Emirates vs Qatar: Don't Book Until You Watch This!

[Music] flying business class on Emirates and Qatar Airways is at the top of many people's Aviation bucket lists but if you had to pick just one which should it be Emirates or Qatar my family and I are fortunate enough to have flown both in the last 18 months so in this video I'm going to compare and contrast the business class products on each of these Airlines make sure you stick around to the end because I'll be telling you exactly which one I would pick over the other I'll also link to both our individual Emirates and Qatar Airways reviews below so you can see what our experiences were like on each the way you begin your ground experience is one area in which Emirates has a bit of an edge over Qatar Airways and that's because they offer business class passengers a complimentary chauffeur Drive they'll send a black card to your home or hotel pick you up and drive you to the airport you don't often see this mentioned in videos about Emirates because many of the flights in those videos were either booked on points and miles or through an upgrade offer from economy and the chauffeur Drive is isn't available for those types of fares it's also not available for their stripped down special business class cash fare which is cheaper because it excludes chauffeur Drive lounge access and seat selection the chauffeur Drive is only provided to Emirates passengers who paid cash for their business class ticket and booked either saver Flex or Flex plus and it's only available for flights marketed and operated by Emirates not coach air flights Qatar Airways does offer chauffeur service but it's not complementary you can book it for a fee Emirates outsources its chauffeur drive to Black Lane so the quality of the service you'll get from your driver will be somewhat destination dependent unfortunately we live in New York City one of the great world capitals of surly service so I have to say that we were not particularly impressed with our chauffeur Drive experience we flew out of JFK for both our Emirates and Qatar Airways flights and the check-in experience at JFK is pretty run-of-the-mill Emirates flies out of terminal 4 and this is what the check-in area look like Qatar meanwhile flies out of terminal 8 and their check-in desks are also pretty standard fare but this plush rug I guess arguably makes this area feel slightly more Swanky honestly I don't want to dwell on the Qatar check and dusk too long because it gives me flashbacks to the incredibly stressful experience we had at this desk you'll have to watch our Qatar video to find out what happened there we've established that the check-in experience at JFK is pretty similar for both Airlines but when you're flying out of their main hubs it's a different story the business class check-in area at Dubai International Airport is just as unremarkable as the one at JFK the Qatar Airways has designed an incredible ground experience for travelers flying out of Hamad International Airport in Doha there's a dedicated curbside drop-off area and entrance into the terminal reserved just for business class and first class Travelers and once you're inside there's an entire check-in area specifically for premium passengers one side is for business class and the other side for first class we were lucky enough to get to experience the first class check-in that's because when we flew out of Doha we were heading to Dubai and for short haul flights within the Middle East Qatar Airways classifies their forward most cabin as first class even though it's actually business class because of that we got to experience the best Airport check-in we've ever had instead of standing in front of a counter you sit down at a desk in one of these luxurious semi-private spaces with a plush carpet you're offered a hot towel while you're being checked in and the bell man will handle all of your bags while we didn't personally experience the business class check-in in Doha from what I've seen in other people's videos it's very nice too just not quite as Luxe as the first class side by the way if you enjoy videos like this about premium air travel be sure to subscribe we've got a really interesting business class flight to Asia coming up soon so you don't want to miss that video also visit our channel to catch up on our recent flight reviews of a a the room Singapore Airlines KLM JetBlue mint and and more okay now let's talk about lounges the Emirates Lounge at JFK is really spacious they serve a variety of hot and cold food with lots of different Cuisines represented and the champagne flows freely there are dining areas seating areas and workstations so no matter how you're planning to spend your time in the lounge you'll find suitable seating the Emirates Lounge in Dubai is massive at over a hundred thousand square feet it can hold up to 1800 passengers there are multiple stations to get food and drink though when we were there only a few food stations were open probably due both to covid and the late hour we were there in addition to seating and dining areas there are rest areas where you can nap on comfortable loungers with blankets the lounge has bathrooms with showers so you can easily