So I know I’ve been a bit “all over the place” recently, but what can I say - SUE ME! I got a lot to say and my head is running all over the place. Today, I thought I’d talk a bit about “traveling like a CEO.”

As you know I’m somewhere “international” in the world right now and of course I had to fly here. The last time I flew here I came via British Airways and just did the “Economy Premium” - which is nice, but not that much better than regular Economy.

As nice of a flight as British Airways is, I gotta say - it was one tough flight, I felt like a sardine and my body hurt after the long flight (no, I won’t tell you how long the flight was).

This time when I was coming, my travel agent really started to push “Qatar Airways” onto me and I really didn’t know what to think at first - had never heard of it. Also, honestly, the thought of going through an Islamic country scared me. No, I’m not racist or anything, but just with everything going on … it was really me just being naive.

I heard some good feedback from others and decided to try it and yes, I was decided to do Business Class this time. I couldn’t face the thought of being crammed in again.

I checked all the major airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta, United, Air Emirates and others even - Qatar came out to being almost 40% less in cost!

It’s not “cheap” for business class, just far more reasonable than the others.

I did it, I landed here on the 12th and let me just sum up my entire trip in 1 word - “WOW!”

Let me describe my trip the best I can.

First, I reached the airport, there were no lines, I went straight to the desk and got checked in. Then, I was escorted to the “Virgin Atlantic” lounge (their partners) where I had a full meal, wine and a great couch with very friendly service.

Now for the flight…

I walked on and the leg room was un-heard of, the seats very comfortable and even a 13″ on-demand entertainment center (remember, this is business class, not economy - but even economy was nice). Their entertainment center (flight wide) is the best I have ever seen, they easily have over 100 movies including many languages, tv shows, games, even satellite tv coming!

The flight attendents are very courteous, nice and fast in getting you anything you want…yes, they’re also beautiful (hey, a little eye candy never hurt anyone). Overall my experience was amazing on the flight.

The seats go 160 degrees, which is basically a full flat bed, so for the first time I actually slept.

My only complaint on the flight? The food could have been better. But, they made up for it here…

The Most Amazing Flying Experience I’ve Ever Had…

The 5 hour layover lounge/terminal…again…WOW! They have a seperate terminal for their business/first class passengers and it’s literally like walking into a Ritz Carlton.

Here are all the amenities they offered in combination with amazing service and eye-candy

1. A video game room with PS3, PS2, foozball table - tons of fun to pass time.
2. A nursery - great for you parents with little ones.
3. A full “business center” - free internet, computers and even conference rooms at no charge.
4. A beautiful and comfortable lounge - free buffet, multiple free open bars, server service, smoking room - everything you really want.
5. Prayer rooms - in case you sinned on the flight, you can ask for forgiveness here

Tie that all together with the fact that you never have to wait in line and are always greeted my people in red suits who are just itching to assist you.

The second leg of the flight was just as comfortable and even had great food (indian food this time).

If you decide to use Qatar Airways, you can actually also get miles on United, US Airways and a few others. However, after doing tons of research, they have the best integration and relationship with US Airways (which is where I am now accruing my miles). I’ll talk about the importance of points tomorrow (I’ve learned you should not ignore them)!

Bottomline, Qatar Airways goes to many international destinations and is absolutely the best airline I have see thus far. Close your eyes and book them.

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Tags: flying, qatar airways, travel, traveling

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 10:45 am and is filed under CEO Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.