Qatar Airways

Flew NRT-DOH-JNB return. The leg between Tokyo to Doha was on a 777. Quite comfortable. Service was excellent and the staff very attentive. The crew definitely put in the added little extra attention that makes the difference. Aircraft very clean etc. Trip from Doha to South Africa on the 787. While this aircraft is rather impressive I found the entire experience heavily marred by the presence of the entertainment box under the seat in front of you. This can really make it nigh on impossible to get into a comfortable position. I had read the reviews and didn't think it would be such a big deal. At the beginning it isn't but after some hours it starts to become a problem. On the way back I was actually relieved to get off the 787 and onto the 777 for the trip to Tokyo. Having said that the service on the 787 was of the same high standard that made up for the seat discomfort caused by the entertainment box. All in all the airline itself is excellent and the service quality very high. Qatar definitely deserve the 5 star rating that they have. Would definitely fly Qatar again definitely. But would try to avoid the 787.

LHR-DOH-PER-DOH-LHR. Flew the 4 sectors on 777-300 ER recently in Economy. They do a lot of things very well but Seating Inflight Entertainment and Beverages really harm their efforts. Seating is reasonable but what a nonsense on all 4 sectors the recline was! Goes back much too far clears any food and drink off of the table into the lap of the person behind I saw it happen twice and had a very narrow escape myself! When food and drink are not an issue the screen on a fully reclined seat is too much in your face. Drinks were infrequent and if you ordered a Spirit mixer eg. gin & tonic they mixed it for you (in varying strengths) rather than give you the standard small spirit bottle and separate mixer. Small point but again not 5 star standard. Inflight entertainment was good but not great. These are like for like comparisons if the price and schedules are better with Qatar then you may prefer to overlook these issues. Drinks and IFE are small irritations but compared to others they are falling short.

I flew London/Dubai and return via Doha in economy class. All 4 legs were on-time or even early! Apart from the Doha/Dubai leg the other flights were only half full so people could spread out and have the centre 4 seats to sleep. However I really would not say it is a five star service! The meals were OK nothing special and the portions not that large. The inflight entertainment was very good in my opinion. No amenity kits with socks or eyeshades for a 6 hr flight! On all 4 legs I found the crews very well groomed professional but not exactly warm and friendly.

Booked MAN-DOH-HKG return. DOH-HKG operated by CX so this review refers only to the MAN-DOH sectors. Outbound flight in a modernised A330 with a much smaller IFE box under the seat (makes a big difference to leg room) return flight in an older A330 with the much-larger IFE box and the older-style IFE interface. Leg room not an issue as both flights were half-empty so I had the whole row to myself. Seats on both sectors were very uncomfortable: I always found them comfortable before and the seats look quite new so I suspect that cheaper/uncomfortable seats are now being installed. Cost-cutting and deteriorating standards are now evident elsewhere: tray tables not properly cleaned less food than on previous flights (and worse quality) poorly maintained toilet facilities and very unhappy-looking FAs on both flights. Online booking page kept returning server errors - I tried to make changes to my schedule on several occasions back home as well as in Hong Kong with similar errors noted in both countries. I'm hoping that all this was just a one-off or perhaps QR's previously flawless service has led me to expect too much. But for the first time I didn't enjoy the flights that much at all. It won't stop me from booking with them again but if this situation continues I will definitely consider switching to another carrier for my flights to east Asia. However both flights were early and the fares were excellent value even after paying for a change of flights.

QR707 DOH-IAD. Got on board and after an hour informed that the overhead lights don't work and that the crew had informed ground personnel about the problem before push back but that nothing could be done. I would have appreciated being informed by the crew when they introduced themselves that there was a problem with the overhead lights particularly given that it is a daytime 14-hour flights when some passengers may wish to work. Service on board was good. Food was very good well presented and prepared and very tasty. Flight departed on time. Check in easy with lots of staff to greet and provide directions. Overall a good product at a competitive fare for business class from the US to the Gulf States.

PVG-DOH-PVG good to have a non-stop flight from Shanghai. Qatar is pleasant and reliable food was below average even for Economy cabin was about 80% full so was able to get an open seat next to me. Entertainment is average not as comprehensive or as up to date as Emirates. Staff were ok but somehow seem cool and disengaged or at least not as personable as on other carriers 777 aircraft was fine service was on time new Doha airport is very handsome and much improved with great lounge space accessible to frequent travelers even holding Economy seats. Not clear why Doha sometimes still uses bus connections to remote parking for arriving flights.

LHR-DOH-CGK CMB-DOH-LHR. 4 sectors on 777/A330/A320/A319 respectively. 777 was superb for comfort - crew overly attentive but not actually good at delivering anything that was asked for. A330 not as good as the 777 and feared the angled flat seat and then had the best night's sleep I've had on a plane! Best flight of the lot for service and food. A320 CMB-DOH with a regional business class seat for 5.5 hour flight worst flight of the 4 despite a lovely crew. Just not a suitable seat for that length of flight - the 2 other flights from CMB are A330 and 777 with a "proper" business class seat. I wouldn't do this flight again but it did work with the schedule I needed. Delayed and therefore missed my connection in DOH as India closed it's airspace due to a missile test. Not Qatar's fault and very well handled was re-booked before I checked in on to the later LHR flight. A319 all business class. Comfortable seat OK food not a great crew overly attentive again and far too many announcements. Felt claustrophobic in such a small plane for a 8 hour flight. Suggest QR get a widebody on that flight and make some more money with economy passengers and cargo - would be better for everyone! Overall not a bad experience a good price and I would fly QR if the price and schedule worked.

Flew PHL-DOH-CMB on Nov 30th and Dec 1st. First time on Qatar. The PHL-DOH flight QR-728 in a 777-300 with bad in-flight entertainment systems. My system (along with many around me) stopped working after about 4 hours into the 12 hr flight. Flight crew promised to "reset" my system after completing inflight meal service but never did anything or came back to inform me. After about 2 hours I again informed another flight attendant who "tried to reset" with no success. Towards the end of the flight a flight attendant came to me to apologize to say that they have a known technical problem with the system and their engineers will have to look at it in Qatar!

CGK-DOH-LHR first time flying with Qatar. Selected them solely based on good reviews and 5 star status and wanted to try their new A380 to LHR. CGK-DOH leg was in a B777-300ER quite a new plane great IFE with very big screen on time departure and early arrival in Doha very good inflight service as well. Our flight to LHR was delayed by 2 hours due to aircraft changes. It is no longer A380 but they changed it to an old A340-600 to make the matter worse despite checking in on time and getting our preferred seats (window and middle seat as we are a couple) due to the aircraft changes they put us in the middle seat of 4 between 2 other strangers. The seat layout is 2x4x2 why cant they just put us as a couple in the window/aisle seat? Aircraft is showing its age and entertainment is limited unlike the B777 service was so-so and meals are inedible. Very cramped seats and legroom is not that great compared to B777. They changed the gate twice during the delay and we had to walk from end to end at Hamad International Airport just to find out that our flight was delayed. Not a very good experience especially considering DOH-LHR is one of QR's flagship route.

Flew LHR-DOH-BKK return. Fantastic service very good seat comfort. IFE was very good with a very large selection of movies and TV shows. Meals and snacks were satisfactory and flight attendants were very helpful and attentive. Would recommend.