The Details
- Flight: QR731
- Aircraft: B777-200LR
- Class: QSuites (Business)
- Seat: 5E and 5F
- Route: Doha Hamad (DOH)-Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW)
- Distance: 8,475miles
- Flight Time: 16hrs
- Departure: 1:10AM
- Arrival: 9:34AM
The Preflight
After arriving from Male onboard a Qatar Airways B77W in QSuites, we had a three-hour layover in Doha. We quickly cleared through security and made our way to the excellent Al Mourjan Business Lounge. There was a large number of passengers waiting to get into the lounge. Access is allowed only for passengers flying Qatar Airways Business Class or Oneworld business class. Oneworld status holders (Sapphire and Emerald) are directed to a different lounge in the airport.
Since we were traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic, all lounge staff were masked.
To the right of the entrance was a water pool as well as the staircase that led upstairs to the dining room.
Along the windows were some tables as well as sofas.
There were a variety of drinks and coffee available self-serve.
The main dining room was located up the stairs.
There was a variety of self-serve individually packaged food available including hummus and falafel sandwiches.
There was a sushi station with a chef.
Next to the sushi bar was a salad bar.
There was also a huge bread station.
Hot food included a mix of soup, curries, and middle eastern food served by staff members behind plexiglass.
There was also a huge dessert station with decadent cakes.
Qatar Airways also provided an a la carte menu.
In the middle of the lounge was a wide-open space with ample amounts of chairs and sofas.
Further into the lounge was a quiet room with individual suites.
There were also shower rooms separated by gender. I requested a room and was immediately taken to one that was available.
It was very nicely stocked with toiletries and amenities.
We made our way to the gate area at around midnight an hour before our departure time. There was a line for document checks and then a secondary security screen prior to entering the gate area. Luckily, there were separate lines for business class passengers and we were through in about 10 minutes.
I was really excited about this flight as it was the first time that I would be flying the long-range version of the B777, the B777-200LR.
Our B777-200LR, registration A7-BBD, was an 11 year old aircraft delivered brand new to Qatar Airways in Dec 2009. She was one of nine -200LRs in the Qatar fleet.
Boarding began at 00:30 via doors 1L and 2L. Business class passengeres used the first door while economy passengers boarded via the second door.
The Flight
Qatar Airways features 42 business class QSuites on board their B777-200LRs arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration in two separate cabins.
Our seats were 5E and F in the middle section of the first cabin which has a total of 24 seats. Odd numbered rows faced backwards while even numbered rows faced forward.
The odd numbered seats in the middle were also arranged right next to each other, separated by a middle divider.
Once the divider was lowered, the two seats turned into a twin suite right next to each other. Perfect for couples.
Each seat was 21 inches wide with even more shoulder room on the sides and in between the seats. The headrest was adjustable and very comfortable as well with great padding.
Pitch was over 103 inches and even when stretching my legs out I did not feel restricted.
QSuites offered a massive IFE entertainment screen that was highly responsive and high resolution.
Beneath the IFE screen was the large and sturdy bi-fold tray table.
The doorway offered ample space to get in and out of the seat without having the fold-up the tray table.
In the corner of the suite was a large table top with a nice marble design. There was a small storage shelf below.
There was an extensive amount of seat controls which allowed us to heavily customize the seat position.
The IFE remote was once of the nicer ones with a separate screen and multiple buttons.
Each seat also had a USB port, 110V outlet, headphone jack, USB streaming port, HDMI streaming port, and a tap-to-pay credit card reader.
At the bottom was a small space for storing shoes.
Next to the door was a small reading light as well as coat hook.
Below the reading light was a small cushion that covered a storage bin.
Within the storage bin was a water bottle, headphone, and bag. The bin had compartments of varying sizes which was perfect for glasses, tablets, phones, etc.
Waiting for us at the seat was an amenity kit, sanitizing kit, and wrapped blanket.
Immediately after we took our seats, the flight crews came by to ask what we would like to drink. Qatar Airways offers and open bar onboard their flights and I had a glass of the delicious rose. It was served with a refreshing towel.
There were two types of Brics amenity kits on this flight and my fiance and I each got one.
Contents included socks, eyeshade, lip blam, facial mist, and lotion.
The protective kit had a face mask, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
The Oryx One branded noise cancelling headphones were fairly good quality for business class.
We were each also given a bottle of water.
Bedding included a fairly comfortable pillow.
The fluffy blanket came wrapped in plastic.
Each passenger was alsio given The White Company branded pajamas. The top and bottom were comfortable and the slippers well cushioned.
We pushed back on time at 01:10AM in the morning and had a 25 minute taxi to the runway. At 1:35AM we began the takeoff roll sitting facing the rear of the plane.
Unforutantely, the B777-200LRs did not have nose or outside cameras.
Fifteen minutes later, the flight attendants came through the cabin to take our dinner orders. While Qatar Airways offers a dine-on-demand service, meaning you can eat whenever during the flight, I decided to eat first. My fiance went straight to sleep.
Service was a bit slower than I would have liked. Fourty minutes after take-off a small ramekin of mixed nuts was served. I went with a glass of the Pommery Brut Royal champage.
To start, I had the Arabic Mezze which was served covered due to COVID-19 precautions. This course came almost an hour after takeing off.
The mezze consisted of muhammmara, touleh, and hummus. Eaten with warmed pita it was tasty.
Next, I had a bowl of the daily soup which was a hearty potato soup.
I went with the Chilean Sea Bass and grilled shrimp for my main. While the fish was cooked perfectly, I found the saffron sauce way too buttery.
The only dessert option was a trio of cannolini. The three different flavors included key lime, avocado, and vanila which were all excellent.
Once my table was cleared, I went to go change into the pajamas. By this time, the cabin lights had been dimmed with mood lighting and all passengers had their doors closed. I loved the amount of privacy the suites had.
The lavatory was very well stocked with amenities and was larger than the standard B777 lavatories on other carriers.
The lavatory also had shaving kits and toothbrushes.
Additional amenities included facial water and hand lotion from diptyque.
As we were both getting changed, the flight attendants set up our beds. We came back to a very inviting double bed with two fluffy pillows, firm comforter, and silken smooth blanket.
Each suite also had the option to turn the seat lettering red to signal do-not-disturb.
We both closed the doors to our suite and tried to get some sleep. I appreciated the fact that the walls of the suite were high enough it was hard to peek over them.
I managed to get a few hours of sleep and woke-up as we crossed over Europe.
I had a cappacino which was served with a ginger cookie.
For the rest of the flight I had the flight map on the IFE remote and watched a few movies and TV shows on the main screen.
Feeling a bit hungry, I had the afternoon tea set about nine hours after takeoff. It came with an assortment of finger sandwiches, two scones, clotted cream, pistachio cake, and berry quiche. These snacks were all phenomenal and tasty.
My fiance and I also shared the cheese plate. The variety of cheese and sliced fruit with crackers were delicious.
I watched a few more TV shows as we crossed over Greenland into North America.
Five hours later, my fiance and I decided to have breakfast. My fiance went with the assiette of cold cuts which was served with fresh fruit and greek yoghurt.
I decided to have the excellent black mushroom crepe with scrambled eggs, veal sausage, and grilled potates.
Once we finished breakfast, flight attendants came by with Godiva chocolates and mints.
The cabin was prepped for landing almost an hour our of Dallas. We began our descent fifteen minutes later.
Exactly sixteen hours after we took-off from Doha, we landed in DFW at 9:34AM local time. The taxi to the gate took about twenty minutes and then we were off to clear customs and collect our bags before our final flight back up to Chicago. Thanks for the ride!
