Qatar Airways

Overall our experience was decent however there were a few things that put a damper on experience. From Athens to Doha my husbands screen didn't work and only towards the end of flight did the air hostess offer for him to change seats. She kept on forgetting to help and by then he had cut losses and tried to sleep. We also had a 10 hour stopover. All my family who have had long stopovers had been given complimentary hotel rooms. For this reason we decided to book on Qatar. As the time got closer I mailed to ask about this, the staff replies were short, rude and unhelpful. The told me all the places we could pay to stay at, which we had not budgeted for. So we had a horrid stopover at airport. Second time using Qatar and this will be my last. With that said their South African office was friendly and nice.

Flew 5 June and back from CPH on 13 June routing HAN-BKK-DOH-CPH-DOH-BKK. HAN-BKK in B777-200. BKK-DOH in A380. DOH-CPH in B787. Excellent experience throughout. All flights on time. Staff alert, attentive and productive. Service and drinks world top class. Food amount and quality is significantly slipping but still acceptable. Because QR has recently done a lot of promotional sales, business class cabins are now full or almost full. However, service was still exhibited well and focused. I rate the B777-200 business class seat and cabin comfort high. However, the best seat and cabin among the 3 aircrafts tried was the A380: almost noiseless and with the luxury bar on the upper deck. FA tend not to chat with each other and keep themselves busy making a true effort comforting the pax – they are friendly and talk positively with most passengers. That’s the way! Of all sectors above only the DOH-CPH was in economy, of course a different ballgame with a slimmer hardware and software - but altogether the rating became equally high. Worst on the 787 is the extreme compacted seating which must be among the heaviest packed economy in the world – not much dreaming on that part of the Dreamliner, now I understand the nickname “Nightmare-liner”: If the person in front of you reclines you are forced to do the same unless you close your tray-table! In contrast, the following sector back from CPH-DOH was in the Dreamliner aircraft’s business class which offered a superb odysse, but still a bit below that of QR’s A380. Business class full but staff managed very well, high degree of attention and service. Al Mourjan lounge in DOH clearly 5 star, though too big to my taste. Lots of food in either buffets, a la carte. The bar on 1st floor offered 3 different, prestigious champagnes (I just checked and saw the bottles). From DOH-BKK in A380: faultless, quiet, lots of service and talkative FA’s. I could have all 3 options of hot meals, but limited myself to vegetarian and chicken. Quality of food deteriorates a bit. Slept well. Ground-staff assisted me catching my next flight on a difficult time-constrained connection by a Low Cost Carrier, though actually not QR’s problem. Thanks, QR!

MEL-DOH-BAH. The journey back to Bahrain from Melbourne was an awful experience. Flight QR905, June 6th was delayed 45 mins. Ground staff at the gate were not sure what was going on and it seemed organized chaos as a lot of passengers were complaining quite profusely. There was no specific lane for business class passengers to board, something that was quite obvious on my trip through Hamad Airport going to Melbourne on QA904 on the 21st May. Problems start on QA905, once in the air on a 14 hr flight you want to relax and have creature comforts. It involves the inflight entertainment system. I started watching a movie once we had taken off after the 45min delay. A passengers IFE was not working so the chief steward was trying to help fix it but sadly he did not inform others that he was going to shut down the IFE for a reboot. My screen suddenly went off as it did for a number of other passengers. This rebooting was tried 3 times then the chief steward just said we can’t fix the problem. This is unacceptable in my book, no portable DVD players were available like you have on Gulf Air, Singapore Airlines and Silk Air as a back up. The system is very fragile indeed and many headphones were not working or only working in one ear. I had to change out 2 headphones to get to hear proper sounds. The next flight 7th June, Doha - Bahrain on QR1121 was just as bad. 55 minutes delay and gate C-28 was just utter chaos. Appalling organization by Qatar ground staff at this gate who again were not that customer friendly. The special lane for business class passengers was not even open and we were lumped in with everyone else. The next time I travel to Melbourne I shall not be using Qatar.

