Review: Qatar Airways First and Business Class Immigration Facility and Arrivals Lounge at Doha

As I had almost twenty hours between my Qatar Airways flights from New York and to Hanoi, I entered the country so that I could – among other things – experience and write about Qatar Airways arrival facilities at its home airport.

I also tried PlusQatar – Qatar’s free stopover hotel program, but I will write about that in a separate article.

Qatar Airways Dedicated First and Business Class Immigration Facilities

Since I was flying in business class, rather than having to wait in the fairly long regular immigration queue, I could proceed to Qatar Airways’ dedicated premium class immigration facilities.

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While the airline offers a proper arrival lounge after immigrations and customs, besides the priority immigration “lanes,” there was also a “mini-lounge” before the immigration counters.

The facility featured a lot of sofa chairs and was deserted during my visit. That was no surprise given that most of the passengers just head through the immigration and get on their way or into the real arrival lounge.

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In spite of that, there was even a small buffet with some cold cuts, fruits, yogurts, and cereals. As well as cold soft drinks, coffee and tea.

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I didn’t stay in the pre-immigration mini-lounge long, however, and after “not waiting in the immigration line,” I entered Qatar and headed to the actual arrivals lounge.

Qatar Airways Arrivals Lounge Overview

The Qatar Airways Arrivals Lounge was located to the left of the baggage claim area’s exit. And, it had a reception on the same floor while the actual lounge was one floor above.

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After exiting the elevator and going to the right, there was a luggage room, a concierge desk, and a TV room that only seemed to air flight information.

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Then, along one of the walls, there was a set of semi-private rooms each with a lounging chair and a TV. One of them was occupied and even had an ironing board and an iron in it. And, one of them was “a double” with two chairs instead of one.

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Going back to the elevator exit and turning to the left, there was the lounge’s main seating area. Besides featuring leather chairs arranged around coffee tables, there were also blue chairs equipped with tablets, just like the ones in the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge.

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Further down the seating area, there was a smoking room and a separate dining area with a buffet counter.

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Finally, turning to the right at the end of that area led to the lounge’s business center.

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Besides being equipped with some general seating and a counter with iMacs, there were semi-private working rooms with (and one without) iMacs.

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And, there were also two private conference rooms – one small and one large.

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Qatar Airways Arrivals Lounge Food and Drinks Selection

The buffet in the arrivals lounge contained the exact same items as the one in the immigration facility described earlier.

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What made the arrival lounge different, though, was that there were also made-to-order omelettes. And, I was also offered a drink right after sitting down rather than having to make a tea myself.

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Qatar Airways Doha Business Class Arrival Experience Summary

Arriving at Doha airport if you are a business (or first) class passenger is as smooth as it gets.

Rather than having to wait in line, you can use a dedicated immigration facility. Not only was it deserted during my visit, but even if there is a bit of wait (which I don’t think there ever is), it offers plenty of seating – and even some refreshments.

What is more, the actual arrivals lounge offers plenty of space and comfortable seating, and is staffed with friendly attendants.

Besides being offered tea or coffee right after sitting down, I also received a lot of assistance when I needed to print boarding pass for one of my upcoming flights and the printer in the lounge didn’t work.

So through this post, I’d also like to thank the lounge’s staff for helping me out!

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