Qatar Airways is heaven-sent and your head never comes out of the clouds.
I have found heavenly joy and it is burgundy and grey-toned and full of kind, smiling faces, the finest food and drinks, a walk-up bar, and complimentary Diptyche toiletries and the beds are great. Entry to airborne Heaven is one-way by Qatar Airways Business Class, preferably transported via their new Q Suite.
Earthly bliss is feeling a priority passenger ticket peeping out of your white linen shirt breast pocket. There is no feeling that represents the luxury of High Life more as well as turning left when you board a plane. The older you get and the more complex your work, the greater the priority for fast tracks, lounges, limitless fine Champagne, and a good night’s sleep especially on a long haul. The one thing you don’t want to do is arrive in Paradise or a business meeting with Jet Lag, looking like Charles Manson or, at least, like one of the plane doors had been left open on the way; the only way to arrive is full of Arabic hummus, tabouleh, baba ghanoush, and muhammara mezze, braised Irish beef cheek, San Sebastian Basque cheesecake, karaki cardamom chai, Louis Latour Chablis Vancoupin, Grand Cuvee Classe Pauillac 2014 and Dow’s 20 years Tawny Port, your body scented with Diptyque Eau Rose.
The beach, the sea, and the Vitamin K can wait
“Unspoilt” is an overworked word when it comes to traveling. “Spoilt” is under-used but there is a place to be spoilt before you even get anywhere and that’s traveling Business Class. You have to be royalty or an actor to travel First and be used to nothing else. Business Class is a present from the firm but a present to yourself on vacation.
Qatar Airways Business Class is full of people either pretending to be used to the luxury or uninhibitedly reveling in it. Everyone revels in the Q Suite; every flight makes you feel and behave like you are a business-class virgin.
Qatar Airways has been the World’s Best Airline for six years winning top honors by providing the world’s best Business Class seat, best Business Class onboard catering, and the world’s best Business Class airline lounge as well as the best in-flight wine cellar.
Whether you are heading towards the World Cup, South Africa, Tokyo, Sri Lanka, or Seychelles as I did, you will be spoiled all the way by the justifiably award-winning Qatar Airways, from fast-track at check-in to the business lounges and the napery with all in-flight meals, including the warmed nuts.
Some people think that paying that “a lot more” for some high latitude nuts, a quilted blanket, a chair that gives you a lower back massage and turns into a flat bed, gourmet food with your own private cruet, take-off and landing refreshment towels served by tongs, complimentary socks, single-use toothbrushes, and extra leg as well as whole body room isn’t worth it. These people have never given Business a chance. Especially Qatar.
There is no better experience in the air.
In the matchless Q-suite, there are four rows of cubicles. Two in the middle and one with each window. The middle can be converted into a paired or even quad seating – if you are traveling with friends, family, lovers, people who know you well enough not to be disturbed by your groans from the inflight massage, and those who won’t you’re your fidgeting and playing with all the chair settings interrupting their movie-watching. You would need a lifetime for Qatar to start a route to Mercury to watch all the films on board.
The Al Mourjan business lounge at Doha International Airport is one of the most lavish in the world. Taking up over 10,000 square meters, you can shower before enjoying a buffet, a la carte meals, sushi platters, and even more high-quality Champagne. Spoiling their passengers with ultra-comfort is Qatar Airway’s forte,
The only way to arrive home is full of olive brioches, artisan bread, seared tuna tataki, decadent raised almond pastries, gourmet ice cream, and cheese, fresh-faced from a totally horizontal sleep, lait frais pour le corps, creme essentiale pour le visage and smiling after watching a complete season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. And there’s also your new, can’t-see earplugs to get you serenely through your next boring business meeting.
The great thing about Business Class and flying Qatar Airways, in particular, is that you never dread the flight home. You look forward to it and never want it to stop or ever come down from the clouds. You pray to be held in a holding pattern to make it all last longer. Heaven is hard to quit. Flying another airline makes you quite heaven-sick.
