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This Qatar First Class review is my husband's report, from his flight from Male MLE to Doha DOH. Qatar First Class is more typically available on the A380 on routes to London LHR, Paris CDG, Sydney SYD, Perth PER, and to Hong Kong HKG on the 777-300ER that it wet leased from Cathay Pacific; however, at time of writing, it also offers First Class on select flights between Doha and Male, Maldives, also on the 777-300ER.
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Qatar First Class Cabin and Seats, 777-300ER
Similar to Cathay Pacific First Class, seats are in a 1-1-1 configuration, ideal for solo travelers. These are open suites, without closing doors, but particularly with seats 1A and 1K on the left side of the aircraft, quite private as the aisle only services those seats. 1D, 2D, 1K and 2K are all served by the same aisle. We'd selected 1A and 1K for my son and me, however we were given 2A and 2K when we checked in. Any airline can of course assign you a different seat than the one you selected, but something to be aware of given that it's occurred a couple of times on our Qatar flights.
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The seat itself, since it's a Cathay Pacific aircraft redone with Qatar livery and colors, brought back nice memories of Cathay Pacific First Class. There's something so luxurious about having a seat this wide (36 inches), with plenty of personal space and three full windows. There was also a black amenity kit, but as a guy I never bothered with it.
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There's an ottoman that can be used as a guest seat if a couple wishes to dine together, although I used it as a place to put my pillow since my teen son was keener to watch part of movie over dinner.
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The power outlet and USB charger is closer to the ottoman, and rather awkwardly placed relative to the seat.
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A water bottle and package of The White Company pajamas was already in the storage underneath the IFE screen.
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The IFE control is conveniently by the seat, along with small item storage.
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There wasn't the elegance of a fresh orchid (the flower holder was empty) but there was a very refreshing lime and mint welcome drink, along with cheese and olives.
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Our video review:
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Qatar First Class Menu and Dining
Our flight departed Male about 8:30pm, so there was a full dinner service offered.
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The breads were offered with both olive oil and butter, and similar to Qatar Qsuites Business Class, there was an artificial candle to make the meal a bit more like one at a restaurant.
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The lobster avocado mousse amuse bouche was superb.
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Along with the amuse bouche, the caviar with balik style salmon appetizer, which was also one of my favorite dishes in Cathay Pacific First Class, was excellent.
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Unfortunately, the Arabic mezze was surprisingly bad for a Middle Eastern airline. The hummus and baba ganoush were quite bland and tasteless.
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The salmon and prawn main course was also forgettable, with overcooked salmon, although the wild rice and parsley sauce were decent.
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Qatar First Class Bed
As in Cathay Pacific First Class, the Qatar First Class seat on the same 777-300ER aircraft reclines into a flat bed that is 81 inches in length. The flat bed is relatively comfortable, although not as good as, say, JAL First Class, which has a nice thick mattress pad, compared to the rather thin quilted one in Qatar.
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The Verdict
This was a relatively short first class flight of 4.5 hours at night, so most passengers were interested in quality rest. As with Cathay Pacific, the open suite technically isn't as private as suites with closing doors, but the roomy seat helps make up for it. My favorite parts of the meal service were the lobster avocado amuse bouche and caviar and balik salmon service, which was like what I remember enjoying on Cathay Pacific. The Arabic mezze appetizer and salmon and prawn mains were quite poor, however, and service was also mediocre, not proactive at all.
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