My girlfriend and I arrived in Doha around midnight local time after our 10+ hour Qatar Airways flight from Cape Town. Since we only planned our entire trip just a week earlier, we ended up with just over a 9 hour layover in Doha. While overnight layovers are usually terrible, Doha’s Hamad International Airport is arguably the best airport to have one. I say this because the airport is home to the massive Al Mourjan Business and spectacular Al Safwa First lounges.
In fact, we originally planned to spend the long layover in Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa first class lounge. As noted in Lucky’s review, passengers can buy access to the Al Safwa lounge for about $160 USD per person. Sure, the prices is a bit high, but we figured the reduced crowds, access to a bedroom room, and enhanced food/drink would be worth it. However, when we asked about buying access to the lounge, we were told that there is a 6 hour time limit.
While 6 hours would typically more than enough time to spend in an airport lounge, our layover was just over 9 hours. If we went to the lounge immediately we’d have to move at around 5AM. Otherwise, we’d have to wait around for a few hours and then go. It just seemed like a complete pain, especially considering access to the lounge would cost us an additional $320! Instead, we decided to slum it in the Al Mourjan Business Class longe to which we had complimentary access.
Visiting The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Although I was looking forward to visiting the Al Safwa lounge, I was still excited to overnight in the Al Mourjan Business lounge. Back in 2017 during my Qatar Airways Mileage Runs I fell in love with the lounge and it quickly became one of my favorite airline lounges in the world. Ever since then I’ve been looking forward to returning to the lounge when flying with Qatar in business.
As I mentioned, I last visited the Al Mourjan lounge back in 2017 and wrote an extensive review of the lounge before. Since I’ve reviewed the lounge in detail previously and not much has changed, I’ll just provide a brief overview of the lounge here.
For starters, finding the Al Mourjan business lounge couldn’t be easier. There is clear signage located throughout Hamad airport with directions to the entrance of the lounge.
To reach the lounge you have to ascend a large escalator which takes guests up to the 3rd level of the airport. When you reach the bottom of the escalator a Qatar Airways representative will great you and scan your boarding card to confirm access to the lounge. Once your boarding card is scanned you can proceed upstairs to the reception area of the lounge.
Since the check-in process is completed at the ground level, there is no need to check-in again upstairs. Instead, the large reception area is just for passengers who need travel assistance such as flight changes or seat assignments. Therefore, if you don’t need any assistance, you can proceed into the lounge unencumbered.
Al Mourjan Lounge Overview
As guests enter the Al Mourjan business lounge the first thing they’ll notice is the massive water feature. This small pond takes up a considerable amount of the lounge’s floorspace and sits directly below the formal dining area.
At the far end of the water feature is a 2 story chandelier which is suspended from the dining area ceiling and surrounded by a glass enclosed staircase which leads to the dining room. The pond features several water jets which shoot water up from under the surface.
Right as we arrived in the lounge we admired the pond for a few moments before trying to find a seat in the lounge. This is where things got… complicated…
As we explored the lounge we quickly noticed that nearly every single seat was accounted for. Neither of us could believe just how many people were in the lounge, especially considering it was nearly midnight.
After searching for seats for a few minutes we eventually found two sleeper seats in the quiet area of the lounge.
The sleeper seats ended proved a great choice and neither of us had any issues sleeping for a few hours.
An Empty Al Mourjan Lounge
Thanks to the comfortable sleeper chair and noise canceling headphones I actually slept for a few hours in the lounge. When I woke up, it was about 4AM and I wanted to stretch my legs in the lounge. To my surprise, when I left the quiet room I found a very different scene than when I entered.
In the early hours of the morning the Al Mourjan lounge is mostly empty in between overnight departures and early morning arrivals.
Exploring the lounge at this hour was a much more enjoyable experience than just hours prior. To my surprise, there was even ample seating in the formal dining area which offered only standing room when we first arrived.
