Review: Qatar Airways Business Class BLR-DOH
Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Review: Qatar Airways Business Class DOH-LAX


Qatar Airways #739
Doha (DOH) - Los Angeles (LAX)
Thursday, February 4th, 2016
7:45 AM - 1:10 PM, 16 hours 25 minutes
777-200LR: Seat 6J (Business Class)

After having an enjoyable time on my 4-hour flight from Bangalore to Doha, I was excited to spend more time in Qatar Airways business class during my much longer onward flight to Los Angeles.

I left the Al Mourjan Business Lounge about 10 minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin and found the gate a short 5-minute walk away. To my disappointment, flights from Doha to the US have to go through a secondary security check at the gate, which is pretty much the same as the initial security check, except they make you take your shoes off. There were quite a few people in line, but thankfully there was a separate checkpoint for business class and elite passengers. Unfortunately I was feeling a bit groggy at 7 AM, and what I thought was the premium line was actually the line for a different gate, where a flight to Boston was about to close. Even though they checked my boarding pass, they let me through, and I was about to step onto the jetbridge when they realized my mistake. I had to make a walk of shame back to my actual gate while the employees giggled at me.

After clearing the security checkpoint, I sat down in the waiting area, and a short while later boarding was announced for business class passengers and those requiring extra time. I joined the boarding line, but it was a madhouse. Instead of an orderly queue, it was just a mass of people pushing from all directions. At one point, I had about a foot of space between me and the person in front of me, and a middle-aged couple came up from behind and squeezed themselves into the gap. I couldn't believe it. I don't support the death penalty, but I'll make an exception for queue-jumpers.

Eventually I made it onboard the plane, and found the 777-200LR cabin to be almost identical to the one on my previous flight on the 777-300ER. I found my seat, 6J, an aisle seat on the right-hand side, and was offered a pre-departure beverage and a choice of a hot or cold towel. Unlike my previous flight, on this flight they did serve champagne on the ground, so I chose that. I also chose a hot towel this time, so that I could compare it with the cold towel I chose on my last flight. They're very similar except one is hot and one is cold.

Guest Reviewer: Chris

An avid traveler and obsessive points and miles hound, Chris is my travel buddy extraordinaire. I love him for his enthusiasm, his sense of adventure, and his many lounge access credit cards. Hope you enjoy his perspective! ​

Review: Qatar Airways Business Class BLR-DOH
Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Review: Qatar Airways Business Class DOH-LAX
​​

On my way back from India, I had a short connection at Hamad International Airport in Doha. Because I was flying Qatar Airways Business Class, I had access to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge, where I was able to stop by for a quick visit.

While I normally have access to Oneworld first class lounges thanks to my American Airlines Executive Platinum status, Qatar Airways has made an exception to the Oneworld rules for their two best lounges. The Al Mourjan Business Lounge is only accessible to business class passengers (or first class, presumably), and the newly-opened Al Safwa First Class Lounge is only accessible to those traveling in first class. Oneworld elites who aren't traveling in premium cabins are relegated to the Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge and Qatar Airways First Class Lounge, which aren't nearly as good, and are ironically named given that they cater to elites flying in economy. Super confusing, right?

Anyway, after clearing security, I found myself in a large atrium with a giant teddy bear, who seemed to be in an unfortunate situation: a lamp had been inserted through its back and was shining a blinding light into its eyes. Apparently it's a world-famous sculpture that was bought by a member of the Qatari royal family for $6.8 million USD. It's definitely an odd piece of art to put in an airport, but I have to admit I kind of liked it.

There are plenty of signs showing the way to the Al Mourjan lounge, but they all seemed to point in different directions. Eventually I gave up and asked somebody, and they pointed me toward an escalator going up. There was a woman checking boarding passes at the bottom of the escalator, and after she accepted mine, I made my way to the lounge entrance one level up. I headed to an open desk, showed my boarding pass again, and was quickly admitted into the lounge.

My first impression of the lounge was that it was humongous. You should take this next statement with a grain of salt given that I'm a computer nerd who's never stepped foot on one, but It must have been the size of a football field. It's also quite sleek and futuristic-looking. It spans two floors, and there's a large pool of water on the lower level (though I don't think it's meant for swimming).

I didn't have much time to sit and relax since my next flight was boarding in under half an hour, so I decided to explore the lounge and take a few pictures. There were a lot of people in the lounge, but there was so much seating and open space that I can't imagine it would ever feel "full".

Review: Qatar Airways Business Class BLR-DOH
Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Review: Qatar Airways Business Class DOH-LAX

​
Qatar Airways #573
Bangalore (BLR) - Doha (DOH) 
Thursday, February 4th, 2016
4:00 AM - 05:55 AM, 4 hours 25 minutes
777-300ER: Seat 4J (Business Class)

Introduction

A couple weeks ago I traveled to India for business. For the return journey, I found a cheap business class flight on Qatar Airways, which was an airline I'd never flown before. My routing was BLR-DOH-LAX-SFO, with the first two legs in Qatar Airways 777 business class, and the final leg in American Airlines domestic first. I was excited to try a new product and to experience flying on "the world's 5 star airline" - according to Qatar Airways.

