Qatar Airways to France: Introduction


Like you’d all know, I was headed to Toulouse earlier this year to bring home the first Qatar Airways A350-1000 home. It was not my first trip to the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse since I had been over to Toulouse earlier to meet the first Air Vistara A320neo. At that point of time, there was no option to join the delivery flight, so I flew commercial both ends. This time, however, I decided to fly Qatar Airways to be able to get a sampler of their various products even before I could set my foot on the new Airbus A350-1000 they were going to take delivery of.

I did not have too much time on my agenda, as I had already planned other things, such as having my folks visit me in Mumbai, so I was doing this trip on the shortest schedule possible, to minimise the time on the ground. Otherwise, you’d have seen more of Qatar, Paris and Toulouse in this trip report. But you’ll see a lot of planes for sure. This is how the trip was eventually booked up:

  • Mumbai to Doha: Qatar Airways Boeing 77W fitted with the QSuites
  • Doha to Paris CDG: Qatar Airways Airbus A380 equipped with the reverse herringbone Business Class
  • Paris CDG to Toulouse: Air France A321 Economy Class
  • Toulouse to Doha: Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000 Delivery Flight fitted with the QSuites
  • Doha to Mumbai: Qatar Airways Boeing 77W equipped with the QSuites

Once I arrived in Toulouse, Airbus took over, picking me up from the Airport and taking me to the host hotel for the event. Everyone was split up amongst a Radisson and a Holiday Inn hotel, and for whatever reason, I was at the Radisson. I spent two nights at the Radisson.

This is how the trip looked eventually.

Qatar Airways A350-1000 Delivery

On the whole, that was a lot of flying for leaving home on a Monday early morning and getting back on Thursday early morning in Mumbai, roughly 72 hours away from home, but every bit enjoyable since there were so many new products and experiences to try out.

Stay tuned as we post this trip report for you.

About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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