One of the most popular reward redemptions out there is on Qatar Airways to and from the Maldives. Thankfully, Qatar Airways offers a fair amount of capacity to and from the Maldives from it’s hub in Doha Hamad International Airport. Our returning flight on Qatar Airways would have us in their world class Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class product. The departing flight was well timed to allow for return from our resort by sea plane on Qatar Airways.

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This post is one chapter on my trip to the Republic of the Maldives. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class A350-1000, Malé Velana International Airport – Doha Hamad International Airport

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We checked in with Qatar Airways at Malé Velana International Airport after a terrific stay at The St Regis Maldives. Per Qatar Airways policy, our checked baggage was checked all the way though to San Francisco. We wouldn’t have access to it during our layover in Doha, Qatar.

After they accepted our baggage, we visited The Leeli Lounge in the departure hall to relax prior to our flight.

If you want to hear more detail about The Leeli Lounge Malé Velana International Airport, I encourage you to read our more detailed review.

Boarding Qatar Airways:

After about an hour in the lounge, we left the lounge and headed for the departure gate. It turned out we were departing from a bus gate that was beyond the walking distance of some of the closer bus gates.

We arrived to the gate just as the Business Class boarding was finished. We were among the first on board the bus but the bus filled up quickly with Zone 2 boarding types. There was no separate bus today and we had a full ride out to the apron.

We had double door stairway climb up to the Qatar Airbus 350-1000 today with no real door enforcement for boarding other than the scramble up the stairs.

Qatar Airways
Business Class
MLE-DOH (Malé Velana International Airport – Doha Hamad International Airport)
QR 671
Flown: March 20, 2023
Departure: 8:05 PM
Arrival: 10:55 PM
Booked: Boeing 777-300ER
Flown: Airbus 350-1000

On Board Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class:

We boarded our flight by stairs at door 1L and turned right left into the main cabin of Qatar Airways Q Suites Business class. While we had originally been booked and were expecting to be seated in a Qatar Airways leased Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, we were pleasantly surprised that we had been upgraded to the Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class product. We didn’t have any forewarning of this, other than some seat assignments that didn’t seem to want to stick in our reservations profile.

The Qatar Airways Business Class is set up in a 1 – 2 – 1 configuration across the aircraft. The Qatar Airways Q Suites is an elegant looking cabin, and we immediately settled into comfortable surroundings.

I was seated in row 1A today with MrsWT73 travelling along in 2A. I would be in one of the half backward facing seats today. The rear facing seat was most noticeable during take off and landing, but otherwise it was exactly the same seat.

Seat 1A had two windows looking outside towards the bus gates. Much like our other Qatar Airways Q Suites flights, the suit was highly functional and comfortable.

The Qatar Airways Q Suites offers ample counter space to allow for storage of passports, laptops and in flight beverages. The screen is also quite large and allows for great entertainment viewing.

Just across the aisle were seats 3E and 3F. These seats were among the pairs of seats that offer a wall that drops to form a double bed.

The usual big purple fluffy blanket was waiting for us on the seat. Qatar Airways puts some money into the blanket and it’s thick enough to actually be of some use. I was able to store mine in the foot well.

Each Qatar Airways Q Suite is well designed for functionality. A storage compartment exists next to each seat that allows for storage of wallets. There was also an individual reading light located in the shoulder rest.

One of my favourite features about the Qatar Airways Airbus 350-1000 is that the seat positions have individual air vents. I find that this makes the flight a lot more comfortable than without them, since you can control your air circulation and temperature a little bit.

The Qatar Airways Q Suites Cabin is exceptionally private, supremely comfortable and class leading when it comes to business class cabin comfort. With private doors and an aisle orientation, I was able to enjoy the flight completely undisturbed.

Pre-Departure Services:

While we were waiting for the rest of the plane to board, we had a flight attendant introduction at our seat. We had our pre-departure beverage order taken.

I asked for some of the wonderful Alexandra Rosé champagne. However, Qatar Airways wasn’t allowed to open any alcohol while on the ground in Malé.

