Review of Qatar Airways 777 Business Class (Doha to Bangkok on ex-Cathay Aircraft)

I have flown Qatar Airways business class a few times now, and every time I have done so it has been in a different type of seat. With so many aircraft, there are a lot of different business class seats available.

One of the more unusual seats is on their subfleet of Boeing 777 aircraft that they have leased from Cathay Pacific. These planes have been repainted into a basic Qatar Airways livry but have the same seats inside as what you will find on Cathay Pacific Business Class.

I was curious as to how this would be compared to other business class flights I’ve taken with the airline and how the seat compares.

I wanted to try this as I flew from Doha to Bangkok and this is my full review of the flight when flying in business class on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 leased from Cathay Pacific.

Seating in Business Class on Qatar Airways 777

There are two business class cabins on this 777 with a smaller one just behind first class with 8 seats and a larger one behind the second set of doors with another 45 seats. You can see a full seat map here.

They are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration with every seat having direct aisle access and are Safran Cirrus II seats for those that want to know. The seats are 20 inches wide and converts into a 6 foot 7 inch flat bed.

All seats have a 16 inch HD TV, plenty of storage, a fold out table and charging sockets in the form of universal adapters and a USB-A socket.

There are 4 toilets for the 53 seats between the two cabins with one of them being the size of a disabled toilet.

I originally booked an economy seat but with my oneworld Sapphire status, managed to book a seat that should have been in the Premium Economy cabin. As Qatar Airways doesn’t offer Premium Economy, these can be booked by anyone on an economy ticket (normally for a fee).

A few days before, I was able to upgrade my flight using Avios and it cost 45000 Avios to upgrade from economy to business class. I actually didn’t plan to upgrade, but when checking the price, I confirmed the upgrade before I actually wanted to. I thought there would be another confirmation screen but I managed to upgrade in just two clicks which was very easy, but not actually what I wanted!

But I also can’t complain at flying business class!

I choose seat 18K which is on the right side of the aircraft, three rows back into the main cabin.

The seat in Business Class on Qatar Airways 777 (ex-Cathay Pacific plane)

The seat is the same as what you will find on Cathay Pacific Boeing 777’s. There is a large amount of legroom and a stool for your feet at the end. There is storage to the side which is where I kept my book and my change of clothes.

One thing I particularly liked about this seat was that it didn’t taper around your feet. Many seats have have feet underneath the seat in front of you and they are boxed it which can make it difficult if you turn in your sleep. This had a wide open area and means the seat doesn’t feel claustrophobic at all.

Next to the shelf is a small cupboard that contained a bottle of water and headphones and was large enough to also keep my passport, wallet and glasses.

Underneath the armrest is another small cupboard where I kept my shoes. I think this is a great idea!

The armrest popped up and was comfy to lean on but can be lowered if you want to sleep with a fully flat surface. There are also wings at eye level that affords an extra layer of privacy even though there isn’t a door.

There is a literature pocket in front of that, near the access to the seat, that had the food and drink menus when I sat down. It was also the perfect size to store my laptop when I wasn’t using it.

The TV screen is 16 inches and pretty good quality as it is in HD. If folds into the wall of the seat in front and has to be put away for take off and landing which is annoying. There are controls for the seat and TV next to the shelf and cupboard as well as a reading light with a few different light settings.

The tray table slides out from underneath the shelf on the window side of the seat. It comes out as a very narrow tray but then opens up large enough to have your meal and to hold your laptop but it is still probably the smallest tray table that Qatar Airways offers in business class. When it is open, it doesn’t move or slide to other positions which is a bit frustrating but the seat is large enough that you can slide out to go to the toilet with the tray table open. The tray table had a bit of a bulge in the middle where it folded over so typing on my laptop was a bit rickety.

The buttons to control the seat were a bit clunky and looked old fashioned. There was a universal socket, USB-A and aux leads which goes to show it is a bit dated. There were plenty of scuffs around this area as well showing the age of the plane.

For those that are interested, there aren’t individual air nozzles but I found the cabin temperature to be perfectly cool throughout the flight.

Service flow, food and drink in Business Class on Qatar Airways 777

After boarding from one of the bus gates, although from one of the business class buses, I found my seat and was quickly offered a pre departure drink. I went for my usual when I fly with Qatar Airways and had a glass of champagne and a lemon and mint juice. I was also given loungewear during this time from another member of the cabin crew. This is rare in business class, especially on a day flight.

Also waiting at my seat was an amenity kit by Diptique Paris and a refreshing towelette.

Inside the amenity kit was lip balm, body lotion, face cream, body spray, socks, an eye mask and ear plugs. It came in a leather bag which I love the look of and will use again.

The crew came around and took the meal orders for both breakfast and dinner as well as the drinks I wanted with it. The full food menu and a selection of drinks are below.

When boarding was complete and the safety video was being shown, the glasses were collected and I was offered a small premium date and then a small Arabic coffee poured from a traditional container.

