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1. the hard product
2. the soft product
3. the food & beverage
4. final notes

the hard product

Qatar Airlines 787-8 Dreamliner runs a 22 business class seater plane non-stop from Rome to Doha, where you’ll likely connect onto another flight. You’ll find the familiar Dreamliner reverse herringbone 1-2-1 configuration, with a roomy 50cm seat pitch, fully lie flat beds and direct aisle access for all passengers.

The cabin feels bright and airy, aided by the lack of overhead bins above the middle seats. The colour palette is Qatar’s signature maroon and dark grey, which feels classy yet understated (unlike Emirates faux gold bling approach…).

The seat has a good amount of storage space on either side of your seat, including a charging port, compartment that lights up when you open it (useful so you’re not fumbling around in the dark if a night time flight), and a nook underneath the foot rest for your shoes and blanket when not in use (side note: if you’re taking the A380, the seat is basically the same).

There is also a panel with one-touch recliner options for different modes such as take off, meal service, reclining and sleep. Of course, you can fully adjust everything but I found the one-touch modes super helpful to quickly snap into meal position when the FAs came around with plates!

Note that this is not Qatar’s 787-9 product, which are essentially mini Q-suites so do check the aircraft on your ticket carefully so you’re not disappointed.

At your seat you’ll find a blanket, mattress topper, 2 pillows and slippers. I LOVE the Qatar blankets which feel incredibly luxurious – quilted, velvet on one side and heavy.

You’ll also find a very decent amenity kit for a 5 hour daytime flight – Diptyque body lotion, face cream, lip balm, eau de toilette spray and socks tucked at the bottom of the box. No pajamas were provided on this particular flight.

As usual, Qatar’s Oryx in-flight entertainment system is a standout. A wide 17 inch screen, loaded up with more movies and TV shows than you can imagine. I think it took me a good 20 minutes just to scroll through them all! Luckily there is a feature to “add to playlist” as you scroll along. Is there any more wonderfully indulgent feeling than queuing up a flight’s worth of movies while someone brings you champagne and snacks?!

the soft product

This is where Qatar really shines. The crew are friendly, professional, efficient and there is exceptional attention to detail. A few things I noticed and particularly loved (that aren’t universal across different airlines’ Business Class products):

• Dine on Demand – getting to choose when and what you want to eat
• Asking for your water preferences – still or sparkling, and this getting topped up consistently
• Plates brought out course by course – not all on the one tray
• Your “personal” flight attendant introducing themselves and inviting them to ask them if you needed anything so you really feel like you are getting personalised service
• A fake candle on your meal tray was a nice touch!

the food & beverage

Qatar serves 2 types of champagne as part of pre-takeoff welcome drinks, both excellent – either a Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve or a Taittinger Prestige Rose. This was offered with some warm almonds and cashews, perfectly roasted and not stale at all. Unfortunately I was not able to order my customary flight Bloody Mary as my FA said they couldn’t serve spirits until after midday…oh well.

As this was a daytime flight, the main meal service was lunch which was a 5 course affair comprising soup, an appetizer, main course, cheese, dessert and a selection of breads. I wasn’t super hungry after wasting some tummy space on a terrible lounge experience (more on that below) so settled for the soup (a seafood bisque), an appetiser of poached lobster with seared scallop and a cheese plate. The bisque was a standout, hot and full of flavour, and went very well with the warm trio of artisan breads. Alongside, I chose a delicious J Vineyards Chardonnay and with my cheese a 20 year old Dow’s Tawny Port – a very decent and pricey drop, generous of Qatar to include this on their wine list!

(Special shoutout to the cheese course, comprising four different cheeses, some mustard fruits, pickled dragonfruit and an assortment of gourmet crackers – better than a lot of cheese boards you’ll find on the ground, and the soft cheeses were served properly at room temperature.)

After I’d finished my cheese course, the crew then brought around 2 small chocolates to finish things off.

Small gripe but understandable – why is the butter on flights always rock hard and unspreadable?

All in all, an almost flawless lunchtime service, with the heavy cutlery and glassware rounding out the luxury feel and experience.

final notes

This was a flight to remember, one of those ones which you step off and wish it was longer.

Note that Qatar does not have its own lounge at FCO Airport and utilises the Prima Vista Lounge. This was one of the worst lounges I have ever visited. The meals were an ala carte chaos nightmare with one poor fella having to take orders from an ever growing queue and then track down who had ordered what when they were ready. The food itself was terrible – somehow tasting simultaneously oily and made of plastic. I regret wasting stomach space on this, so let this be a cautionary tale if you’re flying out of Rome!