Traveling is addictive – and every time I plan for a trip and get on a flight, I’m reminded of how fortunately Ms. Buddha and I have been to be able to find jobs that can support our travel aspirations and also fortunately find the time to travel as well. Ms. Buddha and I normally make at least one trip to Europe a year, and this time, I thought we’d try something a little different and try out Qatar Airways instead. Qatar is part of OneWorld and they were offering a great deal (~22k HKD return – Hong Kong to Madrid) and you get full miles for it!
QR817 departs Hong Kong at around 7pm and Business Class passengers get to use the Cathay Pacific lounges in Hong Kong Airport – we left work a little earlier and then used The Bridge to freshen up before the flight.
When it was about time for the flight – we walked over and I was actually decently excited because being a life-long Cathay flier – it was the first time for me on a 787 Dreamliner – was pretty happy to see the logo at the gate.
Boarding was very quick and once in the Business Class area – I was impressed! The cabin space had a very spacious feeling to it because carry-on luggage is stored on the side with the center luggage space being gone. The cabin also feels new and the colour scheme was quite comfortable compared to Cathay – I now think it Cathay can do with a bit of a refresh with their hard products.
Staff were very friendly and introduced themselves along with offering welcome drinks shortly after boarding. The updated BRICS amenity kits were also handed out and I found them to be quite classy!
Once everyone was on-board – the take off procedure started with the safety video with Messi (see above) and then menus for their “dine whenever” service were handed out – effectively – you note down when you’ll want to eat and the staff caters for it – given that it was about 7:30pm by the time we were in the air – I just asked for food to start whenever they’re ready – also started with a nice whisky on ice 🙂
Food service started not soon after the flight reached cruising height – table were set up quickly with your own little bread basket (love it!)
The starter was a fried prawn – which tasted really good (and not salty at all) – excellent start to the meal.
The entree I choose was the Class Arabic Mezze plate – which I had previously researched that it is excellent – and it turned out it was – especially the hommus!
For the main – I wasn’t feeling too hungry, so I went with the Grilled chicken breast sandwich – I have to admit – the bread was once again excellent and I’m surprised they were able to keep the chicken tender given the dryness of plane environments – once again – very impressed and much more balanced compared to Cathay’s normal offerings.
To finish off the evening, I went with the cheese platter (I find it hard to pass up on cheese) – the blue cheese was excellent although the cheddar was a little bland – in this area – Cathay tends to offer a better option of cheeses.
As I relaxed after one of the better in flight meals I’ve had – desserts were offered but I passed (have eaten too much) – the Dreamliner was very comfortable and smooth – and we arrived into Doha before we knew it!
Buddha Explores 