Qatar Airways business class is consistently ranked one of the best in the world, and I see this kind of flight experience as a bucket list activity. We took advantage of Qatar’s stopover program on our way from Bucharest to Cape Town and enjoyed an extended layover in Doha for 3 nights.
A few days before we flew to Cape Town I got an email with an offer to upgrade our seats to business class at a significant discount. Did we have any money? No. But did we do it anyway? Yes.
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Prices are in USD.
How much does Qatar Airways business class cost?
Obviously the cost of a Qatar Airways business class flight depends heavily on the time of year, how far in advance you’re booking, and where you’re going. But for reference, a flight from Doha to Cape Town normally costs around $4,000 if you book business from the get go. The upgrade offer was only $450 per person on top of what we originally paid for economy.
It’s hard to do a proper comparison of our flights because we paid for the full journey from Bucharest to Doha to Cape Town at the same time. I’m not a math girlie, but here we go (I did some rounding for simplicity):
- Total Bucharest — Doha — Cape Town: $660 per person
- Doha to Cape Town was about 70% of the total distance (10 of 14.5 hrs)
- 70% of $660 = $460
- + $450 upgrade cost
- $460 + $450 = $910
Read more: The Amazing Qatar Airways Stopover Program
Some considerations
The quality of the business class depends on how modern and big your plane is. Luckily, I had a knowledgeable plane fanatic friend help me decide whether the seats would be worth it. He somehow knew this all off the top of is head, but also showed me SeatGuru which shows you the exact layout of your plane. It has some other cool details to help you pick the best seats!
Luckily, we had a fancy plane with the award winning Q-Suite business class, so my friend said we should absolutely go for it.
Usually, I’d say both or at least one of us getting a window seat would make the most sense. You get your own little cubicles so you’re not really sitting “with” your travel buddy in business anyway! But Q-Suite can turn the two middle cubicles into a shared unit and even fold the seats out into a double bed. I thought that sounded cute, so booked us 2 middle seats.
My experience flying Qatar Airways business class
While there were tons of luxury touches, it’s important to note we didn’t have quite the same experience as the true business class people. To be fair, they paid $3,000 more than we did.
When you upgrade you get fewer perks – which of course they don’t really make clear when they present you with the offer.
Qatar Airways business class at the airport
From the moment we arrived at the airport we felt business-y. There’s a whole separate section of the terminal for business and first class passengers. It’s obviously less busy so everything is streamlined, including security.
For example, we only found out when we checked in at the airport that we didn’t have lounge access. I’m a member of both Priority Pass and Dragon Pass through my credit cards so we still went to a lounge, but not THE Qatar Airway lounge. I’ve heard they have a sushi bar and a Formula 1 racing simulator so I was excited to check it out, but whatever.
Another disappointment: We found out at check-in that they changed the plane last minute, so we didn’t get Q-Suite. But the lady was super nice and they swapped our seats so Chesney had a window and I was across from him in the middle.
Doha Hamad International Airport
Qatar business class boarding
Surprisingly, Qatar Airways business class passengers were the last to board. I guess this would be a benefit if you had lounge access so you could relax a little longer! We also had a separate bus take us to the plane so we didn’t have to be too close to the regular peasants (me, 3 days ago) in economy. That seemed a little extreme to me but whatever lol.
As soon as we sat down we were offered a glass of white or rose champagne. Actual champagne, not just sparkling wine, in an actual glass champagne flute. They also had little comfort flight packages on each seat. They contained a tiny Diptyque perfume, lip balm, hand cream, body lotion, an eye mask, and socks.
The screens in our cubicles has bluetooth so we could connect our personal headsets (Airpods etc.) directly to the TV. I have this little wireless dongle thing that I love and use all the time in economy, but it was nice to have the direct connect option. They also provided big cushy over-the-ear headphones.
We had one dedicated flight attendant for our section of business class and he came to introduce himself and encouraged us to ask for anything we needed or wanted. He asked us when we wanted to eat and gave us a menu to peruse.
I’ve flown business a couple times with other airlines, and I feel like it’s always obvious I don’t belong there lol. The backpack probably gives me away when boarding. But in some ways I think that’s a benefit because if you get a nice flight attendant, they might really want to make sure you have the best time.
Food and drinks on Qatar Airways business class
There were silly little luxury touches like a choice of olive oil to go with our “artisanal” bread basket, and a f*ckin amuse bouche. I say silly but like, how nice.
We both chose the Qatari chicken mashkool for our main because we’re on Qatar Airways and it was featured as the chef’s special dish. We also ordered an app and dessert which were all served separately.
They came around to offer still or sparking water, hot towels, a white table cloth, a “candle,” and silver cutlery that was heavier than the stuff I use at home.
The wine list was legit and included things like a 2015 Château Lynch-Moussas and a 20 year old Tawny Port for dessert. For the nicer wines, our flight attendant even came to our seats to show us the bottle and pour a little bit try so we could swirl it around and pretend to know stuff. Chesney knows wine stuff, I don’t really know wine stuff.
The flight attendants were also happy to make cocktails. They had a list but we could also order something else and they had a pretty extensive bar back there. I chose a gin bramble from the list and Chesney asked for an Old Fashioned. Needless to say, this was all included.
Qatar Airways business class cabin and seats
On a 10-hour flight the lie flat beds were a huge benefit. I was torn between staying awake and soaking up the whole vibe or sleeping and taking advantage of the ability to rest. I did a bit of both.
We didn’t have to fight our neighbours for space in the overhead cabins. We had a little closet, drawer for our shoes, and lots of room for our bags.
Chesney and I made a point to go and stand at the “social bar” which was like a little island in the middle of the business class area with a little bowl of packaged snacks like chips and popcorn where we could stretch our legs. It’s not like Emirates’ full on bar, but it was a nice touch!
All the glassware and mugs in business class had little rubber rings around the bottom which prevented them from sliding. So we could stand and put our drinks down on the bar and not worry even if there was a bit if turbluence. It was also nice to have this feature in our cubicles.
We arrived in Cape Town well rested and buzzin about our luxury experience!
Do I recommend Qatar Airways business class?
Yes! I’m not sure I’d ever pay 4k for it, but if I had another opportunity to upgrade and a bit of money to treat myself I’d absolutely do it again. (Hopefully with Q-Suite this time.)
So after you book your flights, keep your eyes peeled for upgrade emails about a week or two in advance. I assume they only do this when they happen to have X number of unbooked business seats, so it’s more likely to happen on less frequented routes.
If you really want the lounge access, you can pay an additional $50 USD per person. I felt annoyed that it hadn’t been made clear when we upgraded and I already had access to other lounges for free so we didn’t bother, but if you want the full experience it could be worth it.
Is it worth stopping over in Qatar?
Absolutely yes! We booked a 3-day stopover without knowing much about the country but it was so much fun. Qatar Airways offers a stopover program that makes it super easy to explore Doha and beyond for up to 4 days.
You can get a 4-star hotel for as cheap as $14/night per person, or upgrade to a 5-star hotel, beach front hotel, or all-inclusive resort for a bit more. You also get a free, automatic 96-hour visa on arrival.
I cover everything about how to take advantage of the stopover program here. I’ve also prepared itineraries for spending 1-2 days or 3-4 days in Doha, Qatar.
