Introduction
Qatar Airways and Etihad are two major competing airlines in the Middle East. Both serve a large amount of global destinations with key fleet such as the Boeing 787, 777 – as well as Airbus A350 and A380. The third competing carrier is of course Emirates – and I am going to be doing a similar post on them!
Whilst Etihad and Qatar have very similar offerings; possibly Qatar Airways have the upper hand on volume of destinations and Cities – where as Etihad (or more specifically Abu Dhabi airport) has a Pre-Clearance for the US border (something Doha doesn’t have).
So, once you’ve picked your destination – which airline offers the best Business Class experience?
Lounge Offering
Qatar Airways
Etihad
One important thing about Qatar Airways is that they offer a Business Class ‘Lite’ (also known as a ‘P-fare’) ticket, which means you do not have lounge access included. You’ll only be able to enter a lounge if you have OneWorld status.
I have visited lounges operated by Qatar Airways in their ‘home’ airport of Hamad International Airport and also London Heathrow.
A fair comparison would be the Al Mourjan Lounge for Doha and the Premium Lounge in Heathrow (as an out-station).
Unlike Qatar Airways, Etihad are yet to adopt a ‘Lite’ Business Class ticket approach – and hopefully will never!
A good comparison between two lounges would be the Etihad Business Class lounge in Abu Dhabi, and the Etihad Lounge in London Heathrow.
Verdict
This is actually a very tight competition!
Both the Qatar lounge in Doha and Etihad lounge in Abu Dhabi are huge and excellent. Qatar actually offer multiple lounges in Doha, where as Etihad offer just one in Abu Dhabi.
On the negative side, Qatar Airways don’t provide any form of buzzer system for their showers (other than a long queue), where as whilst Etihad have this covered – Etihad don’t have any ‘office’ areas to work from, which was a great advantage in the Al Mourjan Lounge – nor do Etihad have sleeping areas.
On the positive side, both lounges offer excellent food and drinks – and the lounges are big enough to ‘find something for everyone’.
On the outstation side, both airlines offer great lounges in Heathrow. Both offer a la carte dining at Heathrow, with a fully serviced bar, good lounges with showers, etc.
I have concluded that the winner is Qatar Airways, despite the fact that only certain tickets allow access to their lounges – but once in those lounges, I believe they are a step ahead of Eithad.
WINNER: Qatar Airways
Planes
Qatar Airways
Etihad
For long range, Qatar Airways operate the Boeing 777-200, 777-300, 787-8 and 787-9. They also operate the Airbus A330, A350 and A380.
Etihad operate a similar fleet to Qatar, operating the Boeing 777-300, 787-9 and 787-10. They also operate the Airbus A350 and A380.
Verdict
Whilst Qatar mostly have their new fleet of aircraft, they do have 3 x 777-300’s which are ex-Virgin Australia and 6 x 777’s which are leased from Cathay Pacific.
As a result of this, the Cathay planes (in particular) are old planes and their Business Class tends to show clear signs of wear and tear. Additionally, because Qatar have many aircraft in many different configurations – there is possibility of being ‘Qatar’d’ – which means expecting a plane with QSuite, but ending up with something different.
Ultimately, for me in terms of quality and consistency; Etihad have to win.
WINNER: Etihad
The Seats
Qatar Airways
Etihad
Qatar Airways’ flagship Business Class product is the QSuite – and they’re even working on an upgraded version – the QSuite2!
The suite offers plenty of space, storage and closing privacy door.
Etihad’s offering is simply known as Business Class and is consistent across the whole fleet.
Whilst there is no danger of being ‘Qatar’d’ – their Business Class offers noticeably less space than the Q-Suite and also doesn’t have privacy door.
Verdict
Simply, the winner for me is Qatar Airways.
The QSuite offers so much space, privacy, comfort and is generally fantastic – where as the Etihad seat has many marks down on Qatar, who are already designing and upgrade to their award-winning seat.
That’s of course not to say that the Etihad seat is any way uncomfortable – but just simply, Qatar have a better product.
WINNER: Qatar Airways
Food and Drink
Qatar Airways
Etihad
First things first, Qatar Airways offer an ability to pre-order food 30 days out from departure on flights departing Doha. Whether this will be rolled out on a global basis, remains to be seen.
In the case of Etihad, this is not a possibility, so you are left hoping what you want on the menu is available when they take your order!
I’ve found the wines and beers offered by Qatar to always been great – this has included proactively asking me if I want to conduct a mini beer or wine tasting session!
Etihad in my experience, have also been very good in their wine offerings. Their beer a little less so – but the liquors were spot on!
The starters offed by Qatar are very filling, and I very much enjoy their Arabic Mezze – these are always well-presented by Qatar. Qatar also offer a series of fish dishes, soups, etc.
The main meals on Qatar are generally very wholesome, often offering steaks, fish, lobster and vegetarian options. I am am always impressed with the quality of the food and presentation on Qatar Airways.
Interestingly, I also ordered the Arabic Mezze on Etihad, which was completely different to Qatar’s version. I enjoyed this far less. Like Qatar, Etihad also offer a series of fish dishes, soups, etc.
