Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Yes, This Is Real Life Part 3: Shades On, Wheels Up

 

The trip so far:

Preview: Yes, This Is Real Life

Part 1: Location Location Location

Part 2: Brits in Beantown

Now, on to the real flying- our first Qatar Airways flight of the run.  I have to grudgingly admit that Airbus did a good job with the a350, there's no denying it.  Now, as I've said, I'm a Seattle native.  Not just a Seattle native, but a North of SEA, Boeing hometown, kinda native.  As such, I'm pre-conditioned to be skeptical of anything that doesn't get designed and built in Everett.  

And I'm right.  I'm absolutely right with respect to the a319...and the a320 series.  Give me an MD80 or a 737 over those any day.  The a330 also doesn't knock my socks off, I'd prefer the 777 line.  However, I'll cave and give them props for being daring enough to put the a380 into production, and the a350 is a fair answer to the Dreamliner model.  
 

Flying the DOH-BOS route, I've gotten to check it out a couple of times so far.  The a350 has some features that set it apart as a pretty boy of a plane (yes, I'm jetlagged, deal with it.  People are dealing with stuff now).  The first thing you notice is that it has its 'shades on' from the get-go- the cockpit windows are tinted and appear black from the outside.  It was probably a functional design spec, but there's no denying it's sexy as hell.  Well, if you're a confirmed avgeek, that is.  
 

In flight, the size is formidable, giving a smooth ride, and if you grab a window seat, the elegantly curved winglet will make your in-flight pictures even more snazzy.  Allegedly, they've implemented the lower pressurization and higher humidity that Boeing put in place with the 787.  Being pressurized at less than the standard 8,000 ft density altitude should make you feel better and less dried out when you get to your destination.  I will say I've felt good getting off both 787 and 350 flights, but that could be the air, or the good sleep I got in their comfy business class seats.  I'll try to pay better attention next time. 

 
So now that that larger love fest is in place, let me give you the small, nitpicking complaints.  I flew this route in reverse in February, so just a couple of feelings about it.  

First off, try as they will, Airbus has IFE issues.  On the 321 it skips, and cuts in and out in turbulence.  Seriously.  One the 350, the sound occasionally did the same. There's really no excuse for this, and I won't make any.  While we're on the topic of IFE, they could cycle through their TV offerings a little more frequently.  I'm pretty sure a lot of it was overlap from 5 months earlier. 
 
The other issues I had, and they're admittedly small...though I would argue important to an airline trying to keep up this mythical 'world's only 5 Star airline' cache, is that in just the span of a few months since I last flew this route, they've already downgraded the service. 
 
 
The two things that stand out immediately are the amenity kit, which has gone from an Armani branded one with a full size hand lotion, generous perfume or cologne, and other goodies, to their current kit, which has much smaller samples, no perfume, etc.  The container itself might be a slight improvement, but I miss the Armani. 
 
 
The other notable change is a downgrade in their Champagne from Tattinger Blanc de Blancs, to Billecart-Salmon Brut.  I fully realize that this sounds like the most petty complaint, but like I said, this airline's entire marketing scheme focuses on being superior and offering a particularly luxurious business class experience. 
 
If their motto was 'sit here and eventually we'll get you someplace else, and then you'll be in that place and so deal with it until then,' like most American carriers' business model has become, that would be different, but premium is pretty much what QR has going for them, and the first thing on every drinks menu is the bubbly.  Details matter.
 
 
That said, the service is still head and shoulders above any US based carrier, bar none.  As is the case with most all of their mid and long haul flights, business class is 'dine on demand' so you can relax and order as you like.  There are generally several options for each course, and the drinks menu has not only wine, beer, spirits and the like, but also has a 'cocktail menu' included. 
 
It's true that since the plane is carrying all the mixers and whatnot, you could technically order a cocktail on most international flights (if not by name) it's fun to have some featured drinks listed.  I started out by trying the 'pink gin' which, as I quickly learned, was pretty much just a cup of gin.  I managed.
 
 
From there, I worked my way though the dinner menu.  Everything was excellent, as airplane food goes.  Many times I don't make it all the way to dessert, but this time I did.  I had the ice cream, and it was also good, but so frozen that it took awhile to be able to eat it.  Pro tip- order it with your entrée so it will defrost enough before you actually get to it. 
 
 
By this point, I'd worked my way though a fair amount of the IFE I hadn't already seen, including some bizarre documentary-but-fiction thing about the future of space...something?  I settled in, and got some sleep for a couple hours.  Honestly, even long haul flights that are this comfortable never seem quite long enough.  Yes, I'm serious.
 
~CruisingAltitude
 
  

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