Take off was about 20 minutes behind schedule but shortly after I was presented my first drink of another glass of champagne and a bowl of nuts. When I’ve had them before, the nuts have been warm on Qatar Airways Business Class but these were regular cashews and almonds but still tasty. I then went and changed into my loungewear which is the same as I have had before and was very comfy.

A short while after, my table was laid and I had bread, a croissant, preserves and a glass of water. A short while later my main meal of noodles with beef and bok choi was served. I had eaten a breakfast of eggs and chicken sausage on my flight from Tashkent (not reviewed as it was economy) and had an omelette and more sausages in the lounge between flights so I didn’t fancy the same again.

My glass of champagne was topped up and I was very happy with the noodle dish. It was small, but in my opinion a perfect size for a light meal.

As it was cleared I was offered a coffee and accepted a cappuccino which although wasn’t espresso coffee shop quality, was very tasty. As that was delivered, my champagne was topped up again and some mints were brought around.

I settled in to do some work and was then offered some chocolates but I had to decline!

I worked for a few hours and kept having my champagne topped up. I lost count after the 5th top up…

About 2 hours before landing, dinner was served.

I decided to choose the Seared Angus beef tenderloin as the other two options didn’t appeal to me. My two previous steak dishes on flights have disappointed me but I hoped that Qatar Airways would be a better choice. I’m happy to report that it was perfectly cooked and very tender. It was served with warm bread and real butter on a side plate along with the faux candle again.

I’m sure I could have chosen another drink to go with it, but I had my champagne topped up yet again so didn’t ask for anything else.

I was offered a cheese plate but was already very full. I instead went for the Gooseberry friand which was also delicious.

After this, the abundant food and alcohol was making me sleepy so I reclined my seat into bed mode and managed to sleep for a couple of hours. I didn’t bother making my full bed with the provided quilt as I was comfy as I was (and to be honest, a bit lazy and just tired).

The seat in bed mode was very comfy and I had plenty of legroom. As the seat doesn’t taper in and my feet weren’t boxed in underneath the seat in front, I could sleep on my back or side and I still felt like my feet had ample room to move around.

Entertainment in Business Class on Qatar Airways 777

Qatar Airways has Oryx as their in flight entertainment system.

When I flew with them a few months previously, I was a bit disappointed by their selection and nothing much interested me.

However, this time there was plenty that I wanted to watch and spent my time watching The Accountant 2 and Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

I also managed to work as the flight had wifi. As theties like plane is leased from Cathay Pacific, this 777 doesn’t have Starlink like others in the Qatar fleet but it does have SuperWifi that is available for USD$10 for the entire flight. As I had work to do and it was a 6 and a bit hour flight, I thought that was a fair price and paid for it. The speeds were very good and worked for the entire flight, even when over flying India which I was surprised at.

The only negative was with the screen. It was a touch screen but it wasn’t very responsive. I actually found it easier to use the remote control instead of the touch screen most of the time. I know that it is an issue with many airlines, but the video quality wasn’t the best and it definitely wasn’t 4K or barely HD but it was good enough for the films I was watching.

I was also provided with a set of headphones that were comfy and had good quality sounds but I don’t think they were fully noise cancelling. There wasn’t an option of linking your own headphones to the entertainment system.

Toilets on Qatar Airways 777

One of the toilets at the front of the cabin was one of the largest I have seen on an aircraft. I don’t know if this is a quirk of the design or something that Cathay Pacific had planned but it is a disabled style toilet that is twice the size of a usual airplane toilet. Getting changed into my loungewear was easy as there was so much room. The other three toilets were the same as normal plane toilets.

They were always spotlessly clean when I visited and had Diptique amenities (the same as in the amenity kit) with hand wash and hand lotion available.

Overall service in Business Class on Qatar Airways 777

The service on Qatar Airways was excellent as always. I was shown to my seat, offered plenty of drinks and always felt like I was the first thing on their mind.

The business class cabin was only just half full which probably helped with the service flow as the crew had fewer people to deal with than usual.

I don’t think I’ve ever had bad service on a Qatar Airways flight and I’m sure that will continue in the future.

Summing up Business Class on Qatar Airways 777

Flying in business class is always a treat but flying business class on a Qatar Airways 777 is that extra little bit special, even if it doesn’t have the famous QSuite seats that the airline is known for. However the former Cathay Pacific seat is still a worthy contender for one of the best business class seats I’ve sat in.

The food, drinks and service were all excellent and the entertainment options, including the paid for wifi, was perfect to keep me occupied during the flight. The only slight disappointments were the scratches and age of the seta controls and the lack of reactivity on the touch screen.

Given that I managed to upgrade the flight with points, I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again in future.

Dan

Dan is an avid traveller from London. His first big adventure was in 2010 living in Malaysia for 3 months. He has been on the road almost constantly since 2015 travelling to destinations that aren’t on the mainstream tourist trail and working full time and travelling since 2021.