Flight review: ‘The best in-flight meal I’ve eaten all year’
Despite an unfortunate start to the journey, this airline impresses with great service, amenity kits and delicious food.
Despite an unfortunate start to the journey, this airline impresses with great service, amenity kits and delicious food.
My allotted seat, 5A, comes with a storage-compartment surprise. It hasn’t been cleaned. I open it to find a pile of someone else’s manky tissues and socks. Cabin staff are mortified and set to with sterilising fluids.
Before I can settle back in, a mother asks if I’ll swap with her son with a disability, who’s seated in 1A. Happy to oblige. Even happier to find the front row has two windows (5A has one) and bonus storage space above the shoe cupboard (only in 1A and 1E).
The business-class cabin’s 22 seats are arranged 1-2-1 except for an extra pair at the rear, within earshot of the economy class bassinettes (row 6, best avoided).
All have aisle access. Seats are 55cm wide and extend to become 195cm to 203cm-long beds, comparable to the carrier’s flagship Q Suite.
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Flight review: ‘The best in-flight meal I’ve eaten all year’
Despite an unfortunate start to the journey, this airline impresses with great service, amenity kits and delicious food.
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Beds are furnished with two pillows – one small and disposable, the other plump – and a quilt. Passengers are provided with jersey PJs, socks, mask and slides. Amenity boxes by Paris perfumer Diptyque include body lotion, face cream, lip balm and a sandalwoody Tam Dao eau de toilette designed for the airline.
The illustrated seat control panel is easily operated whether seated or prone. There’s a USB port and international power point. Wi-fi across all classes is charged, which seems especially ungenerous to those who’ve forked out for business class fares.
Tables are set with white cloths, battery-operated candle and “artisan bread” – a roll sectioned cleverly into grain, white and wholemeal and served with Monte Vibiano olive oil.
The meal, available at any time, begins with an amuse bouche of a shrimp crowned with Alaskan crab, fish roe and coriander oil, followed by a dense cream of fennel soup with braised leek, and appetisers, either Arabic dips and pita or quinoa-crusted seared tuna.
Main course choices run to Angus beef, salmon or truffled vegetarian pasta, but the standout option – and the best in-flight meal I’ve eaten all year – is the biryani-like Qatari chicken mashkhool, fragrant with cardamom, charred onion and dried fruit studded in fluffy rice. It leaves no room for the “international” cheese plate and/or the sea salt caramel and chocolate mousse. The high-quality wine selection includes a Devaux ros Champagne, Napa chardonnay and a 2012 vintage second grand cru classe bordeaux from Chateau Gruaud Larose. Classic cocktails and premium spirits (Grey Goose vodka, Hendrick’s gin, etc) are served alongside mocktails, TWG teas and espresso coffee.
Personal screens on the B787-8 are 43cm (17 inches) wide, compared to 54cm screens in Q Suites. The film selection appears vast at first glance but it’s padded out with superhero franchises, B-grade romances, action and vintage. But there are gems in the mix such as the South Korean charmer Past Lives. There are also popular TV series and audio channels devoted to books, podcasts, African music, and the Koran.
Before takeoff, cabin supervisor Thinlay introduces herself and apologises for The Unpleasantness. Service is hyper-attentive to make amends, and I appreciate the male attendant who explains the seat features and inclusions (storage areas, water bottle, noise cancelling headphones, etc).
Checked baggage allowance is 40kg,
with carry-on limited to two pieces totalling 15kg. Some Privilege Club members can
take more.
Qatar is part of the Oneworld Alliance, which includes Qantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and American Airlines.
Seats are equipped with sealed “travel with confidence” bags containing blue medical masks, plastic gloves and sanitiser. Few, if any, passengers wear masks.
Despite the unfortunate start, staff work hard to make a great impression during the flight. And between the delights of the Diptyque amenity kit and the chicken mashkhool, all is forgiven.
Kendall Hill travelled as a guest of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.