Luxury or Letdown? Qatar Airways FIRST CLASS & Al Safwa Lounge in 2024

Today I'm flying with Qatar Airways in First Class on their A380 to Bangkok.

The journey starts in Doha at Hamad International Airport (DOH). After making my way through the private First Class check-in facilities, I made my way to the Al Safwa First Class lounge. This is a very impressive and grandiose lounge. I made use of the a la carte fine dining restaurant and the spa with jacuzzi. After exploring a bit more I used one of the sleeping rooms to nap until my flight was ready for boarding.

I boarded my flight to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) where the crew guided me to my seat 2K. I enjoyed some Armand de Brignac (Ace of Spades) Champagne as part of the pre-departure service before take off. Once in the skies, the first meal service started which included caviar and more champagne. After dining, I visited the onboard bar which I consider to be the best in the sky. I got changed in the huge toilets before sleeping for a few hours. There was a breakfast service before landing.

Check out the full video to hear my thoughts on the Al Safwa First Class lounge and the onboard seat, service and amenities.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the Qatar Airways First Class experience!

00:00 Intro
00:38 Check In
01:20 Al Safwa Entrance
02:14 Al Safwa Fine Dining
02:55 Al Safwa Spa
03:39 Al Safwa Tour
04:20 Al Safwa Sleeping Room
04:48 Boarding
05:28 Pre Departure Service
06:25 Take Off
06:41 Meal Service
07:58 Onboard Bar
08:50 Toilets
09:34 Amenity Kit
09:53 Sleeping
10:24 Breakfast Service
11:15 Seat Tour
12:47 Cost
13:21 Final Thoughts
14:57 Outro

[offel]

Your channel is so underrated, you should have x1000 amount of subs.

[taewonhwang]

That first class second menu is exactly the same with business class

[garryb]

1st class offering on the ground looked exceptional, can it get any better??? Sadly the on board experience had a few flaws, but still heaps of positives. As for bean bags....you did well not to go near them, at least this time you only missed the transit bus. You obviously learnt an expensive under the influence of excess bubbles, bean bags are best avoided!! .

[nezbrun]

"First class passengers can board directly from the lounge via a first class bus": Not true unless it's at a remote stand, which is unlikely to be so with an A380, the only long haul QR F cabin. The F buses are primarily for regional narrow bodies that are often parked off-stand.

You might get lucky and get an escort to/from the gate, although this service is quite infrequent nowadays IME.

[flymajj]

I'm just about to book this from BKK to DOH next week. I was tempted to go with the ex-Cathay B777-300ER First Class for the smaller cabin and privacy, but connecting time in DOH is a bit longer from the A380 connection, so I am going with that (plus the A380 bar, of course). Also, it allows me just enough time to experience the Al Safwa lounge since the A380 flight offers a connection of almost 4 hours.

[jayl]

Breakfast isn’t invested as much as dinner for airlines. It’s strange. I agree - I’ve never had a good breakfast on a flight. Even in first class with other carriers

[terenceshepherd]

Lounges etc are fantastic, but I was somewhat underwhelmed by the flight itself. Far too lacking in privacy.
The videography and commentary as ever superb.

[michaelgask]

Oh man... the bean bags 🤦‍♂ / But at least you got your flight this time! / Wow, that lounge!!!! Thanks for sharing, Yann. Loved sharing this experience from my laptop. Awesome pyjama edit, too. 😉

[azeemkhandwala]

love the video and the thorough explanation of your experience! quick question, was the jacuzzi you booked at the Al Safwa lounge complimentary or was that an additional cost?

[bab]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Last year I flew from Australia to the USA with Qatar, going from Melbourne to Doha and then on to LAX in Qsuites and then back again in Qsuites. I went with Qatar as flying in a QSuite was a bucket list for me. It was fantastic on all 4 sections of the flight. I am an introvert and solo flyer, so I preferred the privacy that Qsuites gave me when I closed the door and also the business class food selections. First class looks great, but for me I’ll stick with Qsuites. 🙂

[iainb]

Great video, my wife & son are flying that very flight in 1st in a couple of days, I'll be showing them your review!

[speedendurance]

i am shocked how there is a lack of privacy... so wide open. Is it really designed for large groups & families?

[jetawayjoe]

Great video. I will say this, your breakfast looked a lot better than the 1 rasher of bacon slapped into a dry stale bread roll I had thrown at me on BA economy back in December 😂

[akashsp]

Another cracking video! Love this channel 🙌🏽🔥

[TheThirdoftheFifth]

Qatar needs to look into updating their onboard first class product as their offerings can't even compete with their own business class. Given that first class seems to be venturing into "apartment class" or "suites class" it would be interesting to see what they can come up with to compete with Singapore Airlines, Emirates, JAL or Etihad (especially Etihad apartments my goodness). In truth something as basic as introducing a door would be a step up from what they currently have; competitive? no but, better? yes.

[idanceforpennies]

Nearly all of the premium features in FC are also available in BC. No point.

[ReeM-wzbs]

I wonder if they will introduce on board showers to compete with Emirates and Ethiad if they get rid of first?

[slavomt]

Fine review 🙂 My Japanese breakfast in Economy class, Turkish Airlines from Osaka to Istanbul was much better than Qatar Airways in First Class . Only caviar presentation looked great here. I tried Q-suite with Qatar from Doha to Bangkok and it was super nice, food was amazing, so was the service and comfort.

[mvaldman]

Well, some good news: the A380 is, for the foreseeable future, staying. Additionally, the new GCEO has put in the order to revamp and redesign the First class experience. So far, all changes made have been very good and welcoming by the staff, and the presence of QR products in the luxury market will be increasing… Qatar Airways will be surprising it’s customers with many interesting changes ahead!

[armychap]

Great trip report as always and to me your summary was absolutely spot on. The ground service is industry leading but the seat and onboard experience could be improved. Thanks for posting, look forward to your next trip report. Safe travels! ✈️