My seat: Fabulous. As a newcomer to Business Class, it was everything I wanted in a seat — but especially it had loads of leg room. I am 190cm tall.
Fellow passengers: Unsure. They seemed very nice but I was far too busy enjoying every comfort I was granted to engage them in conversation. Did I mention it was my first time in Business Class?
How full: Reasonably full on three of the four legs, but Doha to Auckland was barely half full. This meant it felt like individual service. Bliss.
Entertainment: Good. I had done a lot of recent travelling and had seen many of the in-flight movies, so I plumped for obscure Japanese murder noir movies and sports documentaries on Steve Waugh and Sugar Ray Leonard. Cricket, mystery and boxing — is there any better entertainment for a 17-hour flight?
The service: Very, very good. Attentive, kind and — on one leg — almost individual. If I had one gripe, it was that I was constantly asked whether there was anything they could do better! I couldn't think of anything.
Food and drink: Again, very good. I could tell you the champagne in Business Class (Lanson Black Label, French) is very, very good but that might be a bit hard on those elsewhere on the plane. Only hiccup occurred when I misunderstood the attendant and ordered a brioche for my main course. The confusion was sorted out by the addition of slow cooked Middle Eastern lamb.
The toilets: Good, thank you.
Luggage: 30kg. Some passengers seemed to need all 30kg after weekend shopping in Paris and returning to Doha.
The airport experience: Doha is modern, clean, efficient, easy to navigate and has good showers. Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2 is an odd relic of the days of funky 60s design and concrete. The Paris Qatar Airways lounge is huge. The only other person there was an ex-British Army officer returning to Doha for work who believed most things had gone to hell in a handcart since Thatcher. Entertaining bloke.
The bottomline: Great fun. Good airline and good value. If you are going to do 17 hours in one leg you may as well do it in style.