Flew ZRH-CGK via DOH return onboard B787 and B77W. 3 out of 4 flights arriving/departing DOH were using busses instead of Aerobridge. Not so good for the huge new Hamad International Airport. Meals were all delicious but could be improved in term of quantity. Entertainment onboard were nice, responsive and easy to navigate (It surely great for Indian pax, as it has a lot of Indian contents!). Inflight connectivity works. Cabin service were superb. Crew were genuinly friendly and efficient on all 4 flights! For the price I paid, I will definetly choose Qatar Airways again in the future.

The first time I flew with Qatar Airways. The aircraft was new, with a great entertainment system, big screen in each seat, many options of movies, series, tv shows, musics, etc. The seat had a good pitch and it was comfortable to sleep. The service aboard was relaxed and very good. Some attendants were serious and unfriendly and we had many interruptions with cabin calls and advertising, it stopped the movie I was watching many times. I will fly with Qatar Airways more times for certain.

On 3 out of 4 occasions bussed to plane at Doha rather than using airbridge. This is difficult to comprehend at the huge new Hamad airport. Delayed departure from Abu Dhabi meant late arrival and fear of missing connection. Had to run miles with inaccurate information on airport departure boards indicating flight was boarding when in fact it was delayed. Seat pitch seemed tight. No hot towels or menu cards, although the menu was shown onscreen through the inflight entertainment system. Meal was tasty enough but small portion sizes. Good selection of drinks, with free champagne (in economy).

I am not normally a Business Class traveller but I got an amazing deal on Qatar Airways. So of course, I am ready and willing to be impressed. However, this was the most comfortable flight I have had. Attentive service from the flight attendants and a very comfortable and easy to operate seat. The B787 is in a class of its own.

We had a 1 hour 30 minute transit and prior to this flight I was worried about missing the connecting flight or that our luggage would be left behind because of the short transit, but everything went well. Our flight Zagreb left on time, arrived Doha early and we left to Dubai just on time too! On our flight to Dubai the boarding was quick and easy. Flight was comfortable and food on board was yummy. The only downside to this was that, for our flight from Doha to Dubai, we weren't given any headsets for the inflight entertainment. I assume this could be due to the short flight duration.

IAD-DOH, QR708, business class seat 6A. Check-in chaotic after a big storm in Washington which flooded the airports internal train and tunnel system, so all passengers for all flights put on Dulles' dreaded 'people movers'. Flight had 60 wheelchair passengers comprised mostly of those who think they get through security faster if being pushed around. FAs call these ones the 'miracle passengers' who then gamely run off the plane on arrival to get through immigration and customs. Other airlines that have started charging for wheelchair use without a medical certificate find that requests for wheelchairs drops about 90 percent. Full business cabin. Service and catering excellent. Made up time en route for late departure and landed in DOH almost on schedule.

IAD-DOH-CMB-DOH-IAD, Business Class in B777-300ER. Check-in excellent at IAD, followed-by the use of the Virgin Clubhouse. Virgin reception staff rather uptight, but the dining area staff was outstanding. All four flight segments were not full, so I had an empty seat next to me at all times. This is a huge benefit, as although the seat has an outstanding pitch, is wide and very comfortable, it dates back to business class seating of a decade ago, with zero privacy between seats if you are travelling alone. A small bottle of water and a nice Georgio Amani amenity kit was awaiting my arrival, with a blanket, pillow and noise-cancelling headphones. Pyjamas and slippers were given out later on the segments to/from IAD. Staff service was very good on all segments and dine when you want service was good, though cutbacks are very evident in their menus. Of the four flight segments, QR 707 from DOH to IAD on 01 June had excellent crew serving the rear business class cabin where I was. Transit time was short at DOH, but the airport does not function logically, despite its showy architecture. Certainly no match for SIN and HKG. Check-in at CMB was efficient, and I used the UL Serendib Lounge due to my OW Emerald Tier status. Mid-week QR fare was very competitive, and provided very good value for money. Baggage delivery at IAD was much delayed, though probably not QR's fault. Will definitely use them again, especially as they are a OW member airline.