(Deutsche Version) Today i got something new. Not a new airport, airplane or airline, but a new combination. I recently travelled with with the 787 by British Airways, and today i’ll use the same aircraft by Qatar, the new OneWorld Airline and partner in the worldwide network. With Qatar joining new interesting destinations in the eastern world are added. Not that you couldn’t travel there before, but now you can fly vi the hub Doha and don’t have to use London anymore. To me, this is interesting from several points of view: My home airport Txl will not get a 787, but the A330 is great alternative (Review Qatar A330 BusinessClass)
Arriving at the airport
Today I used a different travel route, starting at main station in Berlin. I used Rail&Fly and booked a single compartment in the city night line. The extra charge is 105 EUR for the track Berlin (or Hamburg) to Munich. So I arrived at 7:05 on time in Munich an continued with the S1 at 7:28 to the airport. It took 35 minutes, so I arrived at 8:06 at MUC for my flight at 10:30.
Check-In and lounge
Check-in or printing the ticket is still done by Lufthansa as handling agent for Qatar. Besides Lufthansa personel, also a lady of Qatar was present. The counter is seperated from those of Lufthansa ans is located in Area 807 in T2 of Munich.
Security control was almost empty so it wasn’t even necessary to use the Fastlane, but just go through eco. After the lift to level H I went through passport control. Here it wasn’t that empty so I took FastTrack and went on to the lounge.
Qatar uses Lufthansa Lounges, which are located just adverse Gate H24, were also the 787 is being handled today. The access rules are not exactly oneWorld, but it’s Lufthansa. Hence in MUC (before QR moves to T1 at the end of the winter plan) business and first class travellers use the senator lounge. An Emerald Status is useless for OneWorldPartners.
But this is not a problem: the lounge for business class travellers is nice, sufficiently big and today (saturday morning) not too crowded. The offer consists of puns, jelly, curd cheese, cucumber, cereals and fruit. On time at 9:30 we begin boarding the beautiful 787, which is waiting for us at the gate. Unfortunately the weather is rather fall-like, elsewise the pic would have been „nicer“.
The cabin
The new business class in the 787 of Qatar is located in the front of the plane. Arranged in a kind of fishbone pattern, like Virgin for example, alle seats are connected to the corridor. The first 5 rows are arranged in a 1-2-1 seating, while middle seats are placed a little more upfront. Hence you don’t „look your neighboor into the eyes“.
Behind row 5 is a sideboard, on the right and left the second door of the cbin. Toilets are enclosed directly before the curtain for economy class. Because they had some space left there, they put two seats. I’m not sure what to think about that. On the right and left of the toilets it could be noisier , but since the entrance is in the front it might work out. If you travel twosome, I recommend the middle seats, travelling alone you should use those at the window. From my point of view the best ones are 1A and 1K, because they offer more storage and shelves, and I wasn’t disturbed my noises when I sat on 1K.
The panes can be darkened electronically for the whole cabin or just one seat. One big advantage of this new feature: it does not become dark. Especially when the sun is shining, the cabin cannot be dimmed. On day flights this might not be a problem, on night flights this might be annoying. It’s not Qatars fault, also BA and other users of the 787 have this problem. I personally prefer the louver.
The seat
The seat is designed openly, much more than those at British Airways in the 787. I don’t want to judge. I really like the cabins of British Airways in the 787, others might find it too tight. It’s a matter of taste in the end.
But more about the seat: the angular arrangement of the seats saves space and this is something that really sticks out, compared to the 787 of BA: there is lot of it.
Backpacks or normal pags can be stored unter the foot-rest, on the right you find space for small stuff, even the 13 inch Macbook fits in the magazine bag. Another shelf is on the left of the arm-rest, where you also find water and noice cancellation headphones, which were really comfortable. Even though I still love my Bose i20s, so I didn’t use those of Qatar for too long.
A generous room feeling is provided by the huge shelf besides the seat. It provide space for magazines, the Safety Card and also the menu. The table is huge for business class and can be easily folded into a smaller version (40x15cm) to save space. It cn be used as you want to, maybe to put a coffee on it. It’s fixable and perfectly suitable to eat on it. Very comfortable, if you just want to get up.
You also find a lot of plugs and sockets. Besides and international socket there also is a USB plug, and other to connect your device to the Inflight Entertainment.
The seat itself is sufficiently bright and is adjusted via panel which is located on the right or left on a little shelf. It has fixed positions for take-off and lading, eat, watch TV, lounge or bed. You can also adjust arm, foot and back rest manually. If you want a little more „motion“, use the built in massage function and relax.
There is also enough light. Besides the lamp above the seat there is also one for reading behind the back, so you can red also while lying down.
When it comes to sleeping, the seat can be transformed into a bed. Really comfortable :-).
The inflight entertainment
The screen is a little wider, but hast almost the same height as my 13“ notebook and is sufficiently bright and usable also when the sun is shining. It’s controlled via touch screen or with a very well working touch remote control. I really like the fact that flightmap, gmes etc. are also displayable on the big screen, which enables you to use the map all the time.
There are many movies, sorted after category or languages, so everybody should find something. Further more you find an extensive offer of documentaries, comedies and much more. There is an offer for kids, coming with games, movies, shows and so forth. Shopping guides, info channels and Qatar info material about destinations and more games are also available.
WiFi and GSM net
Connect with your beloved ones at home, office or wherever, Qatar provides GSM net as well as WiFi. Costs are depending on your provider, I used the Vodafone Black rate in which data packages are included. WiFi is really expensive, compared to other airlines.
There are 2 variants that can be booked as often as you want: 3MB are 2 USD, 10 MB 5 USD and you have to pay by credit card. Further more you get 0.05 respectively 0.06 USD for 100KB while you can decide whether connection is being cut afterwards or continued to use. American Airlines is clearly cheaper, as to be read in the Review
The amenity kit
The amenity kit was ready at boarding, being split in two parts: one is a black bag with cosmetics, one a little pouch with comb, socks and other sutff. There are no slippers, and you get payamas only if there are some left over from the night flight. No problem, most airlines don’t even provide them in business class, just aside.
The kits are different for men (black) and women (white). Cosmetics come from ATTIMO and contain (for men) eau de toilette, lip and hand balm. Tooth brush, shaver and other small stuff are stored in the toilet.
The food
A man has got to eat. Qatar really put some effort in it: starting from the quality of the tablecloth, dishes and cutlery. The menu is already at your place and seperated into three parts: one for wine, one for beverages and one for food.
It started with a greeting from the kitchen: delicious chicken sticks with dipp. Even though I thought the soup sounded exciting (butternut squash), I took the „classic arabis mezze“ according to the destination.
The main course consisted of fish and was really delicious: grilled sea bass with spaghetti in a tasty sauce.
My menu ended with some ice cream and fruit, but the chocolate cake looked delicious, too.
Almost an hour before landing we got cake with coffee, espresso or tea specialties. I had no wine of course, but took a picture of the menu for you.
Service and conclusion
„Well done!“ could be a good conclusion. Friendly service, more than three times warm towels, refilling of drinks and everything without asking and any problems. The hardware (seat etc.) is really nice, the product is fun to fly and i could really spend some more hours here.
All together the accede of Qatar to OneWorldAlliance is a big advantage for me, because I can use them to travel to further flights and I really like the airline. I collect miles also on this flight via the British Airways program, which in this case is profitable. The connection flight to Dubai takes place in the first, so I get 140+60+60+140 points. If you need some to keep your status, here are 400 at one blow.
So for the next flight you have to think about this product!
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