ShazKhan flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A330-300 (281 seats) (22/03/2012 22:37)

Flying with Qatar from Geneva to Doha (Airbus 330-300) and then on a shiny new Boeing 777-300 from Doha to Bangkok, I can definitely conclude that Qatar Airways offer great value for money.

Though the hostesses were not the warmest, they were efficient and responsive, always with a smile and generally helpful.

The cabin experience was pleasant with the ambient coloured lighting and though there was more space for the legs on the A330 the B777 was generally more comfortable and fresher, however note that the window seats have significantly less leg room due to the entertainment system unit that sits under the seat. The entertainment system itself was one like I have never experienced. With a fantastic choice of films, tv shows and documentaries, I could start watching from the moment I sat down to the moment we landed, with no interruptions by cabin announcements.

The food was nothing exceptional, but then economy airline food rarely is. Generally, the pre- and inflight experience with Qatar Airways was very smooth and easy – they were even generous with my hand baggage allowance and made no comment when I embarked with four carry-on bags, though granted they were all quite small.

I brought a full-size pillow with me and had a window seat which allowed me to get comfortable enough to sleep for several hours of the journey.

I would definitely fly them again long-haul, but would definitely have to bring my pillow for additional comfort!

Home@FL350 flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A330-200 (260 seats) (14/03/2012 14:29)

ARN - DOH

Routinely flying Qatar Airways in Business Class, it is always a let-down to find oneself demoted, but alas this was the situation when recently treating the family to a holiday in Dubai - flown in Economy.

To my delight, I found my (admittedly low) expectations unfounded and in fact consider our experience on Qatar Airways a benchmark for other carriers to follow. We had ready, fresh comparisons to make as we have travelled long-haul on both American Airlines and British Airways (separate trips) over the past 3 months.

Boarding was efficient - families with children being allowed to board first.

To start with, our request for a bassinette (for our infant) was granted - giving us the best seats in Economy (lots of leg-room). After boarding, and before take-off, the crew stopped by on at least 4 occasions to ask if there was anything they could do to help us prepare for the flight. 2 children's bags were then given to us (one of which included a digital watch and the other a brand-named soft toy), shortly followed by sweets for our older child.

After take-off, one of the flight attendants again stopped by and said she'd like to take our older (3 years old) child's meal order first as they wanted to be sure that some of the options had not run out by the time they got to our row.

Immediately following, another flight attendant stopped by to give our younger child a fairly large bag of food - including 3 jars of Gerber/Nestle-type baby food, a banana and other suitable and appropriate food for a child of that age.

Having flown some 10 long-haul return flights (more than half of them in business class with BA and Lufthansa) with children over the past 3 years, this was an absolute first for an infant/lap-child to be given his/her own baby food.

Even though the flights both outbound and return were nearly (or completely) full, the cabin crew couldn't do enough to make sure our children were well looked after - even offering to hold our infant should we need to visit the lav.

The service support for our children aside - we found the quality of food for us adults to be very good too. 3 choices of mains with a good selection of 3 reds and 3 white wines (in individual bottles) too.

Coffees were served with a pre-packaged biscuit/chocolate that we purchase at our own local market for 1.5 GBP/2.5 USD each. A nice, if not somewhat luxurious, touch for economy. When the cabin crew were not serving meals or refilling drinks (beer or wine), they proactively walked through the cabin on at least 3 occasions to offer water or juice from a tray.

The entertainment system seemed to have the same type and selection of options that I am used to in QR's business class and the screen (at least at the bulkhead - bassinette row) was about the same size at BA's CW screen.

The flight arrived on-time.

Baggage was slow to arrive eventhough the bags were tagged "priority" due to my Gold status with Qatar Airways - but this is an airport issue, not under thedirect control of the airline I understand.

All in all, we experienced a very fine Economy class product with an efficient and enthusiastic crew.

And, a bag full of pre-packaged chocolate biscuits to enjoy - courtesy of the purser who handed them over as we departed the aircraft.....

