I flew 40+ hours on the world's best business class, and it definitely lived up to its title

David MorrisAug 26, 2023, 18:42 IST

I had a lot of points so I only paid $150 for the business-class experience on Qatar Airways.David Morris

I spent 40+ hours flying business class to Qatar, Kenya, and Tanzania on Qatar Airways.
The culinary options, luxury amenities, and service from the staff were top-notch.

I've been fortunate to experience business- and first-class seats when traveling, but since tickets can go for well over $10,000, I try to utilize frequent-flyer points to book them.

When we planned my mother's birthday trip to Africa, we were excited to find award space — plane tickets you can redeem for points or miles — to Nairobi, Kenya, and back from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Qatar Airways using the American Airline AAdvantage Loyalty Program.

Qatar Airways has won the World Airline Award's title of world's best business class multiple times (most recently in 2023), so this was an offer I couldn't pass up.

In total, my mom and I parted with 150,000 miles and paid $300 for our flights. Our friends opted for tickets without redeeming miles and paid $8,600 a person.

Qatar Airways had a long line to check in, but there was no wait for business-class passengers.

We were able to skip the long line at the counter.David Morris

Qatar Airways' business-class customers have access to American Airlines' Flagship Lounge.

The lounge offered a buffet.David Morris

The boarding gate was busy, but not for business-class passengers.

We boarded quickly through a business-class passenger line.David Morris

We soon settled into our Qsuites, Qatar Airways' elevated business-class seats.

I had a lot of points so I only paid $150 for the business-class experience on Qatar Airways.David Morris

We received some complementary amenities.

The amenities were luxurious.David Morris

After takeoff, I had a glass of champagne and a cheese plate.

The cheese plate offered a variety of options.David Morris

I slept for a full eight hours.

I was able to sleep for a full eight hours in the double bed.David Morris

When I woke up, I ordered lunch.

I started my lunch with corn chowder.David Morris

The flight attendant insisted I also try a dessert.

The key-lime cheesecake was delicious.David Morris

I had dinner before landing.

I chose the cheeseburger and sweet-potato fries for dinner.David Morris

We had a five-hour layover in Doha, Qatar.

The Urs Fischer teddy bear was one of the art installations being displayed.David Morris

We headed to Al Mourjan Garden, Qatar Airways' new business-class lounge.

The business-class lounge was beautiful and even had a Dior spa.David Morris

There were numerous food options in the lounge, too.

I decided to buy some sushi in the lounge.David Morris

Soon it was time for the next leg of our journey, a flight to Tanzania.

This flight didn't have Qsuites, but the seats were still comfortable.David Morris

I went straight to bed but had a light breakfast before arrival.

I woke up and had a top-notch breakfast.David Morris

We landed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, checked in, and were invited to use the Twiga Business Lounge.

We visited the Twiga Business Lounge.David Morris

We headed to the gate and were surprised to see an Oman Air plane.

I wasn't expecting to see an Oman Air aircraft.David Morris

The Oman Air plane felt new and fresh.

The aircraft felt refreshing but was a tad smaller than the last one.David Morris

We had a four-course, wine-paired lunch.

I enjoyed a four-course meal on the flight.David Morris

After landing, we stayed in a hotel room for our layover and headed back to the airport in the morning.

We booked a beautiful hotel room during our layover.David Morris

Overall, this was the best business-class experience I've ever had.

I had a lot of points so I only paid $150 for the business-class experience on Qatar Airways.David Morris

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I flew 40+ hours on the world's best business class, and it definitely lived up to its title

Qatar Airways had a long line to check in, but there was no wait for business-class passengers.

Qatar Airways' business-class customers have access to American Airlines' Flagship Lounge.

The boarding gate was busy, but not for business-class passengers.

We soon settled into our Qsuites, Qatar Airways' elevated business-class seats.

We received some complementary amenities.

After takeoff, I had a glass of champagne and a cheese plate.

I slept for a full eight hours.

When I woke up, I ordered lunch.

The flight attendant insisted I also try a dessert.

I had dinner before landing.

We had a five-hour layover in Doha, Qatar.

We headed to Al Mourjan Garden, Qatar Airways' new business-class lounge.

There were numerous food options in the lounge, too.

Soon it was time for the next leg of our journey, a flight to Tanzania.

I went straight to bed but had a light breakfast before arrival.

We landed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, checked in, and were invited to use the Twiga Business Lounge.

We headed to the gate and were surprised to see an Oman Air plane.

The Oman Air plane felt new and fresh.

We had a four-course, wine-paired lunch.

After landing, we stayed in a hotel room for our layover and headed back to the airport in the morning.

Overall, this was the best business-class experience I've ever had.