QR703 DOH-JFK

January 1st, 2024

Posts in this series:

Introduction - Island Hopping in Southeast Asia

Review - British Airways Business Class B777-200 Toronto Pearson to London Heathrow

Review - Finnair Business Class A350-900 London Heathrow to Helsinki

Review - Finnair Business Class A350-900 Helsinki to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

Review - Conrad Bangkok

Review - The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi

Review - Firefly Economy Class ATR72-500 Langkawi to Subang

Review - The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur

Review - Malaysia Airlines Economy Class B737-800 Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar

Review - Alila Villas Uluwatu

Review - TransNusa Economy Class A320 Denpasar to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta

Review - The Hermitage, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Jakarta

Review - Qatar Airways Business Class A350-900 Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta to Doha

Review - Qatar Airways Business Class B777-300ER Doha to New York Kennedy

In-transit:

We had a wee bit over 2 hours on the ground in Doha. Transit at Hamad International was painless, even though we were there during the peak hours of Qatar’s heavily banked schedules. A separate security check was offered to premium passengers, which took no time at all. Do note, though, for flights bound for the US there’s another security screening at the boarding gate.

A lot has happened at Hamad since my last visit. For example, the Orchard opened, which is similar to the Jewel at Changi Airport. We quickly checked it out on our way to the lounge. While it’s certainly a nice feature, I don’t foresee myself going out of my way to visit it in the future. Y’all know Singapore Airlines and I have gone on our separate ways, but I admit the Jewel is much more striking than the Orchard.

What else is new at Hamad? Qatar opened its second business class lounge as part of the concourse expansion project at the airport. So in addition to the old Al Mourjan Business Lounge, there’s now Al Mourjan Business Lounge The Garden. I realized that while I’ve visited the old Al Mourjan many times, I haven’t actually reviewed it. But don’t worry, I’m flying through Doha again later this year and will cover it in that review.

Lounge:

Al Mourjan Business Lounge The Garden is located on the northern end of the concourse. For travelers originating in Doha, this lounge would be out of the way, as you’d need to take the train to the opposite end of the terminal. In Layman’s terms, the new lounge is nowhere near the yellow Teddy Bear.

Once you take the lifts to the second floor, you’ll first see the Louis Vuitton Lounge, which was not accessible on a complimentary basis.

However, if you make a turn in front of the LV Lounge, either left or right, the main Al Mourjan Business Lounge The Garden appeared. To the left were the shower suites and seating areas, and to the right was the majority of the dining.

We first explored the left (quiet) side of the lounge, which was a tranquil oasis due to the absence of food offerings.

You can always trust Qatar with the aesthetics. Their lounges are simply gorgeous.

One criticism I had was for the new shower suites, which weren’t equipped with toilets. I did not like these at all and find it rather annoying for such a new lounge.

The shower was otherwise clean and stocked with Diptyque toiletries.

As mentioned earlier, the dining area could be found on the right side of the lounge.

While there was a small selection of buffet items, I believe the intention was for most guests to enjoy proper sit-down service. There was a QR code at each seat linking to the menu. Numerous lounge attendants roamed around to take orders. I took a gander at the sushi bar display, and it looked quite appetizing. Honestly, it’s pretty audacious for a non-Japanese airlines to be attempting this.

We found a couple counter seats and settled there.

Naturally we had to give the sushi a go. It was good enough, largely on par with what you’d have at a typical conveyor belt sushi place. The quality was justifiably lesser than the sushi we had at JAL’s first class lounge at Narita, but there was more variety.

The kebab and steak though, on the other hand, were phenomenal. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I just want to point out that this is a business class lounge.

We were in the lounge when the clock struck midnight. The airline set up a cute little champagne station, and passengers gathered around to ring in the new year. It was definitely peculiar to think that any of us could be flying to Qatar’s 170 destinations around the world, yet in that moment we were all physically present under one roof.

The champagnes on offer were Lanson Brut, Lanson Brut Rosé and Thiénot Brut Rosé.

Boarding:

Shortly after midnight it was time to board our final flight, which was delayed. There was a plane parked at our gate, but we were then bused to a remote stand. I suspected that our plane had some technical issues.

Two engine views within 3 hours - what a treat.

I’ve reviewed the Qsuite cabin and seats in a previous post, so I won’t repeat it here.

While the crew was scrambling during the boarding process, given the last minute equipment swap, they still managed to offer a pre-departure beverage of choice. I went for Qatar’s signature mint lemonade.

Inflight:

I was extremely tired by then, so I went straight to sleep after takeoff. Turndown was proactively offered. As a result from the fatigue, I also forgot to photograph the menu and wine list. Oops.

Around two hours prior to touchdown, I woke up and figured I should have at least one meal on this 14-hour flight. Otherwise what’s the point of this blog😝? We were landing in the morning NY time, but my body clock was clearly in a different time zone. Let’s just call it breakfast service for technicality. Service started with a beef amuse-bouche.

I tried the smoked duck salad for my appetizer, which was quite tasty.

For main course, I ordered the lamb chops.

I couldn’t remember much of this meal service quite frankly. I feel like departing the Middle East after midnight takes the heaviest toll on your body. By the time I landed at JFK I was basically a zombie.

On Arrival:

I’ve said everything I have to say about Qatar Airways on the flight from Jakarta. In my opinion, it’s the world’s best business class currently. This post concludes this extensive trip series from our three weeks in Southeast Asia. Onto the next adventure...✈️✈️✈️