Some Boeing 777s are being leased from Cathay Pacific by Qatar Airways. There is a surplus of jets at Cathay Pacific and a shortage of jets at Qatar Airways.
One of the destinations we were going to was Male, so we were able to fly one of these planes back to the US. I don't know how to sum up how excited I was for this flight, since it would be a hybrid between two of my favorite airlines.
There are three daily flights between Male and Doha with the Boeing 777, and each flight has two first class award seats, which is great for those looking to redeem miles.
Our one-way first class award from Male to Doha costs just 40,000 American AAdvantage miles per person, which is quite a bargain. The flight cost me around $168 per person, or around two glasses of the 2004 Krug we enjoyed on the flight, because I acquired a not-insignificant number of AAdvantage miles for 0.42 cents each.
In addition to the taxes, there were miles and taxes as the Maldives recently increased its departure tax.
I initially booked this flight for what it was worth.
The male is arriving in Doha at 10:10PM.
We ended up taking this flight because of our issues with entering Qatar.
The male left 9:05PM and arrived 11:35PM.
The flights are blocked for 4.5 hours because of the time change.
We had to take a bus to get from the remote stand to the bus stop. The livery of the plane is interesting. The plane is being leased from Cathay Pacific and has been painted in a different color.
The exterior of the plane had a logo and branding, but not the full livery of the airline. The base of the plane was white, but it still had a logo on it.
We boarded the plane through the left door, where we were welcomed by the cabin manager and taken to our seats. I was like a kid in a candy shop when I got back in the first class of the Cathay Pacific plane.
A total of six seats are in the first class cabin, spread across two rows. These aren't fully enclosed suites with doors, but they are incredibly spacious and comfortable, and are one of my favorite first class products in the world.
The art on the bulkhead is the same as it was before the jets were flown by Cathay Pacific. The only thing that hasn't changed is the seating.
The left aisle is for two seats, while the right aisle is for four seats, as the center seats are open to the right aisle. If I were traveling with someone, I would choose seats 1A and 2A, but in this case, we had the cabin all to ourselves, so we chose 1K and 2K.
You could easily seat two people next to each other in these humongous seats.
There is an ottoman at each seat that can double as a buddy seat, so that you can dine face-to-face with someone.
The entertainment monitor is to the front of the seat and you can push a button to make it move out of the way.
There is a closet at the front of the seat that is large enough to hold a full size carry-on or a garment bag.
The entertainment and seat controllers can be found to the front of the seats. The entertainment controller had a different brand of airline than the seat controller did.
The storage compartment is large enough for headphones to be stored in.
The tray table was huge and folded out from the side of the seat. There is a tray table extension that can be used to make the table even bigger.
The power outlets were easy to access.
There aren't individual air nozzles at the seats, but there is a reading light above the seat.
It's a great product, especially for a short flight, and when you have the cabin all to yourself.
There are two lavatories in first class. The lavatory on the left is larger than the one on the right. The unique sink feature in the first class of the Cathay Pacific plane will be remembered by those who have flown it.
Dental kits, shaving kits, and some products from Diptyque were some of the basic amenities in the lavatories.
The number of things to do on this short flight in first class was very small. The amenities are almost the same in business class.
There were two pillows and a plush blanket in the waiting area at each seat.
The new Diptyque kit had socks, ear plugs, eyeshades, lip balm, body lotion, face cream, and even a fragrance.
We were offered pajamas and slippers from The White Company, which is the same company you will find in business class on long haul flights.
The hygiene kit included a face mask, gloves, and hand sanitizer. After takeoff, we were told that we didn't need to wear masks, as we were socially distanced.
We were given the standard headphones that are offered by the airline.
The menu and wine list were waiting for us at our seats, as well as a bottle of still water.
We were offered a choice of non-alcoholic drinks during boarding, but the islands don't allow alcohol to be served on the ground. I ordered a glass of the signature lemon-mint juice and was offered a cold towel as well as a snack. Arabic coffee and dates are not offered in first class anymore.