Etihad’s food offering is similar to Qatar’s, but I would say doesn’t always hit the mark in terms of variety, presentation or quality. Etihad’s food is still miles ahead of other competing airlines – but it just doesn’t hit the mark that Qatar does.
Qatar offer both cheese and other desert options.
Qatar offer a very generous cheese board, great in quality and certainly rather filling!
As an addition (or alternative), Qatar also offer a series of other deserts.
Etihad have similar offerings to Qatar.
On the cheese side, as you can see below the plate is much more limited than Qatar’s generous offering!
Etihad’s ‘other’ deserts are on par I would say!
Qatar also offer a sort of secondary meals, and ‘all day’ snacks. I have always found these to be pretty good.
Like Qatar, Etihad offer a range of snacks and also things like sandwiches if you want a lighter meal.
Verdict
Although in some respects the flow of the menu is very similar between Qatar and Etihad, factoring in the ability to pre-order, the variety and the presentation – I believe there quite a clear winner, which is Qatar Airways.
WINNER: Qatar Airways
Amenities Kit
Qatar Airways
Etihad
Qatar Airways seem to offer a cardboard Amenities Kit flying to Doha, where as a leather Amenities Kit (in varying styles) is offered flying from Doha. The items in them are however substantially the same.
I personally think that the cardboard Amenities Kits are a bit cheap looking – and certainly don’t match Qatar’s reputation for luxury.
Seemingly, Etihad also have a two-tier system of Amenities Kits offered, wether flying from or to Abu Dhabi.
Both kits offer the same contents, but in my view it’s nice to have Amenities Kits in a nice bag – especially given the money spent on a Business Class experience.
Verdict
In this case the winner for me is Etihad.
Qatar’s offering of a cardboard Amenities Kit comes across as cheap and cost-saving – and the fact a ‘proper’ kit is offered from Doha where as the cardboard one is offered to Doha, doesn’t make much sense to me.
WINNER: Etihad
Wifi
Qatar Airways
Etihad
Qatar Airways’ wifi has always been hit and miss for me, but the cost is $10.00 if you want to use it – I don’t believe it is possible to pay with miles.
Etihad’s Wifi offering is $9.99 or 1,200 miles, I found it better than Qatar – albeit that may be down to luck!
Verdict
Both airlines offer Wifi for $10, and although I had issues with Qatar – it is mixed luck, rather than regular failure.
However, Etihad are $0.01 cheaper, you can pay with miles, and I’ve never had any issues with it – so the winner for me is Etihad.
WINNER: Etihad
Entertainment
Qatar Airways
Etihad
Qatar Airways have a MASSIVE range of music, TV, entertainment – added to this, it is possible to dual-screen a laptop to their screens, and they’ve looked at using phones as remote controls.
Compared to Qatar, the Etihad entertainment range is far more limited. There also isn’t the technological advancements that Qatar are making.
Verdict
For me, Qatar Airways win the entertainment hands down. Their music collection is incredibly impressive, their movie choices fantastic, and they have made real investments into all other kinds of technology across their Entertainment.
WINNER: Qatar Airways
Cabin Crew
Qatar Airways
Etihad
Verdict
Cabin Crew are something which can make or break a flight. As I reported in my flight from Hong Kong, bad cabin crew on Qatar Airways really annoyed me. However, I had some fantastic service on a flight from Heathrow to Doha and Frankfurt.
For any airline, Cabin Crew can be inconsistent – and with Qatar and Etihad I have had flights with ‘bad’ or ‘average’ Cabin Crew – as well as very good.
With that said I have been on multiple flights with both Qatar and Etihad; and in all honesty, whilst I’ve disembarked several Etihad flights where I’ve thought the Cabin Crew have been “very good” – with Qatar Airways, countless numbers of times, I have been blown away by the service.
Admittedly, it’s not every time I have been blown away by Qatar’s service – but I just can’t say Etihad have ever had that effect on me.
WINNER: Qatar Airways
Conclusion
Before I get to the ultimate verdict, there is one consideration of booking with Qatar Airways which could give them a leading edge – and that is they are part of the OneWorld alliance. This means whether you have airline status with Qatar Airways themselves, or other OneWorld members (such as British Airways, American, JAL, Iberia, FinnAir, etc) – you’ll still be able to earn points and your status will be recognized. This is especially important if flying a Business Lite fare with Qatar, where no lounge access is included.
Etihad on the other hand are not part of any Alliance, but do have multiple code shares, which means that you can still easily get around the world with them – and in some cases their codeshares are on OneWorld.
So…..who wins?
I believe that the general winner is Qatar Airways. This is based on the QSuite, the food, drinks, entertainment and cabin crew. However, Qatar Airways are certainly not ‘perfect’ and can be frustratingly inconsistent.
With that said, Etihad do have a few advantages over Qatar; (1) their planes are more consistent and there is less risk of being disappointed; (2) their Amenities Kits are better and/or more consistent; and (3) if you are flying to America, the Pre-Clearance in Abu Dhabi is a huge timesaver – albeit that Etihad only fly to 4 locations in the US currently, mostly on the East Cost.
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