There aren’t many places in Doha where the sound of birdsong greets the rising sun, but the Qatar Airways Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport is one of them. It’s just after 6am and I can see through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Business Class lounge that the sun has already pierced the dawn haze and is now bearing down on the tarmac.
I’m waiting for flight QR 604 from Doha to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, one of four new routes Qatar Airways has launched so far this year. I’m eager to reach my destination, but enjoying the surroundings of the Premium Terminal is an experience that should be savoured, so I make the most of it.
The breakfast buffet is on a par with some of the best five-star hotels I have stayed in, with a full range of options catering to all tastes. I prefer to eat light when I travel, but I can’t resist a freshly made panini from the deli counter and a black coffee.
Breakfast news is shown on TV screens on one corner, and along the far wall, other business class passengers stretch out onreclining chairs, catching a few extra minutes of sleep before their onward flights.
The Premium Terminal does not have direct access to departure gates, so when the flight is ready to depart, passengers board a comfortable bus, which takes us to the aircraft, a 10-minute drive away from the terminal.
The business class cabin on the Airbus A330-200 is spacious, and soft lounge music plays as I’m escorted to my seat and offered a welcome drink by a smiling hostess. Again it feels more like a five-star hotel than a flight.
There’s a Salvatore Ferragamo amenities kit waiting on the seat. The men’s kit features hand cream, lip balm and aftershave from Salvatore Ferragamo’s Attimo Pour Homme range. The branded amenities continue in the bathrooms with Molton Brown fragrances.
A stylish grey pouch, with a dark red and olive striped edge and an embroidered Qatar Airways Business Class logo, contains some incredibly stylish pyjamas, which, the hostess explains, I am welcome to take home with me after the flight if I wish to. Another smaller pouch contains an eye mask, sleeping socks, comb and earplugs.
The seats are not fully lie-flat on this flight, which, at nine hours in total, is less than ideal, but as it’s a daytime flight, I’m not too concerned.
Seat 1A has two large windows for its occupants to enjoy, so I take in the view while I consider the options from the dining menu.
The airline recently commissioned four internationally acclaimed chefs to create special menus that would deliver full flavour at 39,000 feet.
There are dishes from three Michelin star-winning chefs – Nobu Matsuhisa, Vineet Bhatia and Tom Aikens – and Lebanese celebrity chef Ramzi Choueiri. Special items are marked on the menu so you can see who created what.
The Phnom Penh flight stops off in Ho Chi Minh City for just over an hour to drop off passengers, before setting off on the final leg to Phnom Penh, a short 50-minute hop across country.
This isn’t my first QR business class flight, but I had forgotten just how consistently good the onboard service is – without fail, the hostesses on Qatar Airways flights are cheerful, polite and helpful to a fault.
The airline’s young fleet and thoughtful onboard product, as well as the unique Premium Terminal in Doha, combine to make this, like my past Qatar Airways experiences, a memorable part of the journey.
THE IMPORTANT BIT
Airline: Qatar Airways
Seat: 1A
Flight: QR 604
From: Doha, Qatar
To: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Departs: 08.00*
Arrives: 21.00*
Total flight time: 9 hrs
Stops: Ho Chi Minh City - 1 hr 20 mins
Cost: from US $2884
*Times shown in local time at both destinations.
