Review: Qatar Airways short haul First Class from Abu Dhabi to Doha

This is my review of Qatar Airways short haul First Class between Abu Dhabi and Doha.

How do you know when you have too many Avios points?  Probably when you start to redeem for Qatar Airways First Class on short haul flights.

I know that a lot of Head for Points readers consider using double the miles to fly Club Europe to be a bit of a waste.  The idea of using FOUR TIMES the miles required for Economy to fly Qatar Airways First Class for what is the equivalent of London to Paris is a little crazy.

Like US domestic airlines, Qatar sells its regional flights as a two-class service – First and Economy.  This means that a redemption is priced at First Class Avios rates, even though you are getting a standard short-haul business class experience.

Flying OUT of Doha, this is still worth considering because you would be allowed to use the truly astonishing First Class Lounge which I will review soon.  Flying INTO Doha, it was a bit pointless.

But I did it anyway.  For 18,000 Avios, one way.

The old terminal at Abu Dhabi still exudes something of the glamour of flight in the 1970’s.  It may be low on facilities but you can’t knock any airport where the main central area looks like this:

Qatar Airways uses the Plaza Premium lounge at Abu Dhabi.  I could have accessed this with my Priority Pass which made the 18,000 Avios I had used for the ticket look even more extravagant.

It is a perfectly acceptable lounge as you can see from these pictures ….

…. with a decent food selection, only part of which is shown here.

Qatar First Class on short-haul uses 2 x 2 fixed seating, rather like the Virgin America First Class seat I flew last year.  Compared to British Airways Club Europe it is clearly a major improvement:

Leg room was acceptable – remember that I am 6’2′:

The meal – this was a 7pm departure – was a one tray affair.  This was hardly surprising given the short flight time.

Qatar still issues printed menus in short-haul First Class.  The meal consisted of a ‘seasonal salad’, a choice of chicken musakhan or chargrilled cottage cheese with red bell pepper pesto (I took the chicken) and a Laduree dessert.  To be honest, I have had better meals in Club Europe although you would not get a choice of entree with BA:

Alcohol including champagne was freely available.  This is not always the case on regional flights in the Middle East, even on carriers that are happy to serve alcohol on long haul.

It was obviously only a few minutes after reaching our cruising altitude that the plane started to descend into Hamad Airport in Doha where I would be spending the night, probably having dreams of the 23 foot high yellow teddy bear that dominates the terminal …..

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.