Qatar Airways – my review of its Boeing 777 business class (Part 2)

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• Scott says:

  19 Oct19 October 07:00

  I flew with Qatar to Beijing in September & was very impressed, although I would agree with your point that the selection of recent films could be better.

  Some of the flight times aren’t great, however one option is stay overnight at the hotel in the Hamad terminal which is very conveniently located – since it is past security you can just go straight to the gate from your room shortly before departure.

  Given that they seem to be very competitive on price as well (a business seat was almost half the price of BA for the flights I took), I’ll definitely consider them for the future.

• Lux says:

  19 Oct19 October 07:16

  I think you’ve given a fair summary of the Qatar experience, Raffles. The inconsistency in seating reminds me of Emirates five years ago, although it’s good that they don’t have the miserable centre seat in business class. But for the price, they really are good value when transiting to more obscure parts of Asia. I’ve gone for the A380 out and back next month, looking forward to that.

  I’m surprised you weren’t offered pyjamas on a day flight, I always have (and the sizing is atrocious).

  As for the door, maybe there’s something in their operating procedures that also requires two crew to be present. At my usual Emirates destination they deplane a 777 through stairs at the front and back, so I’ll sit at the back and reassure the crew that I am heading in the right direction! Two of them have to be at the door to open it. So… there you go.

  [I remember being on an Iberia flight around fifteen years ago where there was no requirement to 'cross-check' and the emergency slide deployed when the door was opened. Onto the steps. Oops.]

  • A380flyer says:

    19 Oct19 October 13:51

    Door opening procedure: each crew member is allocated to a specific door, and only they can arm/disarm it. On landing each disarms their own door and need another crew member to cross check that the other’s door is indeed disarmed. However, a crew member can only open their door in the presence of a senior (includes captain). This procedure is a bit of a drag especially if the senior walks off as happened in this case, but it helps prevents slides being blown, injuring ground staff and causing $$$$$ worth of damage.

    Re: pyjamas on a day flight and poor toiletry kit offering: perhaps Qatar is cost-cutting??

• James67 says:

  19 Oct19 October 08:05

  Thanks for this Rob. As you know I was booked into F on QR2 a year out in the hope of flying a 380. With the repeated delays in delivery this looked unlikely to happen so I rebooked onto MH. With hindsight this would appear to be the right choice and I would ultimately have missed the A380 by two days unless it is delayed yet again.

  From your review I find nothing particularly appealing about Qatar Airways other than the lounge. I dislike 777s full stop, they are noisy and QRs business class layout does nothing for solo travellers. I accept you found food to be good but the menu was limited and uninspiring; was it M&S Dine In for 2? I would say A330s and A340s are an advantage for economy travellers as the layout is better and cabin ambiance much nicer. I believe A330 business class is being retrofitted but not sure with what. I think it was very bad form for Qatar to operate one LHR rotation with a 380 and one with a 340, the only other with F. They should have waited until thry had both A380s to begin, or the A340s or a 777 should have been upgraded with similar products. Another downside of Qatar and other Gulf carriers, especially from the regions, is that middle of the night or very early morning transits are almost inevitable. I don’t line this myself and cannot imagine the stress it places on families with young children in economy class.

  Before changing my flight I called Qatar to inform them I was a disabled passenger and would require assistance with my transit in Doha. I was unimpressex to be told that this was a chargeable service and I would need to contact another company myself to arrange it. Given this, ny disappointment over A380 and unsociable transit hours I am in no hurry to try Qatar in the future. They like to market themselves as a 5 star airline; as a conclusion to your series of reviews it would be interestung to hear whether you feel Qatar merits such lofty claims.

  • CV says:

    19 Oct19 October 09:48

    When i first saw the pics of the seat i thought it looked very similar to the business seat on MAS A380, perhaps designed off the same basic seat. Although the seat on MAS is (almost) fully flat.

    With Qatar flying out of Edi i was quite interested in using them, however the connection time in Doha can be either very short or very long.

