Price: At the moment, return flights between Auckland and Doha will set you back $6815.
Airport experience: Hamad International Airport is pleasant, calm and quiet. Until I went to the gate that is. It appears there are two entrances to gate C12, and a few of us were waiting at the wrong one, wondering where the rest of the passengers were. I worked it out eventually and herded the others to the right place.
On time: We left the gate on time but it's a long road to leaving the ground - the plane taxied for about 20 minutes before taking off.
Flight time: 15h 55 mins. I slept for about nine of those hours, arriving fresh at the other end.
How full: There were a few spare seats in Business Class, including four in my row, which gave a good sense of solitude. If you were travelling by yourself and the flight was full, you would be in quite close proximity to your seat neighbour, but there are adjustable screens for privacy.
Fellow passengers: A few Kiwis, and a group of Brits heading to New Zealand for work. I'd been told it was important to dress smart in Business Class, but some other passengers didn't get the memo - some were in track pants and trainers, others were in boardshorts and jandals (guess which ones were the Kiwis). If you are in your business attire, you don't need to bring a change of comfortable clothes - we were given soft, grey-marle cotton pyjamas, which I changed into immediately after takeoff.
Entertainment: Qatar's Oryx One on-demand system is great, with a selection of movies, TV shows, audio and games. The personal TV screen stored in the arm rest was easy to get in and out, and at 10.6", an excellent size for comfortable viewing, even when the cabin lights were turned off.
Service: Impeccable. Nothing was too much trouble, and any requests I had were dealt with promptly.
Amenity kit: The hard-shell kit has Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio products, featuring a facial mist, anti-ageing moisturiser, and lip balm, as well as dental kit, socks, eye mask and ear plugs.
Food and drink: Business Class passengers get to dine on-demand - eating when they like throughout the flight. My only gripe is that the cabin crew wanted me to choose what I wanted from the menu directly after takeoff, even if I didn't want to eat it until much later in the flight. I found it hard to choose what I was going to want to eat 13 hours into the flight when we'd only just begun the journey. Nevertheless, the food I did choose was excellent. After already eating a full meal on my connecting flight, I wasn't particularly hungry, so just went for the Arabic Mezze platter for dinner. After my lovely night's sleep, I enjoyed bircher muesli, followed by a cream cheese omelette with mushrooms, tomato, potatoes and sausage patties.
Toilets: They always seemed to be freshly cleaned.
Would I fly it again? Yes please.
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