15 January 2015 QR67 DOHA – FRANKFURT
To be a part of the A350’s inaugural passenger flight (flown by Qatar Airways) is an opportunity I will always feel very lucky and priviledged to have been able to do.
Innovations in passenger comfort take your flying experience and well-being to a new level in the Airbus A350. Passengers can sit back and relax into spacious seats, take in the view from panoramic windows with electromechanical shades that go from fully transparent to opaque in Business Class, and feel the difference of a wider cabin.
The A350 XWB is one of the lightest aircraft of its type, made from advanced composite materials and powered by two new-generation Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. This also makes it kinder to the earth, with 25% lower CO2 emissions than with current generation aircraft in its category.
It is air travel that is truly ahead of the curve. Introducing the Qatar Airways A350 XWB.
THE FLIGHT
The doors closed and we pushed back pretty much ontime. “This flight is bound for Frankfurt”.
Literally every passenger in the window seat was photographing and videoing the historical airborne moment.
Flying out over a clear, almost haze free sky of Doha in the morning.
Whilst hard to believe, the A350 is actually more quiet than the 787 Dreamliner.
After take-off, I went up to Business Class to join a few lucky enthusiasts there. The ambience was perfect, a wide cabin with no overhead bins in the middle and luxurious all aisle seating.
There is a self service bar in the middle separating two section of Business Class. The first section located door 1 to door 2 has 6 rows with 24 seats. A smaller second section immediately after door 2 adds another 12 seats (3 rows) makes it total 36 seats. The same seat can be found on Qatar Airways A380 and B787. The Business seat is as comfortable as a First Class seat with all seats having aisle access.
Despite the dark brown look, the pancakes were delicious. Others complainted the omelette was too plain.
An almost full economy class. The overhead bins are curved like the Boeing Signature cabin design providing much better headroom than previous Airbus models.
The economy seat itself is wider and has more legroom than average. Qatar is the first airline to fully integrate the in-flight entertainment box into the frame of the seat so it no longer takes up floor space.
The In Flight Entertainment screens footage from a high definition camera mounted on the aircraft tail. On board WiFi is also avaiallable for purchase
CONCLUSION
I was truly impressed and wowed by the A350. It is, as promised, wider, and technological and innovative advancements make flying this aircraft a real pleasure. Qatar successfully created a great onboard ambience other airline simply couldn’t match. My flight with Qatar on the A350 was a real winner.
