Qatar Airways

Six of us took the segment from Singapore to Doha followed by Doha to Sao Paulo. The 787 that flew us from Singapore to Doha was brand new and very comfortable. The long flight from Doha to Sao Paulo was comfortable too. The flight didn't feel long as we were sleeping quite comfortably and there were lots of TV programs/movies to tie us through. Much more comfortable than we thought. Both flights have USB charging point so you can charge phones/laptops. Crews were friendly. The seat that I was on (Doha-Sao Paulo) had faulty inclination though it couldn't sit straight. Would be good if such defects were rectified prior to the long flight as I could not sit upright during take off and the stewardess thought that I didn't follow the instruction.

KIX-DOH-DXB. Truly a 5-star experience even in economy. Excellent fare. On KIX-DOH leg with 330 Airbus wide seats plenty of leg room. Two complete delicious meals with choice on flight departing 11 pm arriving 4.30 am. Friendly hard-working cabin attendants Nice amenity bag excellent variety of seat-back entertainment. On DOH- DXB leg with 321 Airbus served breakfast on one-hour flight. New Doha airport was not ready so experienced "unique" bus transfers from and to aircraft in the middle of the desert-handled efficiently.

Degrading the Business Class experience at the new airport in Doha and Business Class passengers will no longer have automatic access to lounges at departure and transfer - I know of no other airline doing this. Under the old regime Business Class passengers regardless of their loyalty status benefited from a separate terminal that provided a very good seating area separate check in and boarding facilities. At the new airport this is currently not available and no lounge access to all Business Class passengers. Lounge is only accessible if you are a gold or silver card holder even if you paid a full price business class ticket. They indicated however that you would be able to access the lounge by the way of paying an extra fee! Flight experience on the other hand was fine. Crew is very good. Entertainment systems breaks down and needs to be restarted. New seats are very good too.

QR006 from London to Doha then onward to Amritsar (India). Flight from Heathrow was poor. An old airbus A330-200. The seat pitch was bad. Not comfortable. The IFE was ancient. The control was fixed in the arm rest so navigation was hard and you had to press it hard a few times in order for it to function. The Hollywood selection was good but the world cinema choices were poor. The food was exactly the same as I had 2 years before on the very same flight. It was tasteless. The crew were good just did what they had to. The flight from Doha to Amritsar was much better on a new Airbus A321. IFE was faster and easier to use but same movies. Arrived on time in India. On the return the flight was overbooked at Amritsar and after much confusion was put on Air India which was surprisingly better than Qatar Airways.

Business class pax travelling from Perth to Madrid 1st June. Check in smooth and efficient lounge at Perth good. Boarded flight and welcomed by crew. Pre takeoff drinks supplied during flight Perth sector crew executed duties well although robotic and little interaction with pax until a smile before landing at Doha. Food was good wine list selection excellent and well presented. On landing at Hamad international what a disappointment after all the delays in the opening of facility. Doha to Madrid what a difference in the crew the service was excellent as the first leg but much sharper and the interaction by the crew with the pax was excellent. Coming from a hospitality background I would want this crew working for me menu choices good and wine list choices good our thanks to the crew for making this sector a very pleasant experience.

Singapore-Athens via Doha return. Mix of aircraft 777-300er and A330-200 outbound returning on A320 and 787. Night flight out of SIN so slept most of the way. Morning flight to Athens. Not a fan of the old A330 seat but overall no major issues. Return journey was evening departure from Athens on the 320. More like a regional biz seat and feels a little cramped. Seems to be too smaller plane for a 5 hour sector IMO. This was followed by the 787 which is fantastic in every sense. Again a night flight - Slept very well and look forward to being on this plane again in the summer. New airport both ways - Will be a big improvement when ready but why it has opened with 1 pathetic lounge I really don't understand. I travelled with a colleague who was flying Qatar for the first time I doubt he will fly them again because of the airport experience. Really was a major let down.

LHR-CMB-LHR. All flights (4 sectors) delayed. Ran for first connection and made it. Return got to gate and aircraft still boarding but told I was disconnected as baggage would not make it. 6 hour wait as next LHR flight also delayed. Connection time was 50 minutes on ticket yet told unless 40 minutes free cannot make connection. Why sell a ticket leaving a 10 minute space to make a connection. New airport too big and had to run 1/2 mile at least to get to next flight. Rude ground staff who have no idea how the new terminal works. On board no printed menu menu on screen not available for 4 flights taken small portions of food and plastic cutlery paper cups no wow factor in any way. Cabin crew polite and did try and entertainment good. cloth hot towels no overnight shades/toothbrush. I will not fly this airline again.

I flew 2 sectors in business - Jo'berg to Doha on the new 787 and Doha to Madrid on the older 777. Seat configuration is different but good on both - flat beds but more space on the 787. Both flights were delayed in departure - not so impressive. But the big letdown was the food! IT was (apart from KLM business) the worst business class food I have ever had! Stodgy unimaginative and dull. Service was odd - my post take-off drink was forgotten despite being written down and staff were surly and sullen.

Cape Town-Doha-New York and return: Excellent experience all-round. Charming and helpful cabin crew great entertainment (especially appreciate being able to view while landing). One point though: please don't run the menu for 45 minutes - 5 minutes will suffice! (Doha - CPT). Special mention of our stay over (courtesy Qatar) at Retaj Hotel Doha. Surprisingly fabulous hotel with great food added to our travel experience and even motivated plans to incorporate a visit to Doha which we had no idea was so beautiful on future travels.

On 4th May I flew from Melbourne to Manchester via Doha with Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways is affiliated with One World so lounge access is provided at Melbourne Airport by Qantas always a good way to start a long journey. The plane for the first sector was a brand new Boeing 777 and on a full flight I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of room in economy. I am 6ft 3in (189cms) and I could stretch out quite comfortably without touching the seat in front. I was sat in 23K. In flight entertainment was excellent with Premiere release movies and a host of documentaries to help while the hours away (all 14 hrs and 15 minutes for the first sector). Service and inflight catering was excellent with a good choice of food and regular water runs by the cabin crew. Landing in Doha was probably the only negative as the airport was packed and hectic. With a tight transit time of just 60 minutes I was fearing the worst but somehow it all seemed to happen and I made the connection. The second sector of 7hrs and 30 minutes was completed in an Airbus A330 which was notably smaller and older than the Boeing 777. However the service was on par and food and entertainment options again superior. All in all a pleasant experience for what is a gruelling distance to fly. Qatar Airways deserve the recognition and commendations they win on a regular basis. Highly recommended.