After exploring the longe for a few minutes I went back to my chair and slept for a few more hours… what a mistake!
I woke up again at 7AM and the lounge was once again near capacity. I planned on showering before our departure, but when I reached the shower facilities I faced over a 30 minute wait. It was a this point that I learned this lounge doesn’t have a shower better system. Instead, you simply have to wait in a physical line for a shower to open.
Departing Hamad International Airport
Thankfully, I was able to take a shower, but when I was finished we both were more than ready to leave the lounge. We still had some time to spare before our flight, so we decided to check out the airport and begin the walk to our departure gate. After all, the airport was actually a bit less crowded than the lounge at this point!
Our flight departed from a remote stand at the outer edges of the airport and the walk to the gate took much longer than either of us anticipated. We planned on walking the entire way, but at the last minute decided to take the all glass airport train. After exiting the train we then went down the escalators to the lower level departure gates.
From there, we still had to walk another few minutes until we reached our departure gate. All in all, the journey to the gate took so long we actually arrived at the gate right as our flight began boarding.
Boarding Qatar Airways A350 Business Class
Since our flight departed from a remote stand, we had to take a bus from the gate door to the remote stand. Interestingly, Qatar Airways actually has separate busses for economy and business class passengers.
The business class shuttle busses are much nicer than a traditional airport shuttle as they feature large comfortable seats and only hold about 15 or 20 people at a time.
The drive from the gate door to the remote stand was hilariously short and before long we were standing on the ramp next to the Airbus A350-900 which would take us to Oslo.
Boarding an aircraft of this size is such a fun experience because it helps put into scale just how large these planes are.
In fact, it took several steps up the movable stairs to move from the bottom of the engine to the top.
In the past I’ve only ever deplaned at a remote stand in the middle of the night, so it was awesome to see the A350 up close and personal in the early daylight hours.
As I reached the boarding door I took one last peak at our business class bus before entering the L2 boarding door of the Qatar Airways A350-900.
Boarding Qatar Airways’ A350-900
By far the best part of boarding the A350-900 from a remote stand was entering the aircraft from the beautiful L2 boarding door. When boarding from the L2 boarding door the first thing you see is stunning bar area sitting below a massive illuminated dome. I personally can’t think of an aircraft which this inviting of an entrance.
Since I was traveling with my girlfriend, we selected seats 9E and 9F towards the rear of the business class cabin. We chose these seats because they are among the most private seats available in an otherwise open cabin.
In fact, as the boarding process ended, we quickly discovered that we were the only two passengers in row 9 altogether.
Sitting in the final row of business class also gave us a quick peek at Qatar Airway’s economy class cabin.
While the economy cabin on Qatar is very nice, the business class cabin on the A350-900 is truly amazing. Since I’ve reviewed the business class cabin a few times before, I’ll again focus on our experience on this particular flight. If you’d like to see more of the cabin or seat, you can fid more detailed review here.
Departing Qatar
As I mentioned, I selected seat 9E for the relatively short flight from Doha to Oslo. When we took our seats we were met by a lovely welcome screen with the seat number prominently displayed.
Immediately after we sat down the fantastic Qatar Airways cabin crew stopped by to introduce themselves. The crew was extremely warm and welcoming which always makes the entire flight more enjoyable. As the cabin crew greeted us, we were also asked if we were interested in a pre-departure beverage. We were also asked if we would like a warm or cold towel to freshen up before pushing back.
We both obliged and a few minutes later a glass of rose Champagne and Qatar’s signature mint drink arrived and was accompanied with a warm towel.
Shortly after our drinks arrived we pushed back from our remote stand and began the short taxi to our departure runway. I naturally turned on the A350’s tail cam viewer for takeoff since it’s so fun to see the plane from this angle.
A short while later the pilots pushed the throttles forward and we began barreling down the runway. We then began the smooth and relaxing climb out of Doha and into the skies above the Persian Gulf.
