Qatar Airways

Flew from LHR to DOH 23rd February for an onward connection to Phuket. The connection at Doha was very tight at 45 mins but I assumed that Qatar had it sorted for a quick transit. QR 002 arrived in Doha 10 minutes behind schedule so not an ideal start. It took ground staff almost 15 mins to get the first passengers off. Absolutely no help from ground personnel to fast track to connection. Despite dashing through security and arriving at the gate I was refused boarding and told that the plane had left. I know for a fact that this flight arrives in Phuket most days almost an hour ahead of schedule so why not wait for the dozen affected passengers. I booked my ticket direct with Qatar so would have expected them to assist me to make a tight connection that they sold me.

Manchester-Doha-Melbourne 20th Feb 2015. First leg to Doha on A330-200 not fully booked I had aisle seat plenty of room for my legs (I'm six foot). My entertainment system froze halfway through the film I was watching so I ended up watching the screen on the next (empty) seat. Shiny screens so your reflection dominates a lot of what you watch. Food reasonable service seemed a little slow but overall a good first leg of the trip. There's only a 45 minute layover in Doha but they are well geared up for this and no trouble with missing luggage despite the gates being at opposite ends of the airport. Second leg to Melbourne on a 777-300ER almost full seats nowhere near as comfortable far less leg room. Better entertainment system than the Airbus matt screen so no reflection problems. Food probably slightly better but again seems to be a slow process. Overall however I arrived in Melbourne feeling fit and refreshed and would definitely take the same route again. Here's hoping for Airbus on the return journey.

LHR-DOH return QR016/015 on the all Business class A319 paid for with QMiles. Excellent food and drink provided by good crews. Seats comfortable but a bit tight for anyone in the window seats due to the 2-2 configuration. IFE extensive but control via the i-phone style handset a bit temperamental. As a flight that was basically a 'freebie' helped by passenger loads under 50% this was very enjoyable. However if the flights had been full I suspect I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

Flew QR on 3 Feb to Cape Town. The Dreamliner was most disappointing. Noisy Cabin. Narrow seats no leg room. And if you are above 5'10 you will struggle to squeeze in. Food portions were very small plastic fork and spoons mediocre and slow service. On a 8+ hour flight only served drinks once. Flights on all sectors were on time. Ran out of non-veg food on two sectors. Crew seemed amateur and clumsy. Except on the Jo'burg-Doha sector which was a daytime flight where the crew were cheerful and friendly they were grumpy on all other sectors. In between meals snacks were just a small packet of chips or chocolate. Snack with drinks only given on the Jo'burg-Doha sector were tasteless small bread sticks with a horrible salsa. Nuts would have been a 100 times better. Old hindi movies and very limited choice on TV channels. Never again on QR.

Abu Dhabi - Doha - Athens. All flights on time. Food was good. Stuff great as always. The new Al Hammad airport is fantastic. Very functional luxurious and far less overcrowded than DXB or ABU. It really adds to Qatar great service.

QR1360 JNB-DOH. Seat 4A. After an on-time departure from JNB the bell went off to signal to the cabin crew that they could leave their jump seats to start their work in the cabin. Several passengers in the business class cabin took this as an indication that they could leave their seats even though the seat belt sign was still illuminated. A woman in the row ahead of me got up to use the lavatory. I told her that the seat belt sign was still on so she returned to her seat. Another passenger from row 1 started making his way down the aisle to the lavatory so the woman in front of me said “why don't you tell him”. So I also told him that the seat belt sign was still on and he returned to his seat. When the sign was eventually turned off about ten minutes later the woman in front of me while going to the lavatory stopped at my seat and said “do I have your permission to go to the washroom?” Honestly the crew should be paying more attention not leaving it to passengers to tell other passengers when it is safe to move around the cabin. A tense atmosphere on board could and should have been avoided by the crew doing their job which lets not forget is first and foremost about safety not service.

Just returned to Edinburgh today on QR027 from Doha on Dreamliner. As this is a day flight leaving at 7.30am which is why we booked it does anyone know why every single window blind was put in to blackout mode after breakfast was served (not done by the passengers) and the cabin lights dimmed? Stayed this way throughout flight couldn't even see what the FA was serving us unless you put reading light on. If I wanted the ambience of a night flight I would have booked one! Just wondered if it is Qatar Airways policy to do this even on daytime flights. We were in economy 12 E & F. More legroom on short haul 737s very cramped very disappointed passenger!

I flew London-Doha-Kathmandu on 3rd February also in Economy class. The first flight was a Boeing 777 and the second an Airbus A-320. The first flight was one of the best I have had after a bad start. An angry inconsiderate passenger in front of me refused to put up his seat while lunch was served and was incredibly rude to me and the cabin attendant. The cabin attendant suggested I move to an empty emergency door seat which I did and had lots of legroom. The plane was immaculate as was the service. The second flight to Kathmandu was also excellent in every way. Both flights were on time and all flight attendants that I could see were extremely professional helpful and friendly. I highly recommend this airline to all. I am now looking forward to flying on the Airbus A-350.

CBR (QF to PER) to MAD Via PER and DOH. This is the second time I have flown Qatar and again was very pleased with the result. All check in staff courteous and helpful. Cabin staff very helpful. Food was simple but very good. Seat was particularly wide for Economy 18.9 inches I think and legroom and recline good. I never sleep well but the cabin and seating gave me the best chance it could in a fairly crowded economy class. Excellent value for money if you can get one of their promotional fares but good anyway.

EDI-DOH (13/2/15) DOH-EDI (18/2/15) on B787 Dreamliner - 7 hour sector. Great to have this direct route and seems very popular especially for connections. Second time I have used this service third trip with Qatar. 787 economy seats uncomfortable the 3-3-3 configuration a strange choice. A330 service I flew on in June 2014 DOH-HKG seats were much more comfortable and 2-4-2 better. Metal box on floor on 787 restricts leg room. Leg room tight and unbearable when passenger in front reclines their seat (better leg room on Easyjet a low frills airline). Emirates 777 seats better from GLA-DXB. Cabin service and crew were good on this trip.