Gulf's least WOW first class, First Class review on Qatar Airways' 777/300
When opportunities arise to use points and miles wisely we at TFC are ready [...]
Qatar Airways
Oneworld
MXP
Qatar
When opportunities arise to use points and miles wisely we at TFC are ready to share it, and this ticket is a classic example.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- 777/300
- Class:
- First
- Treat:
- MXP - DOH
- Price:
- 54 thousand avios + 130 euro
- Book
As soon as we found out that Doha airline would use these 777s on Milan. we wrote it down and immediately went on the hunt for prize tickets.
I had shared in our Facebook group and sent to all subscribers of the whatsapp channel, which now has 60 thousand subscribers and is the largest in Italy where to find deals, discount codes and opportunities related to travel.
And that's how I also I didn't let this opportunity pass me by Of killing three birds with one stone:
- Flying Qatar First Class and comparing it to the one it offers on board the A380
- Enjoying the Al Safwa for the umpteenth time., or the best first class lounge in MO
- Flying business class with JAL for the first time
Reservation
Unfortunately for me I had not been able to frame the best possible price, and in the end I spent 96k avios plus 232 euros. Considering that the minimum price with which, normally, one can fly to Tokyo with Qatar avios in business is 80k I cannot complain at all. As I have explained several times, I build my trips around tickets and not by destination And in this case this was my only chance to frame it all up
At the airport
This was my first flight of 2025, I arrived at Malpensa and as a welcome I got a protest from the environmentalists who were right in the Qatar Airways aisle, fortunately little discomfort and retrieved my boarding pass and headed to the lounge. Qatar uses Montale, not the Exclusive, also a small minus compared to traveling with Emirates, the only other carrier flying First Class at Malpensa.
No escort, no accompaniment. They gave me my boarding pass and showed me the way to the controls.
On board
These 777/300s are former Cathay Pacific aircraft., the Hong Kong-based company, during the covid, made a bet that it won overwhelmingly. While all the carriers, learned from analysts' forecasts that turned out to be wrong, were postponing deliveries of the new machines, CX told Airbus that not only would it not pause deliveries of A350/900s, but that if planes were available it would take them. E this led Cathay to have many more planes, much faster. And so it disposed of many 777s prematurely., planes now flying to Qatar, Turkmenistan and others.
The configuration is 1-1-1 for a total of 6 seats divided into two rows.
The special feature is that the two middle seats have access only from the right side, and this makes row A the most isolated since you will not have eye contact with other passengers, even though there is no door.
Although the inclinations of the seats are opposite, I advise everyone to go for row A for comfort and provcay.
The chair
Only three chairs means that you have plenty of space and the chair is really wide. Of course it is not the most modern, and certainly you can see the signs of time.
For example, as soon as I sat down, I practically had a piece of the seat left in my hand.
The seat reclines and becomes a bed, but the end can also be used as a bench for a guest. In this way once you have apperced you can eat together with another passenger, play cards or chat while looking into each other's eyes.
The coffee table is huge and easily allows two people to eat or work without any problem.
At the storage level, there are no overhead lockers, but each passenger has his or her own private closet hidden in the seat structure. Then there is an open well under the TV and an enclosed one in the seat structure, under the windows.
What can I say the seat is comfortable, but the new Firsts today are really a different thing, but we should not forget that these planes do not have QSuite and so it really changes the whole product on board compared to the 100% Qatar fleet.
The chair becomes a bed, the attendant makes it ready, and I must say that it is spacious and comfortable, but even here you notice how the small sheet that is put over the chair does not cover all the available space.
The impression is that a makeshift product is being used and not one designed specifically for this chair.
The service
If the chair is old, but still a first class, the same cannot be said for everything else. Airlines have special training for first class flight attendants, but if, as in the case of Qatar, the F is not currently an added value in the proposal, it is normal that it cannot compete with what Lufthansa, Singapore or other carriers that instead still have a significant fleet of aircraft with the most exclusive cabin. To be greeted by jar, sadly empty, is a signal of this "I could, but I won't."
No warm scented cloth, here the same sachet of the product that is given in business class.
Attention to detail can be seen in the little things, such as serving a glass of champagne that has obviously been open for hours and a very sad little plate with olives and cheese cubes together.
The amenity kit is, by far, the worst ever received in first class. It is basically the business one with the addition of three perfumes, really a pittance compared to what Emirates, Singapore or Air France offer.
Dulcis in fundo, the abandoned candy on the seat. A small detail that in the perfection of other people's First Classes had never occurred to me.
Food&Beverage
Here Qatar tries to keep its offerings high, but again it is the details that make the difference. The post-takeoff snack made people forget the previous small debacle.
Wine list researched and not taken for granted, although the fact that I was served a flute of carbonated Bollinger Rosé is a red-circle mistake.
The menu is not a work of art as in the case of La Premiere or Singapore, but the dishes were definitely interesting.
The amuse bouche was a scallop on a pea puree.
Then came the time for caviar, served with batik salmon and all its accompaniments. The best thing about the mise en place is undoubtedly the iconic Qatari dish.
Then I got the rest of my order; in fact, I was served a different appetizer (I have a doubt that the one I had ordered was not available), and for the main course I got lobster.
I finished with dessert, and again I was told, "We're sorry, but ice cream has not been loaded by the caterer today," and so my dessert was half-done.
IFE
One nice thing that only a "box breaker," like the bum, might notice is Cathay's logo in the seat management screen. Evidently it was not easy to redo the interface, or too expensive to justify the intervention, and so as you can see the "Brushwing", a calligraphic stylization representing a bird's wing, a symbol of CX is present in the upper right corner.
Everywhere else, however, Qatar has installed its IFE interface. The screen is quietly operated from the controller, which also has the function of a second monitor.
Content and product are what is offered across QR's fleet, Oryx One, as Qatar's IFE is called, does not flaunt even if the hardware is not the current top of the line.
Today all the Qatar's 777/300 offer Starlink connectivity, mine unfortunately was not yet updated. It definitely jars that no voucher or free connection is given for those traveling in F, which all other carriers give away instead, even those more scrappy ones like Kuwiat Airways.
In conclusion
At this price I would take it 10 more times, if only because with this ticket when passing through Doha you can access the first class lounge, which is otherwise precluded to all but Qatar platinum status.
Pro
- The price
- The lounge in Doha
Against
- Details
- The small/major shortcomings
- Wifi for a fee