Instead, I ended up with sparkling water with lemon and a pre-wrapped towel.

While the remaining passengers started to board, the captiain “Victor” announced a five hour and twenty minutes flying time to Doha with a cruise altitude of 40,000 feet.

During the final preparations, our dinner order was taken on the ground in Malé.

The Amenity Kit:

Unlike on our trip out, we didn’t get any amenity kit provided for this particular leg. This wasn’t something that we missed a great deal and it’s being mentioned simply for a point of reference.

The Dinner Menu:

As final flight preparations were finishing, we were offered a dinner and wine menu for this flight. With a late departure of 8:55 PM, a light dinner was on the menu for tonight.

Qatar Airways provided an excellent wine menu and there was something for everyone to enjoy on this particular flight.

In Flight Entertainment:

Qatar Airways brands it’s in flight entertainment system as Oryx One. Given that it is known as a long haul carrier, there are hundreds of movies to select from.

Not wanting to settle into anything immediately, I ended up playing with the moving map. It displayed our position in Malé, along with our general flight track towards Doha, Qatar.

Finding that the flight map had so many combinations, I lost interest in it and enjoyed looking at my passport with Maldivian Immigration stamps.

Departing Malé:

Without much traffic, we had a fast departure out of Malé Velana International Airport. I followed along with the camera system in the Oryx One entertainment system.

We were up to cruising altitude really quickly with dinner service starting almost immediately.

The Meal: A Light Dinner

The dinner service started with a pre-departure supper cocktail. I asked for the deluxe Alexandra Rosé Champagne (retailing for over $500 a bottle). It was delivered with mixed nuts. Unfortunately, the champagne was presented at room temperature, which was a shame for such a nice bottle.

A white table cloth was presented and the table was set for dinner service.

The first course was roasted tomato soup with crème fraîche. It was presented with a stainless steel domed topper to keep it warm. The soup was presented at the right temperature and warm enough to enjoy without being overly hot.

I switched to the Albert Bichot Montagny Premier Cru for the next dish, which was a marinated prawn, scallop and tuna with mixed quinoa. It was a nice taster and great portion size for a starter.

Knowing that Qatar offers great Indian food, I went with the Chicken Biryani with Raita. It was exceptionally tasty and light enough to be enjoyed late at night.

I closed dinner off with a chocolate mouse with golden pearls. While it wasn’t as sensational as the last sundae dessert I had on Qatar Airways, the chocolate mouse was pretty tasty and a great way to end the meal.

Overall, Qatar hit it just right with a full meal service for this five hour flight. The service was not too heavy for the late supper hour, and there were enough upscale items on the menu to make the meal feel luxurious.

Landing at Doha Hamad International Airport:

After a few hours, it was time to land at Doha Hamad International Airport. On my way to the Maldives, I had one of the inner cuddle class seats and wasn’t able to enjoy the view on approach.

This time, I was able to gaze out the window and enjoy the views of Qatar which had grown up a bit since my last visit almost ten years ago.

We had a landing on Runway 16 R, along with a taxi over to a remote stand.

We parked next to a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 in the eastern portion of the airport.

We spotted a few Audi’s waiting for those that had paid for Hamad Airway’s VIP Service. Unfortunately, that wasn’t us today and instead we had a dedicated Business Class bus to transfer us over to the Hamad International Terminal building.

We would head over to the Westin Doha Hotel and Spa for a one night layover followed by a journey back to the Americas on Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class Doha -San Francisco.

My Thoughts on Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class:

The Qatar Airways Q Suites Business Class flight was a welcomed surprise when we were expecting a lessor business class product.

The food and beverage on the Qatar Airways flight was light and appropriately weighted for a late evening flight. The wine was terrific, although some of it wasn’t presented at the proper temperature.

Despite this, Qatar Airways is still a pretty terrific way to get too any from the Maldives. I’d easily fly them again in the future.

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If you’ve flown Qatar Airways Business Class from the Maldives, did you find the late evening departure to be helpful in your travel plans ?

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