Wow!! I flew to Bangkok via Doha in May (QR42 & QR612) and it was the first time i'd flown with a proper long haul airline in a long time, to say i was very impressed would be an understatement.
The flight was part of a package type deal to spend 3 nights in Bangkok and 11 nights in Cha-am. The whole holiday only cost £520...so the flight part of that must have been substantially less. Saying that for the service we received on the plane, I would have paid £520 just for that!
Firstly the check-in experience at Manchester was seemless. We were greeted by a man in a Qatar Airways suit who crossed us off his list on his clipboard, helped us get are luggage into the queueing system (there was no queue to speak of though). We stood there a couple of mins then checked straight in, all the way through to Bangkok. Our luggage was being
checked straight through to.
Boarding was prompt at Manchester, and we were very impressed when we got on the plane, an A330. The cabin crew were all very smily welcoming you to the flight and helping you find your seat. They were assisting with putting luggage up into the racks if you couldnt reach. The plane was completly full on this flight. Once everyone was say down, they played Qatar Airways Advertising video in English and Arabic and then did the safety demo. We took off quickly and, i'm not a great fan of flying, but it was all really smooth and there was not too much turbulence. Soon as was possible they cabin crew came round with the first lot of free drinks and handed out cocktail cheese biscuits, to eat with your wine* (*there was loads of other drinks to). At the same time we were handed a menu to ponder over, for lunch. The choices were: - Tuna Nicoise Salad, Chicken Chasseur, Lamb Curry or Vegetable Makhni. To follow was Apple Pie. Cheese, crackers and bread were available after along with tea and coffee. All the food is prepared in accordance with islamic principles as well.
The seats were as spacious as you'll get in Economy, but with plently legroom. Each seat also had a personal TV screen in the back of the seat in front, which could be tilted so it could be viewed clearly. In the arm rest there is a controller type remote thing. This changes TV channels, starts the films and enables you to play computer games........i loved the Who Wants to be a Millionaire one, its addictive!! All in all plenty entertainment to keep you busy for the duration of the flight.
If you prefer to sleep during the flight, there were very comfy pillows and nice soft, large blankets on your seat when you board. The cabin crew are very willing to give out more if you require them.
You can also view a satellite tracking map of your journey on your personal TV screen, its nice to see where your up to on your journey. As a large bonus it stops those dreaded.......'are we nearly there yet' droning questions!!
Lunch came after an hour or so, which was enjoyable, space was limited in the elbow area!! when trying to eat though.
We landed in Doha, and disembarked the plane quite quickly and were taken in buses back to the terminal building. There was a short queue through passport control, then we just had to wait for our connecting flight to Bangkok. The wait was only 1 1/2 hours or so, which was good because Doha airport is not somewhere you would willingly want to spend much time. The main problem is space, or lack of. Each gate can comfortably seat about 30 people, which isnt ideal if your think of how many people an A330 can hold. On the good side, there was a good duty free shop and clean toliets......quite a queue there thou!! Doha airport is apparently undergoing an expansion programme......which would benefit Doha and Qatar Airways to a large extent.
Back on the plane to Bangkok, there were no problems, just a repeat performance of the 1st leg of the journey. We flew through the night from Doha to Bangkok which was good....had a little snooze. The only thing that annoyed me was that when a little bit of turbulence occured the cabin lights came on and the crew woke everyone up to check they were wearing their seatbelts. I guess that may only have annoyed the small few who always wear there seatbelts whilst in there seats anyway but still!
When we landed at Bangkok, we disembarked quickly and the luggage was taken offf the plane really fast because we only had to wait about 5-7 minutes. A quick walk through the airport and through customs and we were on our holidays......thanks Qatar, you gave us the best possible start!!
Will definatly travel again, and would recommend anyone else does!! x
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Advantages: Five Star Service, Low Fares, Very New Aircraft, Generous Frequent Flyer Plan Disadvantages: Change of Plane at Doha...a very cramped Airport. Inconsistant Product.
caligulase19 15.06.2005 (15.06.2005)
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Review of Qatar Airways - QTR
Advantages: Five Star Service, Low Fares, Very New Aircraft, Generous Frequent Flyer Plan Disadvantages: Change of Plane at Doha...a very cramped Airport. Inconsistant Product.
caligulase19 15.06.2005 (15.06.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Qatar Airways - QTR
Jul 29th, 2006
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