The newest commercial aircraft to arrive onto the aviation scene- the A350 XWB is a mid-size, wide-body airliner designed to enhance fuel, operating costs and environmental efficiencies on medium to long-haul journeys.
Airbus has given the A350 an innovative design, with wings adapted for increased aerodynamics, making the aircraft faster and more fuel efficient, with 25% lower emissions that current generation aircraft in its category. Featuring a high precision air management system that filters air every few minutes and a carbon fibre fuselage that reduces cabin pressure, passengers are supposed to arrive at their destination feeling less jetlagged than usual.
Qatar Airways is the global launch customer of the A350 and therefore the first airline on which you can experience this new aircraft. The airline took delivery of its first A350 in December 2014 and began services to Frankfurt in January 2015. After Frankfurt, Singapore became the second destination to be served by the A350 on May 11 2015.
We managed to try out the Business Class product on the A350 XWB from Doha to Singapore and back, flying on QR 938 and QR 945.
QR 938 is a day flight, departing Doha at 7am and landing in Changi Airport at 19:50pm. The return leg was a night flight, leaving Changi at 02:30am and touching down in Doha’s Hamad International Airport at 05:05am.
The Cabin
The most noticeable feature of the cabin is the illuminated dome ceiling feature, which adds a nice welcoming touch as you board the aircraft. Windows are large with electromechanical window shades that go from transparent to opaque, and while the aircraft doesn’t seem as large as the 787 Dreamliner or the A380, there’s still plenty of space. Business Class features 36 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, with direct aisle access and enough stowage for two roller bags in the overhead bins. LED lighting illuminates the cabin, adjusting to the time zone to make sure you feel good throughout the flight.
The Seat
Flying from Doha to Singapore I was seated in seat 07E, a middle seat which is slightly different to the others in the rest of the aircraft. Since it is situated directly behind the dome/welcome area, the seat has an extra two storage units in front, one big enough for a laptop and the other big enough for glasses and other bits and bobs.
My second seat was seat 04E, a middle seat again but with someone sitting in front of me. This seat had just a drawer for shoes built into the shell of the seat in front.
While the seat isn’t one of the biggest Business Class seats I’ve seen in the skies, its ergonomic design makes it extremely comfortable to work, relax and sleep in. In front of the seat there’s an ottoman and enough space to store a cabin-size bag beneath, then straight ahead is the 17” entertainment screen, with a sliding tray table below it. The tray table is big enough to work and dine comfortably, while still being able to get in and out of your seat.
I found a bottle of water and noise cancelling headphones inside the left armrest, then to the right of me there was a little side table with a seat control panel to turn it into a fully flat bed. The plug socket and USB port were tucked away to the right of the seat alongside a storage compartment big enough to hold a camera and personal belongings. The large surface space to the right of my shoulder was very convenient for placing my laptop, amenity kit and menus on top.
The Business Class seat converts into a fully flat bed measuring 80 inches long, which is standard for Business Class these days. If you ask a member of cabin crew, they’ll come along and give you an additional blanket to place between you and the seat, making things more comfortable. On both flights I managed to get a good few hours sleep.
The Food
Menus onboard the A350 are created by renowned chefs Nobu Matshuhisa and Vineet Bhatia. Everything is dine on-demand, so you can order whatever you want, whenever you want, although the cabin crew do come around before take-off to ask what you’d like to order. If you wish to order your meal straight away that’s fine, or you can just tell them you’d like to eat later.
On the outbound flight it was breakfast time, so I chose the cucumber and apple healthy energiser shot, the seasonal fruit platter, and the traditional Arabic breakfast.
Later on in the flight, after a sleep, I had the the grilled lemon grass chicken salad with mozzarella, roasted yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes and beetroot curls.
On the return flight I’d eaten a large dinner in the Shangri-La Hotel so I wasn’t feeling too hungry. I started with the ‘palate pleaser’ of sesame coated prawn, followed by the chicken and coconut soup, the Arabic mezze, the cheese plate and gourmet ice cream, skipping the main course.
The IFE
Business Class features the latest 4th generation IFE systems with high definition 17” Thales Avant touch-screens and over 1,000 entertainment options. I watched ‘Birdman’ on the first flight and ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ on the second. At 17” it’s certainly big enough to feel like you’re in your own private cinema and I liked the fact that both the main screen and the handset are touch-screen. This means you can watch a movie on the main screen, while playing a game or checking the flight map on the handset. However I did find that the handset was quite temperamental and wasn’t as responsive as I would have liked. There seemed to be quite a lag, meaning I selected the wrong option quite frequently.
Verdict
As the latest newcomer to the skies, the A350 is a joy to travel in, although it doesn’t quite have the passenger novelty of the Dreamliner or the A380, which features First Class and an onboard bar. For airlines however, this next generation aircraft provides a cost-effective solution on medium to long haul routes because of its increased fuel efficiency. Business Class onboard Qatar Airways may not quite have the opulence of some other middle eastern airlines in terms of meal service and seat size, but the product has clearly been developed with the business traveller in mind, with perks such as sleeper suits and on-demand meals.
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