Qatar Airways

PER-DOH-CDG and return. Just did Perth to Doha in business on a 777 and then Doha to Paris economy on the 380 and return the same way. All trips on time. We had a look at business class on the 380 but prefer the layout on the 777. Economy upstairs on the 380 was fine for the shorter journey. What was excellent was the service. Consistently very high standard from FA's. As Qantas gold members we chose Qatar over Emirates because there was several thousand dollars difference in cost for our package and Qatar still gave us One World benefits. Would not hesitate to choose them again. We used Qantas lounge in Perth which is not bad Air France premium lounge at CDG which has all the amenities of the QF lounge at Karratha and the Qatar lounge it Doha which is simply superb.

DXB-DOH-BCN return. Overall a very poor flight in both segments: quite old Airbus A330-200 with noisy engines extremely cramped seats poor IFE awful food with small portions and quite inattentive to rude cabin crew both ways. Ground staff inattentive transfer at Doha is a mess. I will be happy to fly any other airline in the future.

Flight MXP to BKK in November 2014. Both flights on schedule. The A330 from MXP to DOH was rather old and very few leg space. The B777 from DOH to BKK was rather ok but still I had the feeling that they reduced in this aircraft as well the leg space. Honestly I can't complain because I paid a very low rate. On the MXP-DOH flight staff made a mess with the meal requests I made during my booking. While serving food they told me the low fat meal wasn't available and they served me the normal meal. After 40 minutes an other hostess passed by to serve me the low fat meal. On the DOH-BKK flight everything was ok.

Economy SIN-DOH-ATH 9 May and VIE-DOH-SIN 16 May. Boarding at Singapore on time and flight departed slightly behind schedule. The seats on the B787 were a bit cramped and not the most comfortable. Entertainment system was good and meal service was prompt. Very good snack sandwiches and main meals. Transfer at Doha was seamless - upon disembarking I could clear the transit security within 10 minutes. Flight to Athens on an older A330-300 entertainment system a bit dated food was good and service was ok. Seat was very good though. Departed Doha behind schedule and arrived in Athens around 10 minutes late but bags were on the belt within 20 minutes of disembarking the aircraft. Return from Vienna was good - check-in was fast and boarding took around 20 minutes although it was a bit disorganised. Vienna-Doha flight was operated by the B787 once again seats and entertainment was ok. The veg meal I got on this flight was pretty good and crew were very professional. Had the privilege to fly on the A350 from Doha to Singapore and the aircraft was a step up from the B787. Seats had more pitch/width and the earphone and USB ports are now integrated into the screen the entertainment system worked perfectly. Flight on this sector was not full but the service was the best of the lot. Cabin crew went around on several drink and snack services and the main breakfast meal on this sector was good. Arrival in Singapore on time and bags were on the belt within 20 minutes. It was a good experience with Qatar Airways and I look forward to flying more of the A350 in future.

Flew LHR to BKK and back a few weeks ago final destination Siem Reap in Cambodia. Picked my flights based on trying out the A380 for one leg and then other three sectors on the 777-300ER which I'd read reviews were the most comfortable. Funnily enough found the A380 segment the most enjoyable and comfortable - both hard and soft product just seemed a little bit more "all there" and I could swear there was more legroom in the A380 than on the 777 despite the official figures saying otherwise - Maybe seat thickness and how it's sculptured? Food is average but edible - Oh and there's no timing advantage to pre-ordering a special meal it gets loaded in the trolley and served alongside everybody else's. On the way back journey originated in Siem Reap in Cambodia on Bangkok Airways - Because they code share w QR I managed to get my luggage checked through to LHR even got boarding passes issued all the way too!

MAN to BKK economy via Doha. Both legs delayed by at least an hour though boarding on-time. Was worried about connection at Doha but assured nothing to worry about as we had made up the lost hour. At Doha circled for over 30 mins before landing. Airport (state of the art new Hamad hub airport) in chaos due to smog. Face masks required all though airport! I have never experienced this in my life time. In-flight entertainment system excellent as are food and drinks services. This is an airline where staff appear happy in their jobs. On both legs one cooked meal (delicious) then one snack ( a wrap or a pasty) handed out. During flight soft drinks and snacks available. Good choice of free alcoholic drinks too including champagne by request. I don't usually travel economy class for long haul flights but it is well worth it with Qatar.

NRT-WAW end of March and WAW-NRT week later. Family with small (5 and 7) children. 1 hour late departure to Warsaw rest on time. Very good seat on NRT-DOH (and DOH-NRT) flight (772) really no problem with space for big person (185cm/110kg). On DOH-WAW much smaller (320) but still OK for 6 hours. From Warsaw IFE wasn't working at all for one seat (have to reseat) and also was very difficult to use it on another. Overhead lights wasn't working at all for 3 seats. Small amenity kit even in economy! Food good and plenty children food in really nice box. Cabin crew not attentive but also not bad. Very recommended (especially for the price that I've paid).

LHR-DOH-BKK-DOH-LHR. It's been a few years since I last flew QR so I was interested in seeing whether they'd kept their standards as high as I remembered. Largely I wasn't disappointed and having flown on 777/A330/A340/A380 I got to try out most of their LH types. Cabin crew are still as good aircraft interiors are still pristine (especially on the A380 although understandable as only 6 months old). Hamad International is a great improvement on the old Doha airport for transit. If I were to criticise anything it would be the food. This definitely seems to have deteriorated a bit. Two meals were absolutely inedible which was really surprising.

DOH-DFW business class on QR733 using 777-300 (changed equipment from 777-200). According to Wikipedia the 19th longest scheduled flight in the world (16h5m). Had seat 1A with no one beside me. Usual obliging service on board from a very courteous and professional crew. Have just got onto an American Airlines flight in first where I basically had my dinner tossed at me - what a difference from QR! Flight left DOH about an hour late due to an equipment change. Nice seat good food. I have no complaints about QR. For this trip I joined their mileage program. Before I was collecting miles on QR flights using my BA account but not getting much in terms of bonus miles or progress toward higher tier status. Decided to switch over to QR's program as I have a lot of travel with QR coming up.

A day before my return to LHR from BKK I received an email from Qatar offering me a good deal for an upgrade to Business Class which I took up. They were meant to start check-in process at BKK airport at 5 pm but did not do so till 5.20. Check in staff was excellent and efficient. I was offered a drink after boarding but not a hot or cold towel. The person next to me was offered both. I opted for a middle seat in order to have aisle access; configuration of 777 is 2-2-2. The seats are indeed very comfortable but there is not much privacy. I was rather disappointed again with the food. I was expecting a lot more. It was all nicely presented and the FAs do go out of their way to make one's journey enjoyable but I do not think the food was as good as people claim and I have had much better food on Cathay and BA in Business. The food from Doha to LHR was even less interesting. And on this leg on an A340-600 the seat was much smaller and with even less privacy. The person next to me almost damaged my glasses which I had put on the little shared area between the seats. The business lounge at Doha is superb but again the food was a let down. My option salmon was not available from the a la carte menu. I had a lamb which was hard and very salty. The buffet stuff looked like something from my local Waitrose and was simple. The snack area was far more interesting. They prepare whatever you want. Lovely. There are many areas in the lounge including a large business room next to which there is an area hardly anyone uses. The so-called 'quiet area' was anything but quiet: people snoring breaking winds pulling trolleys talking etc. The seats are extremely uncomfortable and in no way one can have a good nap there. I do not understand why they cannot put stuff like in the BA's cabanas at T5 with blankets. My verdict is that Qatar Business is good but definitely not well above that of Cathay or BA as people claim.