Genius1

The World’s Best Business Class Experience to the City in a Garden

Index to Genius1 Trip Reports

Ahead in this report:

• British Airways Club Europe on the 767 and A319
• Qatar Airways Business Class on the 787 and A350
• InterContinental Singapore and impressions from the Garden City
• A smorgasbord of lounges including QR, BA, QF and IC

LHR-ARN

Singapore is one of my favourite cities, and Qatar Airways one of my favourite airlines. It was therefore with a sense of great anticipation that I arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 on another of those seemingly endless, miserably grey February mornings and headed towards the First Wing.



Walking through to the Refectory inside the Galleries First lounge, I noticed that BA had repositioned the furniture yet again, which the cynical amongst us might surmise is merely a thinly disguised attempt at distracting us from the ever-decreasing physical condition of the lounge. A promotional set-up of advertising banners and accompanying temporary fridges on the terrace did nothing to improve the premium feel of the space, although the view was as good as ever.



Giving the unappetising buffet a wide berth, I flagged down a waiter and requested the flaxseed granola (with Greek yogurt, fresh berries and honey) from the menu for breakfast, which I ate as quickly as possible before escaping the heat of the Refectory for the relative coolness of the rest of the lounge and a coffee.



If you’re looking for more images of the First Wing and Galleries First lounge at T5, see my previous report here.

Boarding my positioning flight to Stockholm from Gate A13, BA’s new group boarding process worked reasonably well (despite the display screens showing that the flight was closing before boarding had even started) with three lanes set up for Group 1, Groups 2/3, and Groups 4/5, although with a light load, the gate agents decided to board Groups 1 (Club Europe/Emerald) and 2 (Sapphire) at the same time with no announcements.

I was greeted at Door 2L of the second oldest aircraft in BA’s fleet, G-BNWB, a 1989-vintage 767 and my second time on this particular aircraft. I talked in length about the configuration of BA’s 767 fleet in a previous trip report here, so won’t dwell on that now, the only new information being that this particular aircraft had the entire forward cabin of 9 rows dedicated to Club Europe today despite a very low load of just seven passengers.







After checking with the cabin crew once boarding was complete, I moved from 2F (that I had assigned myself to ensure a space next to any potential neighbour) to 4K to enjoy the view from the window. Naturally, the headrest was broken on both seats (in fact, I’m pretty sure they are broken on every convertible seat across the fleet of seven 767s).







Jackets were taken and small menus handed out, the latter accompanied by a hot towel. It really irks me that the menus still have the old Club Europe capital typeface in the logo, almost 10 years after it was changed! We pushed back from the stand 4 minutes ahead of schedule as the intensely irritating and at times inappropriate safety video played.





Lunch service commenced in short order after our takeoff from Runway 27L, beginning with a hand-run bar service. In fact, perhaps channelling QR, all service on this flight was hand-run from the galley, something which I appreciate as it minimises disturbance to passengers in aisle seats.



In an obvious attempt at minimising their workload, the crew decided to present the starter and main course together (the starter should come first on the tray with dessert and cheese, with the main course following once the starter is finished and cleared away). With a starter as miniscule as the Balik-style smoked salmon with horseradish cream, this wasn’t really an issue as the time taken to eat it was barely a couple of minutes, but it did mean the tray table was somewhat crowded.

One disadvantage of moving back to Row 4 was that I was the penultimate passenger to be served, by which time the alternative main course option of grilled Atlantic cod fillet with olive mash and ratatouille had been snapped up. The herb-grilled chicken supreme with thyme jus, truffled linguine and root vegetables did not, however, feel like a compromise as it was flavourful, filling and piping hot. Warm bread was offered from the basket multiple times, and drinks refills were forthcoming.



I concluded lunch with a peppermint tea (where I once again played the game of where to put the teabag without a drip dish) and the coffee cream caramel with gingerbread crumble, which reminded me of those little crème caramel yogurt pots I used to enjoy as a child. Service on the whole was quick, with a personable CSD but a slightly gruff second in command serving the starboard aisle.