LuganoPirate flew Qatar Airways Business, on a A330-200 (260 seats) (14/03/2012 11:28)

Continuing our journey to Milan from Johannesburg via Doha we boarded the A330-200 which looked like it had been constructed by Noah it was so old! We'd had our seats changed from 4 A, B to 14 A,B which is just in front of economy. As the Business Class was almost empty it wasn't a problem to change them to 11 A and B.

However these are the seats that do not go flat and so you sleep at an angle. To try and find a comfortable sitting position was also very difficult but I more or less managed in the end. However on the 330 the tables do not fit flush with the arm rest so it's quite uncomfortable unless you put a pillow there, which we did. If you are travelling alone this may be awkward if someone is sitting next to you. There is also nowhere to put your bits and pieces such as watch, glasses etc.

We had to wait almost an hour before take-off due to lots of airport traffic and thanks to a tailwind we only arrived 35 minutes late. The crew were very friendly if not quite as professional as Swiss, but did not mention you had to ask if you wanted something to eat as food is on request only, which I found rather strange! The choice was OK but could have been a bit more exciting.

However the Arabic Mezze I had were excellent. My son had the steak sandwich and he was very happy with it though found the addition of cheese a bit odd. My cheese was also very good as was the Port wine, one of the best I've ever had.

The F/A's seem to just disappear which meant having to use the call button every time you wanted a glass of water and to my annoyance and that of some other passengers, economy class pax kept wandering in and walking round. They also tried to use the toilets, and while some were turned away as they had to go into the galley area, many succeeded as the crew were all down the far front of the plane chatting.

All in all Qatar was fine and I would use them again if flying to the Far East from Europe, but I shall stick with Swiss where Swiss offer direct flights.

LuganoPirate flew Qatar Airways Business, on a B777-300ER (14/03/2012 11:01)

I flew JNB - DOH - MXP with my young son aged 8 after pressure from my wife to try Qatar, Swiss being my preffered choice.

Check-in at JNB was quick and smooth and we were quickly in the Shongolola lounge which is used by Qatar Business Class. This was very dissapointing as though there were many free tables, they were all littered with used cups, plates etc. We chose the "cleanest" with just two dirty glasses and for the whole 90 minutes we were there no-one came to clean up.

The food selection was also very poor consisting mainly of processed cheese, bread in front of a toaster and pre-prepared meals for reheating in a microwave. We took nothing except drinks.

We boarded quite quickly, but there was no seperation form C or Y pax, so we had a short wait for our boarding passes to be scanned. This done we went down the ramp and on board to our seats, 4J and K, where pyjama's, amenity kit etc were all waiting. Dinner orders were taken and shortly after our 2200 take-off the meal service began.

Being peckish but not wishing to eat so late at night I ordered the cream of mushroom soup which was disgusting. When asked if I enjoyed it, despite the bowl still being almost full, and giving my verdict, I was not offered anything else. I suppose I could have asked but I was too tired.

My son fell asleep very quickly as did I, after a frustrating and unsuccesful attempt to turn off the TV screen. About an hour later some ads started flashing and this woke me up. I called for the F/A and he also had no success so he covered it with a blanket. Not very technical but job done just the same!

Everyone elses seem to worked fine so it was my bad luck it happened to me, and Qatar's bad luck that the one screen that failed was mine and I'm probably the only passenger writing a report on it!

Landing was fine and we were 15 mins early. We de-planed onto a small bus reserved for Business Class. We then headed off for 5 mins to drop one person at Doha arrivals before turning back, driving past our plane back to the transit terminal. Of course we got stuck in all the airport traffic so only reached the terminal 20 mins later. I think they should have one bus for arrivals and one for transit.

At this point you go through security so at least that's over and done with, but there was by now a long queue with only one of three machines open. By the time we reached the x-ray machine the queue extended outside.

Once in the lounge we had to hunt for a free table, but at least everything was spotlessly clean with used dishes being taken away as soon as the table was vacated.

Breakfast was fine but the choices are poor. Just three cereals available and very little in the way of meats. It was a shame there were no Arabic dishes available but perhaps I just did not spot them.

Finally, my son and I wanted bacon! But there was only chicken bacon available. Ughhh! It's the rules apparently, no pork. I understand the point as it's a Muslim country, but then why serve alcohol? It's a bit hypocritical I think!

