Qatar Airways Qsuite

Let’s face it: South Africa is far from Dallas. But when friends invite you to a New Year’s Eve double wedding at a winery outside Cape Town, it piques your interest and inspires you to start looking for flights

- Andy Luten

There are nonstop flights to South Africa from the United States on Delta and United, but those sell out quickly and come at a wildly inflated price, especially in business class. So I decided to connect in Europe or the Middle East on my way to Cape Town. Fortunately, Qatar Airways and its award-winning Qsuite was there for me. With design elements handpicked by the airline’s Group CEO, Akbar Al Baker, the Qsuite seemed ideal to take me to such a distinguished occasion.

Qatar Airways refers to its Qsuite Business Class as “first in business,” the idea being that the category is more first class than business class and a step above any other business class in the sky. It was time to find out for myself. I spent 150,000 AAdvantage miles and $100 in fees for a round-trip flight from Dallas to Cape Town and back.

I arrived at DFW Airport and quickly checked in for my flight to Doha’s Hamad International Airport. Qatar uses the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at DFW, which is perfectly fine for a preflight snack, but I didn’t want to fill up too much, having heard great stories about the cuisine in Qsuites.

Boarding and Cabin

I arrived at the gate at DFW Airport’s Terminal D at my prescribed boarding time, but quickly realized that boarding had commenced much earlier. I was escorted to the front of the line and boarded the A350-1000, barely able to contain my excitement.