I was especially excited for my flight to New York this time because of the brand new Doha Hamad International Airport. I'm sure lots of travelers still remember the nightmare of the old Doha airport with no jet bridges. In fact when I arrived at Doha I still had to use the old airport - the new airport opened up during my visit.With an 8am departure I left the W hotel near westbay at around 5:45am. The traffic was light as it was Friday morning. I arrived at the airport after my little nap in the car.
Before I even start this trip report, I have to say that I was truly blown away by this flight. I have been to Doha and the UAE many times but had never flown the big three gulf carriers. I of course have heard stories about them and seen onboard pictures - but I never really gave the too much thought. After this flight, I just came to realize how much attention they can give their F/J passengers while still maintaining efficiency. All the controversies aside, now I'm really looking forward to my flight onboard an Etihad 380 this summer from LHR to AUH.
Doha is far from my personal favorite city in the world. However the new airport was really impressive. Not only the grand structure was nice, as many establishments in the region, the new airport is also very polished in details.
The premium check in area was large. There is a partition between each check in counter to ensure guest privacy. I thought this was a very nice touch.
Seating area is also provided. Though I don't see many people would use this space unless they are traveling with large groups.
The general check in area was also specious and nice.
Seems oneworld elite members do not have the dedicated check in area for business/first class passengers. Flights departing for the US also gets a separate check in area probably because passengers have to be asked the security questions individually. However I was never asked the list of standard security questions.
The area beyond security control is also nice and specious.
Looking up to the temporary lounges.
The lounge was still a temporary one. I think at the time they were only admitting long haul paid F/J pax and everyone else was turned away due to limited seating capacity. These lounges are intended to be oneworld elite lounges only after the normal lounge opens
The lounge was not bad but really full with passengers. I could not locate an empty seat in the general area and had to take a seat at a computer workstation
The catering at this temporary lounge was reasonable but nothing special.
The food and drink selections:
I soon left the lounge since it was so crowded. Flight board showing this morning's departures.
I have to say that the new Doha airport is outstanding - the building makes me feel like I'm in Switzerland rather than in the gulf countries. Anyone who has been to the gulf will probably know what I'm talking about. There are lots of things here that are as grand as they are in Europe or America but just don't feel right - like the cabin interior of Emirates.
More photos of the terminal:
There are also Mac workstations throughout the airport.
My boarding gate! Of course flights to the US needs additional security screening.
Boarded the plane from the front door. The seat didn't look that good at the beginning and since I've never flown QR I even wondered if this seat will go fully flat. The reality proved how wrong I was.
International newspapers were available, though in this weird photocopy form. Did they actually pay for the usage?
The cabin filled up very quickly. Another cabin shot before taking off.
A pre-departure beverage was served after most passengers were seated. I had water.
Pushing back
Shortly after take off. I didn't realize that I had never flown on this type of seats before - the space between seats are huge and takes up four windows. Kind of remind me of the seat pitch in J on the pre-merger Delta 777.
Services started about 10 minutes after take off. We were offered a drink first. The FA working my side of the plane was very attentive and polite. I later learned that she is from Serbia and this was her first flight to the US.
Since It was a morning flight I ordered a smoothie. Not sure if they make it onboard - it was very good.
Bread basket. Instead of a FA walking around to offer breads, each passenger gets his/her own basket. I thought this was very nice but also wasteful since I would not eat more than one piece at any given meal.
Champagne for the morning is always nice :)
Table setup
I ordered a seafood starter for my breakfast since I do not particularly like Arab meze.
Salmon was a bit dry on the edges but overall good.
Omelet main dish
After breakfast the cabin light was dimmed for sleeping. I was particularly tired because of the early departure. I slept through the atlantic and woke up above northern Canada.
Flying over Canada
At this point I ordered some snacks. Fruit plate:
Miso soup
Mint tea
Some cabin shots
Another thing that I really liked about this that they provided each passenger with a sleeping mattress pad. It really helped me to get some good rest.
QR's pre-landing meal is the same concept as ANA and JAL. Passengers can order up to a full meal as they wish or any part of it. Since it is lunch time in NY I decided to go with a full meal.
Wine and nuts were first served.
Black cod with sesame sauce - probably the best food I have ever had on an airplane.
Table setup.
I picked the seafood starter again.
And the Indian veg entree.
The sweets were good too.
Port and some fruit.
Hot coco and US arrival form
After the meal I walked around the campus for a little while and came across this cabin seating plan.
Soon it was almost time to land. Flying over upstate NY.
Watching the final approach
After landing we parked at AA's terminal 8
Some cabin shots upon landing
It must have been the shortest immigration wait I have ever encountered at JFK. I was through to the baggage belt before my bags even arrived.
Hi there,
Thank you for this report! As I am planning to fly QR next time I am heading to the US, I read it carefully and God, I am looking forward to being abord this QR 777 :)
Thanks again! Hoping you'll also be happy with the EY LHR-AUH ;)
Ilyes
Thank you for posting your QR experience full of great pics.
When a lounge becomes that full it looses some of its exclusivity and in my humble opinion it defeats its purpose of providing an oasis of peace from the crowded public areas.
So it seems that QR lived up to its inflight reputation as a Skytrax 5* carrier. The seafood appetizer looks good and on your second meal it even includes a piece of herring. The idea of offering an a la carte service before arrival is a nice touch.
Hi there,
Nice to see the PRC passport! Are you also a member of FT or feeyo? ^_^
Though the service of QR is top notch, you can hardly say their hard product meet the standard of a 5* airline, which is more crucial IMO.
haha great. I'm glad you enjoyed reading my reports. :)
Hi Pwecar,
Yes I do have an account on FT but probably never posted anything. I had some posts on feeyo but stopped a long time ago. I find this site being much more user friendly and easy to search. Do you read Chinese?
Hi,
Yeah of course I do read Chinese.
It makes sense since this site is focused on flight reports.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share this very well narrated and comprehensive report.
My lounge experiences with EY at AUH are identical, where the lounge was bloated to the point of no seating and it didn't even feel like a lounge anymore. These Gulf carriers arrange flight to orchestrate connections at their hubs, but that also means everyone is there at the same time. Lounges aren't designed to accommodate 30+ wide-bodies worth of premium class passengers at a single time. That said, the spacial environment of DOH is very nice.
I personally don't really care for the QR cabin configurations, but it will probably get switched out soon anyways given the use of Cirrus seats in the B787 and A350.
Catering looks very good, better than what I have seen on EY. It is also nice that they don't do tray service and instead serve single dishes at a time. I like the inclusion of pistachios as a nut, good regional contribution to the offering that you never see on other carriers.
When I was there last month, there were two lounges, both ridiculously crowded. I think they have written off putting any more money into the current AUH temrinals since the new terminal is under construction. When you are there for your LHR-AUH trip, you'll see how much work has been done with the terminal.
The QR lounge here is only a temporary one while they finish up the work on their real lounge. The overcrowding issue is probably mostly resolved by now. Is EY's lounge in AUH a permanent one? It seems like if they are going to spend so much money at outstations like LHR to build their own lounge, they can do a better job at their hub.
Thanks for sharing this great report. Your enthusiasm for the product makes for a good read. The only criticism I could have of this seat is that it's doesn't offer full aisle access, but it seems quite comfortable and QR's 2-2-2 configuration is much more reasonable than some airlines' 2-3-2 on 777s. Business class breakfasts are typically underwhelming on US and EU carriers, so this breakfast is particularly nice in comparison. Champagne is great in the morning or anytime :-)