After just 40 minutes we headed back to the bus for boarding the next leg of our flight which went smoothly and I'll continue in the next report.

mgerard flew Qatar Airways Business, on a A340-600 (10/11/2011 02:55)

Qatar Business Class experience was very good.

The plane was in great shape. The cabin was immaculate and the flight attendants were professional, service oriented and well groomed.

The seat was not full flat but the seat was still very comfortable. Food was very good and the presentation was like a restaurant. Food was actually better than other business classes that I have flown. The personal screens were very large and the selection vast.

The only downside was boarding in Doha. The buses are not the best way to the plane and we sat on the tarmac for about 15 minutes while the crew readied the plane for boarding.

Qatar is really a first class experience no matter what class you fly.

jenchanted flew Qatar Airways Economy (16/10/2011 14:06)

I was on a 16 hour flight to Barcelona and was very uncomfortable because of the size of the seat. It was very hard to sleep and I had cramps on my legs. I'm a very petite person and quite slim and still I was having difficulty. Frankly, it seemed tighter than budget airlines I've been on before. But they did make up for it with the friendly and attentive service and the food is above average.

ODEWilliams flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A340-600 (01/08/2011 21:38)

I loved flying with Qatar Airways, The economy class service was really good, a lot better than some airlines business class service!

The entertainment was great. I flew from Heathrow to Doha, then from Doha to Nairobi, and for the first time, I stayed awake for the whole flight and wasn't bored for a minute!

The food was nice, however breakfast wasn't that great! the orange juice tasted cheap!

Overall definitely a 5* service and I would be honoured to fly with them again!

benjigco flew Qatar Airways Business, on a B777-300ER (24/07/2011 15:31)

On long haul flights, it's important that one feels the same pampering as he would in his own home or in whatever hotel he intends to stay. Which goes to the essence of choosing the right plane for your holiday. Qatar Airways is one airline that would be difficult to beat - not only in terms of service, but in the value for service as well. Among the airlines that flies to Europe, Qatar flying from Manila, Philippines has a great connection (flying out in the early morning and arriving to my destination around lunch time). While I hate the bus terminals at DOHA, I guess there's really no way out of this situation at the moment. Given that slight glitz in their airport, the DOHA airport terminal is outstanding in itself with the kind of service and features for the first and business class passengers. The shower at business class terminal had L'Occitane products and a great bath on the long haul gets one refreshed and ready for his final destination. The lie-flat bed seats on the 777-300ER was terrific as the extra space in between passengers provided great leverage. No matter where you sat (window or aisle), the extra spaces for various carry ons and the hidden beverage compartment on the seats featured functionality in the midst of style. Qatar deserves to be airline of the year on an overall scale. Here's traveling in style without compromising the cost of travel.

With the pros said, now the con. My connection from DOHA to Athens went smoothly. Upon arrival at Athens, my bag didn't come out. I asked the help of the ground personnel and they verified that there was no more bag left on the aircraft. It was weird because my partner's bag had come out first. And while my chauffer was waiting impatiently outside the terminal, the Qatar agents were frantically trying to get in touch with the DOHA agent to find out where my bags were. After almost 60 minutes of shuffling through the paperwork, they were informed that there is a bag tagged business class on the plane! Gosh! Now that's really sloppy work! But the people from Qatar were awfully nice that it was difficult to fault them. I told them to just talk to the baggage boys at the Athens terminal because this delay was unacceptable.

Charles-P flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A330-300 (305 seats) (30/06/2011 08:04)

My first flight with Qatar Airways and overall very positive. We left Doha very early for the six hour flight to Brussels, I had only 50 minutes to transfer between flights but the system worked well with short transfer passengers identified by special tickets. Boarding was quick with priority given to a couple of families that had very small children.

I shared the centre row of four with one other passenger so we each had an a spare seat next to us. Legroom was ok for economy although the seat back entertainment box does restrict foot room under the seat in front for every other seat.

The interactive film and TV system looked very good at first with a good choice of films and US/UK comedies regretfully the system failed after 15 minutes and despite attempts to reboot it the crew finaly gave up after an hour and said the system would not be working for the duration of the flight. (the moving map and games continued to work)
Food was blueberry muffin together with fruit, yoghurt and juice. All seemed fresh and tasted reasonable.