I took advantage of the light load on the flight to stretch my legs all the way to the back of the aircraft, noting that this 767 appears to be in fairly good condition for such an old airframe. The washrooms at Doors 2 didn’t have the usual Elemis products in them (or the new White Company products), and despite being dated were clean(ish) and again in good(ish) condition. The stainless steel washbasins have stood the test of time, which is more than can be said for the light coloured plastic basins on the A320 family aircraft.





We had a long taxi into T2 on arrival in a snowy Sweden, disembarking through Door 1L. After navigating the illogical ups and downs of the terminal and emerging landside, it was about a ten minute walk to T5 from where QR flights depart to Doha.

ARN-DOH

QR online check-in opens roughly 48 hours before departure. I had been unable to check-in via the app as the page hung on the passenger information screen, but things seemed fine via the website and I had been able to complete check-in before loading the boarding pass on the app. This was critical as I was arriving from London around 4 hours ahead of departure of my QR flight; with desks not opening for another hour and travelling with hand baggage only, I needed my boarding pass to get airside as I didn’t want to hang around in the check-in hall. The automated gate at Fast Track security didn’t like my mobile BP, but the agent let me through after insisting on seeing my BA Gold card. I’m not quite sure why that was needed as my boarding pass clearly showed the class of travel which itself is enough to use Fast Track. It appeared to be peak evening time for SAS departures, resulting in security being a little slow despite two lanes being open for Fast Track.

After a brief wander around T5 I headed through immigration to the non-Schengen pier and upstairs to the third party Stockholm Arlanda lounge. This was my second time using this lounge and my impressions remain unchanged from those of two years ago; it’s a pleasant enough space to spend an hour, but uninviting for any longer period of time.



Arranged in an L shape, the main section features a small news section behind reception, followed by an open plan buffet/high top table dining area with plenty of power sockets, but no USB ports. At the end of the dining area is some comfier seating, with a play and business area illogically next to each other around the corner. The design of the lounge is very Scandinavian as you may expect, not to my taste personally and not remotely luxurious, but functional and inoffensive.











Initially quite busy, the lounge emptied rapidly as a flight was called and I was alone in the lounge briefly before fellow QR passengers slowly filtered in. Thanks to the remarkably decent lunch on my positioning flight I wasn’t terribly hungry, and so didn’t investigate the buffet too deeply, although did note there was just the one hot option of potato gratin. Oddly the coffee machine was placed on a high top table and not on the buffet; I assume this is a temporary setup as it looked out of place. I headed to the business area and settled down to catch up with my YouTube subscriptions. There appears to be more lounge space beyond the business area, although this wasn’t open. Utilitarian washrooms are located inside the lounge in a corridor just past reception; they are gender neutral and generally in need of better attention to keep clean.



I noted that the QR app was showing departure time as 19:45 rather than the scheduled 21:45; this was clearly an error as it was by now well past 19:45 and the flight information screens were showing the scheduled time. I popped out of the lounge to the transfer desk just around the corner to collect paper boarding passes, which confirmed the scheduled time as the correct time.

Gate F58 features a closed gateroom layout; I’m generally not a fan of these as they can feel somewhat like a cattle pen. A priority lane was set up for the boarding pass and passport check which was handy to skirt around the building queue, but it made little difference as once inside the gateroom there was quite some wait for boarding to commence; indeed, the crew were only just boarding as I arrived. When things did get under way, Business Class and Emerald/Sapphire were all announced together, plus those with small children. I had strategically positioned myself next to the desk and its tiny priority sign, and followed just a handful of other passengers through the doors. For some reason they all decided to head to the lift, perhaps not spotting the stairs directly in front of them. The result was that I was first down the airbridge and to be welcomed at Door 2L of A7-BCJ, a 787-8 delivered to QR in 2014.