We were the only ones in first class, and 44 of the 53 seats were taken. The captain told us about our flight time of 4 hours and 10 minutes and our cruising altitude of 38,000 feet.
Mood lighting was turned on after the cabin door closed, which was pretty.
The safety video was shown. I'm a big fan of the airline, but I don't like the safety video.
I browsed the entertainment selection after we took off. There is a modified version of the Oryx One entertainment system on these leased 777s.
The selection is good, but not as good as you will find on newer jets. There were many movies and TV shows to choose from.
I watched the map feature for most of the flight, since I am boring like that.
Cathay Pacific was making good progress installing wi-fi on the 777s before the pandemic, and now the portal has been rebranded by qatar Airways. The price for the entire flight is $10, with no data caps. It's great pricing, especially when you consider that the cost is the same on an ultra long haul flight.
I used the internet during the flight and found the speeds to be good.
The dine on demand concept is offered in first class on all flights. The menu for dinner reads as follows.
The drink list for Qatar Airways has a strong beverage game.
We decided to eat right away because we were both hungry and tired, so we could get some rest before we landed.
We were served our first drink 15 minutes after takeoff. We ordered the champagne and the Krug. The 2004 vintage of the Krug Grande Cuvee Brut is twice as expensive as the standard version. We were served some warm nuts.
Our table was ready for dinner. I love the presentation of Qatar Airways, from the fake candle to the textured plates.
We both ordered the traditional accompaniments, including blinis and melba toast, to start the meal. It was delicious!
The table was set with a new bread basket, olive oil, butter, and other items.
I had the Arabic mezze, which was comprised of hummus, tabouleh, and baba ghanoush. It was great.
The main course was the seared salmon and prawn with wild rice, citrus segments, and parsley. It was good.
The dessert I ordered was the sticky date pudding with ice cream and sea salt toffee sauce.
It was a great meal for a short flight. It's possible I'm missing something, but I can't think of another airline that serves first class on a flight with a short block time.
Ford wanted to share a few more food pictures, so he ordered the mushroom and hazelnut soup with herb baguette toast, which he enjoyed.
He ordered the chateaubriand with morel mushrooms, purple potato fondant, and tomato.
The cabin manager and the first class flight attendant took care of us in first class. Both were perfect. The service was very personalized, given that there were two flight attendants taking care of us. What a treat.
We enjoyed our meal at a very leisurely pace, and were done about 90 minutes before landing. The crew asked if we wanted turn down service in order to sleep. Yes, why not! I had my bed ready for a nap a few minutes after I left the bathroom.
I fell asleep almost immediately, but woke up with a badache 45 minutes later.
The cabin of this flight was prepared for landing very early. The captain told us that we would soon start our descent, and at that point the crew had everyone put their seats upright.
We were asked if we wanted anything else to drink, and we both ordered a cappuccino. It was served in a to-go cup so that we could enjoy it throughout the descent. A small box of chocolates was also given to us.
The view of The Pearl and the skyline along the corniche were gorgeous.
We arrived in Doha at 11:20PM. We had a taxi that took us to our remote arrival stand, where we parked at 11:30PM. We parked a few stands down from an A330 from an airline that is also renting some of them.
We deplaned through the second set of doors and were able to see the mini business class cabin behind first class.
Bye bird!
The sting out of arriving at a remote stand is mitigated by the fact that there were two separate premium buses to take passengers to the terminal.
Premium passengers can go to the arrivals lounge at Qatar Airways. When you get to the immigration hall, you will see the business class arrivals area. There is plenty of seating here, as well as soft drinks, water, and coffee. There are also immigration facilities here.
What a great flight in the first class cabin. I was excited about this flight from an AvGeek perspective, but everything about the Qatar Airways experience was perfect.
On a short haul first class flight, can you eat on demand, 2004 Krug, caviar, pajamas, full turndown service, etc. It's simply amazing! The good news is that first class is only available on A380s. The good news is that business class is pretty amazing as well.
What was it like to fly first class with Qatar Airways?
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