    • James67 says:

      19 Oct19 October 10:10

      Yes, I heard a few people complain about rush for connection from EDI. QR were supposed to be going daily and rventually double daily from EDI but never heard anything more about that. Perhaps Etihads entry put a stop to that. I would be much more interested if they offered a night flight departing EDI at 10pm or later. Redemptions on QR to SE Asia in C are also pricey at 80k miles each way so given I’m finding it increasingly difficult to collect avios I prefer BA via LHR despite fees.

      • Rob says:

        19 Oct19 October 18:08

        Note that from much of Europe to Doha (Frankfurt, Zurich, Vienna etc) it is only 25,000 each-way in Business on Qatar compared to 40,000 Avios each-way from the UK.

        • James67 says:

          19 Oct19 October 18:53

          Yes, that’s true and useful for some routes. Unfortunately less helpful to se Asia where most destinations ow J fall into 40000 band so we are looking at 65k plus reward flight saver or position flight. Could be good if taking advantage of short break but less so if simply going A-B.

  • squills says:

    19 Oct19 October 10:10

    QR charging passengers for disability transit assistance in Doha is not exactly friendly or ‘fair’ (in an equal opportunities way).

    In other international airports, I assume it is the airline concerned that pays the service provider for transit assistance, is this right? Do any other airlines charge for this? Is the fee nominal or significant?

    • James67 says:

      19 Oct19 October 10:19

      I don’t know what the fee was as it was final straw for me. I declined and changed to M H. To be fair I am not sure if it applies to all disability assistance or if it was because I declined wheelchair assistance and only asked for somebody to walk with me. I am visually impaired and generally manage fine myself but first time in an airport or with tight connection I usually seek assistance. Whatever the detail of their policy I was asked to pay for the assistance myself and arrange it with a separate company myself. I have been flying over 30 years and I think over 20 fifferent airlines; it has never happened before. Only thing sumilar I seem to recall was maybe Ryanair charging for wheelchairs or something likr that in the past.

    • TimS says:

      19 Oct19 October 17:22

      What normally happens us that airports charge a small PRM fee per pax (able-bodied and disabled) which is supposed to cover the cost of any mobility issues/requirements.

      Therefore hypothetically a 777 full of young, fit athletes would be charged the same as a 777 full of coffin-dodgers on a one-way to Dignitas, even though their PRM needs would be wildly different.

      • squills says:

        19 Oct19 October 17:53

        Well – as we know QR is reading this – time you guys got into the 21st Century. The rest of us – ie the currently able-bodied – are perfectly prepared to pay a little bit more so that anybody with disability needs is taken care of at no personal cost.

        • James67 says:

          19 Oct19 October 19:02

          Thanks to you and Tim for comments. To be fair most airlines and airports are generally great most of the time in my experience and I have no reason to believe QR and Doha are any different. I believe they probably have their policies and procedures but I requested something that fell outside them.

        • TimS says:

          19 Oct19 October 20:19

          I guess how airlines choose to pass on the PRM fee that the airports charge them is their choice but most people wouldn’t notice extra YQ of £2-3 but those with restricted mobility would certainly notice it if airlines choose to pass it on only to those who require it.

          Incidentally, some airports (I know LGW is one) give discounts/rebates on the charges to airlines who notify them of requirements well in advance. Whether airlines build forecast rebates in to their pricing is another matter though…

• ankomonkey says:

  19 Oct19 October 21:10

  Importantly, I’d have gone with the Arabian mezze starter, the monkfish and the pannacotta…

  • sqills says:

    20 Oct20 October 17:55

    mezze, monkfish, fruit 😉

• HappyHolidays says:

  26 Oct26 October 15:20

  I have gone for a Qatar Business Class return Paris – Saigon over New Year at £1400 i think its a good value. Now just have to get to Heathrow on Boxing day for an early flight to Paris and pray for no snow!

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