freshen up between flights but hands down my favorite feature of the lounge is this the spa we had a particularly long layover so Serge and I took turns treating ourselves to massages this was an extra fee but so worth it it felt so luxurious to have a spa treatment in the middle of a long journey unfortunately I can't share an opinion on Qatar Airways Lounge offerings because we didn't get to experience any when we flew out of JFK we barely boarded on time due to the drama that I mentioned before so we obviously didn't have time to see the lounge on our Doha to Dubai leg when we got to experience the first class check-in unfortunately our fare did not include lounge access so we didn't get to peek at the amazing Al safwa first class Lounge there we transited through Doha when we flew from Dubai back to New York but the connection time was so short that I didn't want to risk missing our flight by stopping by the lounge so I'm afraid you'll have to check out videos from some of my fellow flight reviewers here on YouTube to see what qatar's lounges are like if you're still new to the world of Premium air travel one important thing to keep in mind is that many airlines have more than one type of business class product flight reviewers like me often focus on the newest or the best products on the market but you can't assume that you'll book that same product on any route an airline flies for example the most competitive business class product Emirates offers is the one on its a380s which we flew from New York to Dubai and back it's in a one two one configuration meaning that every seat has direct aisle access when you fly in a window seat you have lots of privacy since no one is sitting next to you the a380s also have this fun onboard Bar and Lounge but Emirates also has a completely different business class product on its triple sevens which we flew from Dubai to Nairobi and back this isn't an awkward 232 configuration and yes that means you could be stuck in a middle seat even as a business class passenger we flew the older triple seven product which has angled flatbed seats but Emirates is refurbishing a lot of its triple sevens to this new product which features fully flatbeds while the finishes are more Luxe it's still a 232 configuration so definitely not ideal for solo Travelers by the way the A380 business class product is getting an upgrade soon too Qatar Airways is most known for its q-suites product these cabins also have a one-to-one configuration but what's unique about them is that the rows in the middle section face each other in a quad formation if you're traveling as a party of four you can choose to slide aside all the dividers so you can actually interact with each other it's such an Innovative design and the perfect setup if you're traveling in a group of four like us the seats all have dividers and sliding doors so even as a Solo Traveler sitting in the middle section you can still enjoy complete privacy during your flight but Q Suites is not the only business class product Qatar offers depending on the route and aircraft you're flying you could find yourself in any of these seats for God forbid even in one of these non-life flat recliner seats which our friend Dan reviewed because he wanted to see what it was like flying in Qatar Airways worst business class product I'll link his video Below in case you're curious let's talk about service both Emirates and Qatar are known for having great customer service at least in Flight everywhere outside of the plane it's a different story but I'll talk more about that soon it could just be the cabin crew we happen to have on the flights we took but to me the service Style on Emirates felt much more fun and relaxed the crew were quite chatty and informal both with us and with each other and the morale seemed really great the service we experience on Qatar was a lot more stiff and formal they were incredibly polite and accommodating but there wasn't much in the way of Chit Chat our daughter Sean actually timed how long it took for the flight attendants to come after pressing the call button the first time it took 10 seconds and the second time just eight seconds so the crew was incredibly attentive and responsive when it comes to food there's one airline that far outshines the other the food on Emirates is solid for the main meal we were able to choose from three different appetizers and three different entrees reflecting a mix of middle eastern Indian and international dishes for breakfast the options were all standard international Fair alike omelettes eggs pancakes or french toast if the options on the lunch and dinner menu seem too heavy for you you can order from the light Bites menu instead and you can also order from this menu if say you slept through one of the meal services sleeping through meal service though is not something you ever have to worry about on qatar's Q Suites why because they have dine on demand as in there's no set time when meals are served whenever you feel like eating you place your order just like at a restaurant and you can order from any section of the menu at any time so if you want pancakes for dinner you can go for it the food was so good the Arabic Meza especially