Since the window seat was open next to me, I switched over to 9A to take it the views. From the window seat I could see Doha, Bahrain, and the Saudi Arabian coastline as we began our journey to a much colder Norway.
Business Class Dining
Qatar Airways business class features “dine on demand” meal service which means you can order anything you’d like on the menu at any time. I personally love this model because you aren’t stuck to designated meal times. This allows you to sleep, work, or eat whenever you please. It also means you can order breakfast for dinner or lunch for breakfast or… you get the idea.
Since our flight departed in the morning, the menu included an a la carte breakfast service and light lunch options.
Since we were effectively on Arabian Standard Time at this point in the trip, we both opted for a la carte breakfast options shortly after takeoff. After placing our orders the first meal service began as the flight attendant put down a table cloth and brought over a basket of breakfast pastries, a table candle (electric), salt and pepper mills, jelly, and butter.
A short while later my first breakfast item, a fruit and honey parfait, and a glass or orange juice arrived.
Shortly after finishing the parfait, my second breakfast item, an omelet with chicken sausage arrived.
Qatar Airways Breakfast
Both of the breakfast items I ordered were fantastic and I would gladly order both again. Breakfast proved a bit more food than I expected. After the meal service I reclined my seat a bit, put on a movie, and fell asleep quickly.
A Quick Lunch Before Arrival
I woke up a few hours later with about 2 hours left in the flight which meant it was time for one last meal before landing. This time, I just ordered the spring onion panini which came with a side of fries.
Overall, I enjoyed both of the meals I ate on the flight, but they highlighted a slight issue with Qatar Airways’ catering. In just a week we took 4 long-haul flights on Qatar Airways. All of those flights featured Qatar’s signature dine on demand service which I love, but nearly all of the flights offered the same menu. This meant by our final flight we were both a bit tired of the menu. Additionally, while the catering offered by Qatar is far superior than anything offered on American, for example, the food is still airplane food at the end of the day.
That being said, the thing that’s great about Qatar Airways is that you can eat when you’re hungry and most of the food is good. This means you can eat enough before landing so that you don’t have to worry about finding food when you land. Instead, you can leave the airport and head straight out into a city to explore.
Arriving In Oslo
As is almost always the case with the A350, our landing in Oslo was smooth and uneventful. Naturally, I flipped over to the A350’s tail cam to watch our approach from my seat. It was at this point, when we saw the snow on the ground, that we realized neither of us brought winter coats. Our trip ended with a 24 hour layover in Oslo, in February!
When we arrived at the gate our cabin crew thanked us for lying with Qatar Airways and bid us farewell. After exciting the aircraft we then proceeded toward the arrivals hall of Oslo airport. Surprisingly, when arriving in Oslo you are not required to clear immigration. So even though we were arriving from Qatar, we weren’t subject to a passport check. Instead, we could just head straight down to the airport train station and take the express train into Oslo city center.
Final Thoughts
In just a week, my girlfriend and I took 4 business class flights on Qatar Airways. In total, we spent nearly 35 hours on planes and flew more than 15,000 miles. Overall, flying with Qatar Airways was fantastic, but this flight, on the A350-900, was my favorite. This flight was my favorite of the whole trip because I absolutely adore the business class cabin on the A350-900. I’ve said it before, but QSuites is amazing, but the cabin isn’t nearly as pretty as found on the -900.
I also loved this flight because the crew on this flight were simply incredible. Our every need was met without hesitation and we felt extremely welcomed throughout the flight. It was this flight that reminded me of just how big a factor the crew can be on a flight.
A fantastic crew can make the flight memorable and leave you wanting more. The same can be said for a poor crew, as we experienced on an earlier flight. In this case, the crew on our final Qatar flight of the trip left us wanting more, like that incredible shot on 18 that keeps you coming back for more. Thanks to the exceptional crew, neither of us can wait until we are able to fly with Qatar Airways again!