I was escorted through the beautifully lit cabin to 2K, where I was immediately offered my drink of choice, a hot or cold towel and my jacket taken. What a great first impression of what could well be the world’s best business class. The QR 787 fleet is equipped with B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats in the forward cabin, arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration with all seats having direct aisle access. I won’t offer a full tour of the seat in this section as my focus was on maximising sleep on what is a fairly short flight, and the product is virtually identical to that fitted to the majority of the A350-900 fleet that I would be experiencing on the next sector.





A pillow was pre-placed on each seat, with a blanket and tan coloured Bric’s amenity kit (featuring Castello Monte Vibiano amenities) on the shelf beside the seat. A bottle of water and unbranded noise cancelling headphones were located in the armrest.



The crew soon delivered QR’s signature mint and lime drink along with my requested hot towel. The attention to detail with QR’s service is phenomenal; a choice of towel temperature and for it to be served on its own tray are details that even most international first class products lack.



Next up was the delivery of a bag containing The White Company branded pyjamas and slippers, along with the menu and wine list, an offer of newspapers, and an explanation of the seat’s features for those passengers needing it.



The captain announced a flight time of 5h30 cruising at 39,000ft, with dinner orders taken just before pushback. I say dinner, but of course QR offer à la carte dining so you can choose anything from the menu at any time you like during the flight. The CSM popped around to welcome each passenger individually and apologise for the re-set of the IFE system. Despite just four vacant seats in the cabin, the welcome didn’t feel rushed at all. Talking of the IFE system, I didn’t really use it on this sector but did note that both the touchscreen and handheld remote control were quite laggy.

I nipped to one of the two generously proportioned washrooms located at the rear of the cabin as soon as the seatbelt signs had been turned off after takeoff. The window in the washroom is a great feature, and the facilities were kept spotlessly clean throughout the flight. Rituals amenities included hand wash, moisturiser and body spray, whilst plenty of dental and shaving kits were placed on the vanity unit. If I have one criticism of the washrooms it’s that the hand towels are very flimsy to the point of being almost useless.



The crew seemed a little concerned that I wasn’t going to dine on this flight, but understood when I mentioned the longer day flight to SIN for the next sector in the trip. I’ve included the menu below for completeness, which I perused as the crew brought me a nightcap of a hot chocolate.







I dozed for around 4 hours, appreciating the luxurious blanket (originally introduced on Qsuite-equipped aircraft) but not so much the soft pillow. QR only offer turndown service and mattress pads on ultra longhaul overnight flights in J. For sleeping, this seat is not as private as window seats in BA’s Club World cabins, but what it lacks in privacy it makes up for in personal and storage space. Seat comfort was good, without offering quite the same amount of support, width and length as BA First or even the Zodiac Cirrus business class product (found on AA’s 77Ws and CX’s 77Ws/A350s amongst others). I noticed that during the night, the crew laid out magazines and snacks in the entrance area by Doors 2, and at some point as I was sleeping had placed some Godiva chocolates by my seat.



Waking up a few hours later I requested the seasonal fresh fruit plate, which I enjoyed with a cappuccino. The crew laid the table with a table cloth, cutlery and serviette which was impressive with just a fruit plate to eat.



The crew on this sector were professional, efficient and thorough, to the point of requesting the menus back towards the end of the flight. I had quite a job convincing one of the crew to let me keep my copies, but eventually succeeded, doing a bargain with the return of the wine list (which is the same on all sectors in the month) for keeping the menu.

Landing on time into Doha as dawn broke, the crew closed the curtains to hold back the rear cabins as we drew into our gate, allowing the forward cabin to disembark through Door 2L down stairs to a dedicated Business Class bus. As buses go, this one was reasonably comfortable with each seat having an antimacassar. The advantage of arriving onto a remote stand at DOH is that the bus drops you close to transfer security, although on the flip side the speed of the journey can often be limited by aircraft movements as was the case this morning. This caused a few passengers to become increasingly agitated as they risked missing their connecting flights. Once in the terminal, I couldn’t easily locate the priority lane, but with none of the lanes particularly busy just joined the closest one and was soon emerging into the expansive departure hall.