We joined Qatar Airways flight QR079 from Gatwick Airport to Bangkok via Doha in March 2006. The plane, a quite new (by the look of it) Airbus A330/200 was light and clean, and the crew smiling and friendly. The first leg of the journey, to Doha was 6 hours and passed surprisingly easy. Drinks were served immediately after take-off, followed by lunch, with a choice of 4 main meals. Very tasty. 4 hours into the flight a light snack of a Mexican wrap with chicken, a muffin and coffee was served. The on demand entertainment system was quite comprehensive, with a choice of dozens of films, TV shows, music and games, but the quality of the small screen was not impressive, and the sound not quite synchronized to the movie. The second leg of the journey, also 6 hours, on QR612 from Doha to Bangkok was less successful however. As we arrived a little late, and the transit security check at the airport seemed to take forever, we felt rather rushed to get on to the plane. The airport at Doha was one huge building site, which may have contributed to the delay, but I rather doubt it. Finally on the plane, we ended up waiting for nearly an hour for another connecting flight which did not help either. The plane, again an Airbus A330/200 was somewhat older and without personal entertainment systems, but once we were on our way the standard of service was the same. The return journey, two seven hour journeys both of equal standard as the London - Doha first leg of the outbound flight were very good. The 2 ½ hour stop over in Doha however was extremely unpleasant as the Airport seemed to be singularly focused on shopping. Incompetence in handling large numbers of passengers springs to mind, and combined with a total lack of facilities such as seating and toilets gave the impression that passenger comfort was never intended. All in all a good option for flying to Bangkok at a reasonable price, but Qatar Airways still need to be a little more consistent, and until Doha Airport has been completely rebuild, I shall not gladly stop there again for any length of time.
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Reminds me of a 34 hour nightmare journey I had to Australia with Air India for some reason... maybe it's your reference to Doha airport. :) WW
woodnymph 20.03.2006 00:08
Feel it only covers one aspect of Qatar Airways, if you ammend I'll be happy to re-read. Niki
bodsquidge 20.03.2006 00:04
typical to change to a crummy plane. I went back from Bangkok 18 years ago, and we stopped in Abu Dabi and in Bucharest, 3 planes, 2 of which were rather worrying! good review ;-)
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Mar 19th, 2006
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