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Issue 61: Saturday, 9 November 2019

Ian McIntosh's

Emirates or Qatar – the verdict

The result is a little confusing I am afraid. Emirates is the clear winner when it comes to economy – and Qatar bolts home in the business class department. I think Emirates looks after economy passengers with better food and the best entertainment system on the planet – ICE. More on that later. Emirates operates various aircraft out of Australia including the A380  – Qatar out of Adelaide uses the new super quiet A350. Both have excellent lounges – this is the Qatar Heathrow example.

Always choose the magnificent A380

So does the aircraft you choose make much of a difference? Not really. My choice would be the A380. You will read all sorts of platitudes about seats – but reality is it becomes very uncomfortable crammed in the back of any aircraft. Try to get a window seat (you can choose your own seat is you have made the booking) – or an aisle. Nothing worse than having to step over people if you need to go to the loo fairly often.

ICE is the world standard in entertainment

A really good entertainment system is essential if you are on a long fight – Adelaide to Dubai for instance is around 11 hours. Emirates is a clear winner here – ICE has everything from Talk Podcasts to Audiobooks, 1500 movies, brilliant TV box-sets and a huge selection of music. We are talking top movies by the way – everything from current box office hits to classics. You can even keep up with the latest news.

The Qatar Airways system is basic

Qatar on the other hand has ORYXONE. Now my wife enjoys movies and is normally glued to the ICE screen – but she could not find anything of interest in the Qatar line-up. I prefer subtitles as my hearing is not brilliant – but none were available. The economy headphones did not plug in properly on the A350 and the picture kept fading out on the Doha/Paris leg. I did use the free e-mail service and it worked really well.

Stopover in Doha or Dubai?

We only had the day to explore Doha – but give me Dubai any day. I have been there many times over the years but I still get a real buzz out of this space age city.  Doha on the other hand seemed to be in transition but I assume that will all change in 2022 when the country hosts the World Cup. Lots need to be done though starting with cabs with meters and the ability to accept credit cards.

Emirates the economy choice

So, Emirates is my choice in economy and I would suggest a two day stopover in Dubai on the way over. It always seems a good idea on the way back but when the time comes you just want to get home. Most of the Middle Eastern carriers have special stopover deals going at the moment – Emirates for instance is offering two nights free and so is Etihad. The Qatar deal is one night for $US50.

Qatar’s QSuite takes business to a new level

So what is QSuite all about and why is it so impressive? Let me say from the outset that business onboard Emirates is excellent as well – but Qatar treats the passenger in an entirely different way. The usual procedure on most airlines is to use aisle trolleys to service food and drinks. Qatar treats every business class passenger as an individual. He or she is greeted by a steward who looks after your needs throughout the flight. A supervisor checks on you now and then but basically you are onboard with your own butler.

Dine when you want on Qatar

You decide when you want lunch, dinner or breakfast – there are no trolleys – the meal is brought piping hot from the galley. It might be that you are tired and don’t really want anything. In that case you can simply close the door of your QSuite and push a do not disturb button. I found the cabin staff to be extremely attentive. Nothing was too much trouble. There is none of the “feed them and then we all can clear off” attitude that is common on many long haul night flights. Someone is always checking to see you are ok.

What is a QSuite?

You realise as soon as you arrive that this product is something special. As well as your seat that fully reclines you have a cubby alongside. Lift the lid and you have plenty of space to store your computer, phone or whatever. The screen is huge and most amazing of all on the single suites, you can simply close the door when you want to sleep. You quickly understand why this is regarded as the World’s Best Business Class, as recognised by the 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards. This is the sixth time and third consecutive year that Qatar Airways has won this recognition.

More about the QSuite

One of Emirates problems over the years has been its business seating configuration. Last year the airline shared that it would be (finally) getting rid of the dreaded business class middle seat, going from a 2-3-2 configuration to a 2-2-2 on refurbished 777 200 series aircraft. However there is still not aisle access for everyone, unlike with the 1-2-1 arrangements of Qatar. So advanced are the QSuites that some centre seats can be converted into a double bed. If you are travelling to Europe via the Middle East this really is the way to go.