With oil prices rising daily, it makes sense that a Persian Gulf airline would be offering the swankiest in-flight service around, but it’s how Qatar Airways rose to the top of the first class that’s so striking…

The premium-class cabin on a Qatar A340-600 has the requisite 180-degree flatbeds, gourmet eats and in-seat audio and video on demand in both English and Arabic.

Just moments after you step onboard, though, it becomes clear that this carrier is one of the few to successfully slay the tedium of long-haul flights. Even the most jaded first-class travelers will find that their 13 hours spent en route from Newark to Doha just, well, flies by.

For starters, there’s the lounge equipped with a stand-up bar, six-person cream-colored banquettes, teak tables and electronically operated window shades — all bathed in ever-shifting circadian hues of mood lighting. And when you’ve sufficiently mellowed out, you can slip into your seat, separated from the other passengers by a generous 79 inches, raise your individual privacy panel and flip on your chair’s back-massage function.

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