Review: Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class Singapore to Auckland (via Doha)

Flight numbers	QR 945, QR 914, QR 915, QR 946
Airplane types	Airbus A350-1000, Boeing 777-300ER
Seat numbers	9E, 1K, 1E, 5A
Cost	US$688
Date of flights	September 2022

I’ve previously shared reviews on my Qatar Airways Qsuite/Business Class experiences before and during the pandemic but I think it’s worth writing about it again to show the variety of food available on all 6 segments that I flew during the 50 hours of total flying time.

I’ll also share photos and contents of the new Diptyque amenity kits, which come in a nice variety of bags.

How I booked this ticket for so cheap

If you’ve been reading Suitesmile articles over the past 2 years, you’re probably sick of hearing about this by now, but let me summarize it one last time, for the benefit of new readers! 😛

To allow travel flexibility during the pandemic, in May 2020, Qatar Airways allowed customers to change their departing city and destination up to 5,000 miles away.

With this rule, I managed to switch a 50-minute Business Class flight to a 24 hours journey at the same price of just S$944 (US$688).

As a Qatar Airways Gold member, I receive about 65,000 Avios with these flights.

This hack is no longer possible, but there are other great ways to fly in Qatar Airways Qsuites with miles and points.

How to fly Qatar Airways Qsuite

Travellers can redeem miles/points to fly in Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class. If you are based in Singapore, this can be done with Asia Miles or Privilege Club miles that can be transferred from some Singapore credit cards.

Qsuites are not equipped on all Qatar Airways aircrafts. They can mainly be found on Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts. Check the seat maps to be sure.

Here’s a quick look at the number of miles and cash required for a Qatar Airways Business Class award booking:

Route (to/from Singapore)	Privilege Club	Asia Miles
Doha	50k miles (+~US$120)	61k miles (+~US$330)
Europe	75k miles (+~US$220)	70k miles (+~US$560)
South Africa	75k miles (+~US$220)	90k miles (+~US$580)
North America	95k miles (+~US$265)	90k miles (+~US$660)

Because of high taxes/fees and how much lesser miles other frequent flyer programs (like Krisflyer and Mileage Plan) are charging, it makes little sense to redeem miles for Qatar Airways flights, other than for the routes between Asia and Europe.

How to find Qatar Airways award space

The easiest and quickest way to search for oneworld award availability is on American Airlines’ website, aa.com.

This is because, you will be able to set filters like “non-stop flights only”, “business class only” and no. of passengers, and have a lovely calendar view of the award availability.

Search for non-stop, Business/First award availability between Singapore and Doha.

Use this website only as a reference and ignore the miles indicated on the website. When you see availability on aa.com, replicate the search on your preferred frequent flyer program (e.g. Privilege Club) to complete the booking.

You may also look for oneworld Business Class award availability with the calendar view on alaskaair.com.

Pre-flight

Prior to take-off, I was offered a beverage of choice.

Unfortunately, hot towel service was still missing, but the alternative, a scented Diptyque wet towel, wasn’t bad at all.

Qatar Airways Qsuite

It is safe to say that Qatar Airways’ Qsuite Business Class product is a game-changer in terms of comfort and privacy.

The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration, which means that all seats have direct aisle access.

Each seat comes with sliding doors and are equipped with lie-flat beds. The non-window, center seats have partitions that can be lowered, if you are travelling with a partner.

The rear-facing non-window seats can be transformed into double beds.

Amenity kit

Qatar Airways recently switched from Bric’s to more beautiful Diptyque amenity kits.

It contains a Diptyque-branded lip balm, face cream, body lotion and Eau de toilette perfume. On top of that, the amenity kit contains a pair of socks, an eye shade and ear plugs.

The contents are exactly the same as what I received in Qatar Airways First Class.

Dining

Dining onboard Qatar Airways Business Class is always a pleasure and it was the same flawless experience on all six flights.

Passengers get to choose to when exactly they want their meals to be served (dine-on-demand). No other airline offers this in Business Class!

On top of the delicious food, I always appreciate the extra effort of the cabin crew to serve meals course-by-course (with beautiful plating) and bring out specific cutlery for each course, instead of bundling them up in the napkin. Again, I’ve personally not seen this level of dining service when travelling in Business Class on other airlines.

Strangely though, it didn’t happen on my Singapore-Doha flight (first image below).

Service

Despite having flown with Qatar Airways Business Class multiple times before, the high level of in-flight service continues to impress me. The flight attendants were attentive and responsive to all of my needs from the moment I boarded the plane.

It takes some flying around with other airlines to be reminded of that.

Onboard WiFi

I had pre-purchased Qatar Airways’ Super WiFi while checking in online and it costed about S$11 (~US$8) per flight.

Airport lounge access

Flying in Qatar Airways Business Class from Singapore gets you entry into Qatar Airways Singapore Premium Lounge.

The lounge offers an exceptional dining experience and in my opinion, offers the best Business Class airport lounge experience in Singapore, the home ground of its best-airline-in-the-world rival, Singapore Airlines.

In Doha, Qatar Airways Business Class Passengers have access to the massive Al Mourjan Business Lounge.

Because of unfavourable transit times, I ended up spending about 40 (somewhat painful) hours in the lounge during the entire roundtrip journey.

Find out the best and worst times to visit the lounge and the best sleeping spots in my review of the lounge!

In Auckland, Qatar Airways Business Class passengers get access to the less-exclusive Strata Lounge, which is also a Priority Pass lounge.

My ratings

This is how I am rating my Business Class experience (vs other airlines):

Seat	10/10
Bed	9/10
Dining	10/10
Privacy	10/10
Service	10/10
Cleanliness	10/10

Bottom line

Flying in Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class has always been a pleasure and it was the same, exceptional experience this time round!

It takes some flying around with other airlines to truly appreciate the refined Business Class experience with Qatar Airways and the human effort behind the scenes.