this was hands down the best tabbouleh salad I've ever had in my life I have no idea how they do it but every dish literally tastes like they just took it off the stove even the omelets tasted like they had just come off the pan they were so fresh and fluffy and delicious the only area in which I'd say Emirates has an edge over Qatar is in the cocktail menu listen I'm very basic I don't claim to be a Mixology expert by any means but even I was like who designed qatar's cocktail menu it's giving teen girl with a fake ID ordering her first drink at a bar in the 80s rum and coke driver whiskey sour like who thought these were good drinks to offer in such a premium environment the Emirates cocktail selection is much much better because it features drinks that actual adults would order in 2023. everything from April Spritz to negronis to Espresso martinis by the way it's so funny to me that espresso martinis are back again in the early 2000s I worked as a Hostess in restaurants in New York and this was the height of the Sex in the City era and espresso martinis were absolutely inescapable back then you know along with True Religion jeans and Vonda chats Walmart it's like they sell wall stuff funny enough my favorite drink from the Emirates cocktail menu ended up being the breakfast Martini it was Gin with marmalade Cointreau orange juice and lemon juice which may not sound that amazing but trust me it tasted really really good I would definitely order this again okay before I get to my big gripe about both Emirates and Qatar let's do a quick lightning round comparison on some of the other aspects of the in-flight experience first the beds Q Suite is famous for its double bed configuration if you and a companion are sitting in the center quad in an odd numbered row these seats are right up next to each other and when they both recline to a lie flat position you essentially have one big double bed as cool as that is I personally still prefer the Emirates A380 seats for sleeping the mattress pad they provide is so plush that up until now I've still found it to be the most comfortable business class seat I've slept in the in-flight entertainment options on both airlines are solid and cater to a very International set of Travelers Emirates probably has a slight Edge over Qatar in that they offer over 4 500 different channels also I believe the screens on the Emirates A380 are slightly larger than the ones on Q Suite but really you can't go wrong with either Ife each business class product offers unique features that aren't often found Elsewhere for Emirates it's the bar and lounge on the A380 this area is like a throwback to the Golden Era of aviation in the 50s and 60s when it was common for airplanes to be outfitted with cocktail bars and sometimes even pianos if you're going to be flying the A380 ask the cabin crew nicely and they'll let you get behind the bar to take these fun photos for q-suites the unique feature is the quad configuration if you're traveling as a group of four there really is no better possible setup because you can interact with each other for the whole flight another nice touch with Q Suite is that you get complimentary pajamas on most Airlines you only get pajamas in first class so this is a nice perk that distinguishes this experience so what's my big gripe about both Emirates and Qatar well it's this with all the effort they put into the in-flight experience and all the customer service Awards they've won you'd think that the customer experience would be of utmost quality all around right no Emirates and Qatar have mastered the in-flight experience there's no doubt but at just about every other touch Point you'll have with the airline from the call center operators to the ground staff you'll honestly find pretty terrible service I will never understand how a company can put so much effort into one aspect of the customer experience and then just not care at all about every other aspect it makes literally no sense to me so if you're gonna fly Emirates or Qatar expect things to go well while you're on the plane but if you need help with anything outside of the flight itself good luck because you'll need it so which airline should you pick Emirates or Qatar well as you've probably gathered from this video there really is no bad choice between these two but out of the two personally I'm more eager to fly Qatar again first every aspect of the in-flight experience was just perfect and I still think about the incredible food on board so if you had to pick one I'd say go with guitar Q Suites click right there to watch our individual flight reviews of Emirates A380 business class and Qatar Airways Q Suites I'll see you over there

Channel: Top Flight Family

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Keywords: emirates vs qatar, qatar vs emirates, emirates, qatar airways, emirates business class, qatar business class, qatar airways business class, qsuite, qsuites, qatar qsuite, qatar qsuites, qatar airways qsuite, qatar airways qsuites, top flight family, luxury family travel, family travel, travel with kids, sognonvi family

Id: Wnyp6qFICEY

Length: 14min 23sec (863 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 30 2023