Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways from London Heathrow to Hong Kong via Doha. It was supposed to be an A380 but the plane was changed. Bizarrely, even though we had booked 9 months previous, my wife and I were allocated seats away from each other. Fortunately we were able to change to adjoining seats. It's not the first time this has happened to us with Qatar. Onboard everything was great as usual, and it was now a Boeing 777, which I think still sets the standard, even though the entertainment system is a bit cluncky. The second leg was an A330 which was either new or had been re-fitted with the new seats and was fine.

Alexandria to Kuwait via Doha. My flight from Alexandria wasn't very enjoyable. We did not have personal IFE, but the food was excellent. The seats were average A320 seats. On arrival to Doha we were brought to the terminal with buses - if you travel in the morning and noon, the airport is really empty at these hours. We arrived in Doha around 5pm. Hamad International Airport in Doha is huge, but its extremely easy to navigate through. We had a 3 hour layover but had to time to eat and buy some souvenirs. Our flight to Kuwait was short, but the Boeing 787 seats are crammed, and I did not like the food. It was a kind of pastry with either chicken or lamb and my pastry wasn't baked properly. On flights under than 1 hour earphones won't be given out. The cabin was clean, but the 3x3x3 configuration wasn't what I was hoping for. On my flight back to Doha, the same pastry was offered and I declined. I don't like the dimmable window shade that Boeing 787 aircraft have - extremely annoying to people trying to sleep at day-time. The flight attendants were grumpy on Kuwait flights. Our layover in Doha wasn't as long as on our inbound trip, but we still had time to grab a burger before proceeding to our gate. The airport was empty (it was noon) but be aware that you have to walk a lot (our gate was C13). On the flight back to Alexandria I had lamb and maybe the chicken option would have been better. On both my flights from and to Alexandria the food included fried vegetables, chicken/lamb, a small salad, and a piece of cake. In March I'm flying with Qatar Airways from Cairo to Oman, and I'm looking forward to their 777 cabin layout. I do suggest that people fly on Qatar Airways, it is much more enjoyable than Turkish Airlines for example.

Hong Kong to Copenhagen via Doha return, Xmas and New Year 2015. The product was stable and predictable and almost fully punctual arrivals. Economy class has poorer food and drink choices. No menu provided, 2-3 options of hot meals offered despite small portions. Service onboard was top notch. three of the four flights were full but the cabin staff managed servicing passengers satisfactorily. Transfer in Doha was slightly better (airbridges 3 times out of 4). Recognised as elite FFP flyer and offered a free upgrade between CPH and DOH due to overbooking in economy. However, I was told that I could not use the upgrade offer as I was travelling with a child on a separate booking. Child meals and toys for kids provided to perfection. Seating arranged well and proactively well adjusted as needed by staff due to full flights. The lounges for Oneworld Elite customers in Doha are substandard . Codeshare and cooperation with the Oneworld partners Cathay Airways and Dragonair faultless in terms of booking, miles crediting, luggage transfers.

Singapore to London via Doha was fine except my in-flight entertainment screen seemed to have a mind of its own. The shows that I were watching kept skipping back and forth and stopped as it pleased on its own accord when I was not even touching the screen or the remote control which was annoying. The meals were okay, some of the side dishes had tastes I was not accustomed to. On my trip home from London to Singapore via Doha, the plane from London arrived at Doha late by about half an hour. Because the transit time was only 45 minutes, we missed the connecting flight back to Singapore and the way they handled this could have been improved. Before we started running to the connecting gate, someone could have informed us that there was no point doing so and bring us to the customer service for alternative flights. When a large group of us approached the customer service, some staff seemed flustered and annoyed instead of calming down the passengers politely. When we asked for an alternative flight, they gave us one which leaves Doha 12 hours later. They should not sell connecting flights with such short times.

London Heathrow to Ho Chi Minh via Doha. We were late departing London Heathrow (Heathrow Airport fault not Qatar Airways) meaning we missed our connecting flight from Doha to Vietnam. Upon arrival at Doha there was a lady there with our names on a board with new flights to Bangkok which left in 30 mins. She escorted us all the way to the plane. Arrival at Bangkok another Qatar Airways employee was waiting to escort us to the Thai Airways flight they'd booked for us. Arrived in Vietnam about an hour later than original planned. 10/10 customer service. Our bags even made the journey.

On December 23, we went on a business trip from Amman to Doha, it was my first time onboard Qatar Airways. In general I was pleased with the flight I got on, the crew were excellent and happy all the time, the seats were comfortable, and the IFE system was good. So all in all, the flight was great. The food could be better for a 5 star airline.

Abu Dhabi to Perth via Doha return. Uncharacteristically chaotic check-in at Abu Dhabi apparently due to an IT glitch. An issue beyond Qatar's control, however there were no airline agents on hand to provide guidance / control the rapidly-growing queue of irate passengers. All flights were on time, the planes spotlessly clean, IFE was fully functioning throughout. I was personally greeted as a frequent flier on each leg, and for the vast majority who use economy, Qatar Airways Boeing 777 remains the best in class for long haul comfort. Alas, hot towels are long gone; boiled sweets prior to take off disappeared, and compared to my previous flight in July, chocolate bars are not distributed during the night, metal cutlery replaced by plastic. The flight from Doha to Abu Dhabi was covered by an A320 operated by Qatar's putative (defunct?) Saudi Arabian budget airline, Al Maha. The lack of facilities onboard was not a major issue for a 40 minute flight, though annoying if you'd paid for first class, but rather symptomatic of an airline that no longer seems to go the extra mile for quality.

Oslo to Dhaka with a 9 hour transit in Doha, and was told if the transit is longer than 8 hours, a hotel will be provided - but they did not provide this. The return flight from Dhaka was through Doha and London, with 3-4 hours transit. The food was excellent in all flights as it normally is on Qatar Airways. Seat was good and the entertainment system was also nice, especially the touchscreen in the A380 is superb. Turkish Airlines is cheaper and I may therefore prefer them next time.

Economy class from Singapore to London via Doha. The food was dull, and A350 from Singapore is not impressive, there was a leak from the WC in one of the toilet. The FAs were quite courteous, but were not much better than their competitors. One thing that is quite annoying is that they use a different lounge for One World premium members. They have their own lounge for business class passengers, but lounge in Doha airport that I used as BA gold member is pretty much useless. I would probably recommend Qatar Airways if you can get good price.

London to Singapore via Doha with Qatar Airways. All flights on time except SIN-DOH which arrived 20 mins late. Seating on A330 is 2x2x2 which is a problem, but 1x2x1 seating on the other aircraft means greater privacy. Seats are fine and comfortable enough to sleep. Food was good and available on demand, but on the flight from London the English breakfast had run out by the time my order was taken (row 4). If you choose to eat later in the the flight, there may be little chance of your first or second choices being available. Not a good point for business class. My bland meals to/from Singapore were ok, but the salads were poor and one of the soups was anything but bland it seemed to me. AVOD fine with the greatest choice available on the A350, including a tail mounted camera which gives an amazing perspective of flying at high altitude. All crew good, friendly, efficient and welcoming. Certainly the service is up there with some of the best but they should look at improving quantities of certain dishes which are bound to be popular on certain sectors.