to Sydney on the A350 900 in seats 11D and 11F. We were using Virgin points for this sector, so we weren’t able to select seats and my husband and I were originally seated apart, but the man sitting next to me noticed and offered to swap. We also weren’t able to utilise the ‘book the cook’ facility because it was a Virgin codeshare, but I’ve used it before and it’s excellent, with a wide variety of options, taking into account all kinds of dietary requirements. Still, there was plenty of choice on the lunch menu, after an appetiser of seared tuna loin with a quail egg. I wasn’t that hungry (again filled up in the lounge on excellent dumplings), so after the tuna loin, I just had a cheese platter and a glass of Charles Heidsieck Champagne, but I did nab a taste of my husband’s slow-cooked beef ribs, which he raved about.
We weren’t offered toiletries or slippers (or PJs) as it wasn’t a night flight), but you can ask for them. I think Singapore had a better choice of movies (Pamela Anderson was amazing in The Last Showgirl.) However, I didn’t love the seat mechanism. Initially, I thought there was something wrong with mine when I tried to recline it after lunch for a nap. It didn’t go all the way back when I pushed the button. Then a steward came over and offered to make it up for me, clicking something behind the seat that made it go back - like a car seat. I noticed, going to the bathroom later that there were a few passengers sleeping in the semi-reclined positions that was as far as you could do it without flipping the back and I wondered if they’d chosen to do so, or had not realised that it ‘did’ in fact go right back - it just required two seperate mechanisms. I don’t believe this is across all their flights, and the bed was very comfortable, and I did get a decent sleep, it’s just that I couldn’t figure out how to work it myself, so I had to ask for help when wanting to lie down or sit back up.
THE VERDICT
We also tried out the Singapore Airlines premium economy class on the way from Australia to Singapore and found it excellent. I’ve flown their straight economy class a bit, which is also good; however, I’ve never tried Qatar’s economy class, so I can’t comment on that product (and they don’t have a premium economy option).
Singapore Airlines is generally more expensive than Qatar, and Qatar does fly into a lot of European hubs, but there’s really little to choose between the two airlines in business class, and so I’d probably base my decision on destination, price, duration, and which would give me the most frequent flyer points.
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