The staff were polite, helpfull and seemed to represent nearly every nation ! I saw them deal very well with a harrased young mother who was travelling with two children one of whom was six weeks old. They calmed her, helped with the children and checked on her during the flight to make her journey easier.
Arrival at Brussels was on time and we were quickly off loaded.

A good airline, Doha airport efficient despite being in the middle of redevelopment, good crew.

DazmanL flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A330-200 (260 seats) (02/05/2011 13:43)

Overall this airline whips British airways in all areas bar one.. online check in.

Online check in is terrible on this airline. I wad travelling with my wife and it pre allocated us seats apart. When o tried to change to two free seats together it gave an unspecified error and just checked us in on the original seats and the system doesn't have options to change your allocation afterwards.

It looks like the reason for failure was that the seats were already booked but they showed as free!

AlsoI checked in at 36 hours before the fkight departed yet nearly every seat was reserved leading me to think that this airline pre checks everyone in making online check in a bit worthless.

ijavdun flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A330-300 (238 seats) (20/03/2011 22:52)

LGW/DOHA DOHA/DXB Flight was ok,they say they are a 5* airline!!!!!!!! I have been on a lot better charter flts. Food is terrible!! I would perfer to pay more and go direct to DXB with EX flts.

frustratedflyer flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a B777-300ER (15/11/2010 08:58)

Flying from Doha in economy is not much fun. At 6.00 am it took almost 20 minutes to get in the car to the drop of point. The volume of traffic was just too much and people were parking in a very selfish manner stopping others from doing so. Inside the terminal was no better. 20 minutes to drop bags after online check in and then a massive 30 minute queue for security/immigration. Whilst in the queue I looked at my boarding pass and found that my boarding start time was after the scheduled flight time although the check-in agent did not mention it or apologise for the delay. Whilst on the plane the captain did apologise for the delay and explained that it was due to connecting passengers arriving late on other flights. Not a great reason if you are not in transit!!

Signage at Doha airport is poor but the airport is modern. I wished I was in business at the premium terminal. The flight eventually left almost two hours late. The seat at IFE are better than on the A340 but I was frustrated that my viewing was interupted by information on the system, then the menu and finally rules for customs on arrival played several times.

Service was quite good and the seat quite comfortable. Food was better than average and there were some nice touches like hot towels before food. I was also pleased that they restricted the alcohol to the passenger beside me who was knocking it back rather too frequently!

SBingham flew Qatar Airways First, on a A340-600 (05/04/2010 22:32)

Good solid service and product, I miss the on board bar which has finally been removed. Caviar is still served though the menu has changed and not as good as in the past but compared to BA its excellent. The premium terminal at Doha is very good and i always enjoy the fine dinning and spa facilities.

aflyingscotsman flew Qatar Airways (20/03/2010 19:51)

I flew business class, at great expense, from Colombo to Doha. My seat did not work. No power at all. The cabin crew fussed around me for 2 hours, asking me to stand up then sit down over and over while they tried to fix it. It still did not work. The flight was full so I could not be moved to another seat. I completed a complaints form on board, and a month later still no response. I was asked to talk to the ground crew about compensation but they fobbed me off. This is not a five star airline!

aflyingscotsman flew Qatar Airways Business, on a A330-200 (260 seats) (22/02/2010 15:04)

LGW - DOH. This was my first time with Qatar in their business class section. They do not have a dedicated lounge at LGW and instead I had to use the Servisair lounge, which was rather poor - crowded and poor quality refreshments.

Boarding was initially fast - business passengers invited to board before anyone else (there was no first class on this flight). The cabin crew were very welcoming and I was offered a choice of drinks immediately - which was useful as we had to then wait for the economy passengers to board, all of them walking through the business section. This was rather irritating.

The flight departed on time - the crew having already taken my post-takeoff drink and also my dinner orders.

The quality of the food was very good, with a reasonable choice of drinks. There was plenty of everything.

The seat was quite comfortable, but is not lie-flat so was not good for sleeping.

The cabin crew were very attentive throughout the flight and nothing seemed too much trouble.

