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Very quick trip report but flew BKK-DOH-BHX on a redemption with the first sector in First class.
QR lounge at BKK was utterly amazing. Couldn’t fault it, a la carte menu here if you want https://www.qatarairways.com/content/dam/hia/pdf/qr-bangkok-lounge-en.pdf but I made do with some smoked salmon and a glass of Gossart.
Then it starts to go downhill. The schlep to the midfield terminal is a full 15 mins from the lounge. Boarding was chaotic with a free for all and no management of a premium line despite an abundance of ground staff hanging around. Shown to my seat then waited 15 mins for the crew to come and say hello/offer me a drink (I was on the verge of getting up to have a word as I could see other pax being served on the other side of the cabin).
Cabin had been showing 2/8 that morning but when out 8/8 as they were oversold in J. Problem was, the crew had been rostered on the basis of a 2/8 so I has a young lady who it transpired had never worked in F before. She forgot my requests for a glass of water and a refill on the wine, too. Only time I was addressed by name was when the IFL (or whatever QR call them) came to check in at the end of the flight. When asked, I detailed some of the “service issues” and that’s when he explained about the rostering. Hmmm…
The food was absolutely phenomenal – too much of it – and the free wifi voucher worked on both sectors (200MB was fine for my phone). But the service was worse than I had ever experienced in QR J and the A380 F seat isn’t in my opinion as comfy as the BA one. Ultimately the upgrade cost me nothing but it’s hardly a good advert for the airline.
Were you booked in J and got upgraded to F because of oversold J? You say the upgrade cost you nothing but it reads before this like you booked F to start with?
I was ticketed in F.
Redemptions on this route were pricing at 75k whether you were in F or J for the Bangkok-Doha leg (think they still might be).
Tony, was this the overnight a380?
if so, when I flew it I found the food to be poor. The menu was surprisingly limited IMO, and the food on the daytime 787 flight (business class) into BHX was better.
However, I found the seat very comfortable, spacious (we did the buddy dining thing) and was able to sleep in it easily.I agree about the BKK lounge – we found the overall experience actually a bit better than the Al Safwa lounge.
Also agree about the long journey to the gate. I wonder if they should provide a golf cart to shuttle lounge customers to the plane?This was the 8pm A380 departure from Bangkok. The food onboard was incredible – too much of it would be my only criticism. The caviar presentation was superb, then I had smoked duck before the sea bass which was a chunk bigger than my fist and as succulent as you could expect from the best restaurant on the ground. I had to take a break before tackling the cheese plate and was still so stuffed at Doha my plan of giving the always-looking-underworked sushi chefs something to do in the Al Safwa lounge came to nothing.
I suspect the journey to the S gates is better if you don’t go via the lounge as I’m thinking you’re through immigration then straight down the escalator to the tram? So once QR get the new lounge open it will be better but i didn’t see any sign of that, just the EK one under construction. Also getting up to that mezzanine level in the S gates seems like a pain (I went into one of the PP lounges as I had to make a call).
The QR lounge at BKK did get busy by the time I left (about 630pm) but I guess they had the 9pm flight pax going in there by then, too.
Still stuffed, I collapsed into my seat on the flight to BHX and slept for a good 4.5hrs then had a lovely breakfast as the sun rose (then set again – we out-ran it) over Northern Europe.
Took this in reverse (DOH-BKK) in F a few weeks ago on the leased Cathay aircraft – one of the 777ERs. Have to say, I preferred that seat over their own Q suites. Less privacy, but a lot more spacious. The attendants were super friendly and really attentive, addressing everyone by title and first name. The food was also marginally better than I had in business.
The experience boarding from the Al Safwa lounge via the luxurious first class bus that travels all the way to the other side of Hamad Airport was a memorable experience. Ended up with the bus to myself and was welcomed onto the plane by all of the business and first crew as I was climbing the stairs.
The experience boarding from the Al Safwa lounge via the luxurious first class bus that travels all the way to the other side of Hamad Airport was a memorable experience.
I had the a380 from DOH to BKK too.
We had an airbridge (or 3). Is that why I never saw a 1st class bus?
Getting slight FOMO here.The first class bus is fun. It goes from dedicated gates next to the sushi bar so you can sit with a glass of something until the last minute.
Had it to get to the plane for a short hop to AUH but the ride can be quite long. And in the dark there’s not a whole lot to see, either. But as I understand they only use it if the plane is at a remote gate to start with.
Is there a separate F lounge at BKK, or the same one as J?
Same lounge.
I went up to the information desk in Al Safwa and asked how long the walk was to whichever gate it was for the BKK flight, thinking I’d need to walk there myself. The 2 people on the desk looked at me in absolute confusion, told me to take a seat near the sushi restaurant for a few minutes, and the a man was called to escort me 20 steps to the lift down to the first bus. He even pressed the lift button for me!
I went up to the information desk in Al Safwa and asked how long the walk was to whichever gate it was for the BKK flight, thinking I’d need to walk there myself. The 2 people on the desk looked at me in absolute confusion, told me to take a seat near the sushi restaurant for a few minutes, and the a man was called to escort me 20 steps to the lift down to the first bus. He even pressed the lift button for me!
Was that because it was a bus gate anyway, rather than them running you over there in a bus? Just realised although I’ve been in that lounge a few times, only once have I been flying out in F. Other times it has been by virtue of flying in in F…
I went up to the information desk in Al Safwa and asked how long the walk was to whichever gate it was for the BKK flight, thinking I’d need to walk there myself. The 2 people on the desk looked at me in absolute confusion, told me to take a seat near the sushi restaurant for a few minutes, and the a man was called to escort me 20 steps to the lift down to the first bus. He even pressed the lift button for me!
Were you in F?
I was flying in F. Never thought of people arriving in F and flying elsewhere in a different class. So that probably explains it.
But was it a bus gate anyway? I’ve hardly ever seen those gates next to the sushi lounge used.
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