Check In
​
My flight from Bangalore to Doha was scheduled for 4 AM, which is either a really late night flight or a really early morning flight, depending on how you look at it. To play it safe, I requested an Uber at 1 AM, which got me to the airport around 1:40 AM. I had learned that Indian airports aren't quite as streamlined as the ones in the US; for example, to get into the terminal at all, you need to stand in a line to have your ticket and passport examined. Once I'd gained access, I found the Qatar Airways check-in area a short distance away.

There were three lines for check-in: two for business class passengers and Qatar Airways / oneworld elites, and another for everyone else. I chose the shorter of the business class lines, which had about five people ahead of me in it. Unfortunately the line moved extremely slowly. The check-in agents, who appeared to be contract workers rather than Qatar Airways employees, seemed to be in no hurry at all, and they were happy to let certain people cut the line to be helped immediately. In the end, it took about half an hour to reach the front, and I was feeling pretty irritated.

In total, the check-in process took about 40 minutes, which is kind of ridiculous. I can't imagine how long it would have taken for economy class passengers, and can understand why airlines in India recommend arriving at least 3 hours in advance for international flights.

The next step was to proceed to passport control, where the officer took a look at my entry stamp and accused me of overstaying my visa by a year. It turns out that the person who'd stamped me in had written the "6" in 2016 in a way that looked very similar to a "5", so it looked like my visa expired in 2015. I tried to explain that it made no sense for the date of entry to be in 2016 but the validity to end in 2015, but this argument failed to convince him. After overwhelming him with documentation proving that my visa was actually issued this year, he relented and let me pass.

​The final step of the rigmarole before I could gain access to the coveted departures lounge was to pass through security. The security area was gender segregated, and the lines were pretty short. I put my two bags through the scanner, and both of them ended up getting pulled aside, with the security agent citing that they contained electronics. Turns out it wasn't enough just to remove my laptop, I had to remove anything electronic (including cables). Since I'm a mobile app developer, I had brought along 5 test phones, plus my personal iPhone, iPad, and Kindle, plus all accompanying chargers. They made me search for and remove all of these, then have my bags re-scanned, which took a very long time. Fortunately they didn't make me turn on all the devices like they did on my last trip through Abu Dhabi, since I'm sure a few of them had run out of battery.

Lounge

The Plaza Premium lounge was easy to find, with several signs showing the way. Plaza Premium is a contract lounge used by multiple airlines, and it's also available to Priority Pass holders. Upon entering and sacrificing my lounge invitation, I was quickly admitted in.

​For the first time since arriving at the Bangalore airport, I was pleasantly surprised. The lounge is quite nice - it's tastefully decorated and looks pretty new. It's a medium-sized lounge, but it was getting to be full when I visited, so there were only a handful of individual seats available. There were several food stations where hot food could be ordered, and there was a buffet with cold starters and desserts. Bottled water and sodas were free for the taking, and there was a bar where alcoholic drinks could be ordered.

We found our seats, 1A and 1F and settled in. The flight attendants had already placed Bose headsets and amenity kits at the seats when we arrived and she came by shortly after we sat down to offer menus. She also took pre-departure beverage orders, but I declined. As usual, Chris started downing champagne. ​

The entertainment selection on American flights is definitely excellent. There is a huge selection of new releases and older movies and also a good selection of television shows as well. The TV screen is a touch screen and there's also a touch screen remote next to the seat as well. In all honesty, I find them both to be a bit temperamental and difficult to use from time to time, but I found a movie I hadn't seen yet, The Intern, and settled in.

In addition to the remote, the seat controls, a reading light, headphone jack, and USB port were all located conveniently next to the seat. 

During the ascent to cruising altitude, Chris was able to snap a photo of the skyline below as we said goodbye to one of our favorite cities. 

Shortly after we leveled out, the flight attendant came by to take meal orders and passed out beverages and warm nuts. 

 Back in March, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
​Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR 

​
This is Part II of my Burj al Arab review. In Part I, I reviewed the room and hotel decor, as well as the service we received. 

Breakfast at Al Iwan Restaurant

After our very expensive night of sleep, we headed for breakfast in the morning at Al Iwan Restaurant. We had the option to eat a breakfast buffet either at Junsui Restaurant or Al Iwan Restaurant from 7:00AM to 11:00AM, which was included in our rate. We were told when we checked in that Al Iwan offered more international cuisine, so we chose to have breakfast there. 

Al Iwan Restaurant is located on the main floor of the Burj and, in keeping with the design of the rest of the hotel, is completely over the top. There was gold and velvet and color everywhere and the buffet was honestly the most extensive I have seen. The buffet was located right inside the entrance of the restaurant, with two rooms for seating flanking either side. 

We were shown to a table near the window, which offered a beautiful view of the Arabian Gulf and offered tea or coffee to start. From there, we headed in to the buffet to check out what was on offer. We found that non-hotel guests can dine in Al Iwan for breakfast for the small sum of AED276, which is approximately $75 USD per person, so we decided we had better eat $75 worth of breakfast.

As I mentioned, the buffet selection was one of the largest I've ever seen. There were tables and tables full of congee, fried rice, wok fried noodles, steak, sausages, bacon, pastries, breads, fruits, juices, smoothies, yogurts, Arabic specialties, hummus, dates, potatoes, tomatoes, salad, cheese, crackers, waffles, pancakes, French toast, an egg and omelette chef, and even camel milk.

Needless to say, it was impossible not to find something (or 16 things) that you liked at the buffet. Chris even tried the camel milk!