The Oryx entertainment system functioned well and had a wide variety of television, film, sport and games. Limited compared to other airlines however.

On arrival at Doha we were loaded onto a separate bus (from the economy passengers) and taken to the premium terminal. We were subject to more security checks which caused some delay as there seemed to be another flight in front of us.

Once inside I was impressed by the standard of the waiting area. There are two restaurants (both self-service) and many staff there to take orders for drinks and nibbles in the main waiting area. There are a couple of smoking rooms. The bathroom facilities were excellent - I was able to take a shower and freshen up.

Departure onto the next leg of my journey (to Sri Lanka) involved the bus again and seemed slightly chaotic with several points of delay.

mkhoory flew Qatar Airways Business, on a A340-600 (15/05/2009 21:54)

I flew on Qatar Airways from Dubai bound to Bangkok via Doha. The A340-600 flew DOH-BKK-DOH route. The service was excellent and the staff were very friendly. However, there was a technical fault with my seat, it didn't recline, only after several attempts and when the aircraft came to land, they seat did not move to the up right position!! Unfortunately to me, there was a technical fault with my seat, AGAIN, on the return flight, I was very disappointed. The purser couldn’t offer me another seat as the flight was full. The leg room very tight, as if you’re placing your feet in another pair of shoes. As for the in-flight entertainment, Oryx Entertainment, there varieties of movies were not as much as ICE entertainment system on Emirates, and every time you start movie, it has to start with a 2 minute advertisement.

viking01 flew Qatar Airways Business, on a A340-600 (04/02/2009 10:32)

LHR - DOH. Only lie-flat rather than fully flat but fine for shorter flights when you can only get a few hours sleep anyway. Good choice of food and wine and great staff.

canoepunkie flew Qatar Airways Economy (short haul) (14/01/2009 10:35)

I've flown a lot on Qatar airways (I'm Gold in their 'privilege' club) and usually in economy.

Depending on the season, the planes can be full of holiday travellers and thus the flights are either very comfortable (when relatively empty) or a nightmare (screaming babies, inexperienced travellers getting drunk, shouting to each other, blocking the aisles etc). Cabin staff do their best but are often frazzled.

Problem is, Qatar economy is very inexpensive so, as business trips must be cost effective, I end up using them.

On short hops in the Gulf they often put on these 'Just for Laughs' type TV shows - but they insist on playing the soundtrack. I've given up complaining and now carry earplugs, and try to take other carriers.

AndrewPorter flew Qatar Airways Business, on a A330-300 (281 seats) (08/01/2009 11:07)

Great service from Qatar, the business class on my flight Manchester to Doha was small and intimate. The cabin was half full and I was on my own which allowed me to use both TV screens in the paired seats. I'm quite tall (1.95m) so the seat headrest wasn't high enough (they never are)and I didn't try to sleep. Food was not too fancy but only a snack really. Service excellent with all staff adressing me as 'Mr Andrew'. Surreal moment was being served 'English Afternoon Tea' high over Baghdad. The stopover terminal at Doha for business and first class is amazing service standards very high.

mohammad2 flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A340-600 (14/12/2008 17:04)

Good

AGilchrist flew Qatar Airways First, on a A340-600 (29/11/2008 12:48)

Extremely comfortable seats and plenty of room but good if you want to sleep, the screens feel a little small compared to some other first class products. The lounge area is fabulous for getting away from your seat and having a drink or reading.

romeopapa flew Qatar Airways Economy, on a A330-300 (305 seats) (06/10/2008 09:53)

One of the best airlines I have flown with. I fly economy, but the service is first class

flylite flew Qatar Airways Economy (26/09/2008 10:06)

I had a very short stop at Doha airport, connecting from Mumbai to Heathrow, and was worried I might miss my flight, but the transfer at Doha was quick and painless. Excellent. The flight was comfortable and the IFE was good, with my own screen, stop-start functions and even games. Good choice of films. Highly recommended.

flylite flew Qatar Airways Economy (short haul) (26/09/2008 10:00)

My flight from Mumbai to Doha didn't have a seatback screen, so this is wrong. There was only one film showing, which wasn't a great one! Service and decor was a little shabby, but on time. Food was ok, as far as plane food goes.