Air China (中國國際航空公司) is the national flag carrier of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and operates full international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers, freight, and mail and the provision of ancillary services. Air China operates to 185 destinations around the world (including domestically in China), with a fleet of 268 aircraft (with another 271 aircraft on order, including 15 new Boeing 787-7 aircraft).

Beijing Capital Airport is the hub for Air China, and Air China Cargo. The third largest building in the world, Beijing Airport is second only to Atlanta in terms of passenger movements in the world. In 2009 it was voted by Conde Nast magazine as the most popular airport in the world. Second biggest terminal to Dubai and you can fit all of Heathrow’s five terminals inside it – and still manage to have 17% to spare! Air China occupies part of the main terminal with their separate domestic and international terminals. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, and Shanghai Pudong International Airport are the other two hub airports for Air China.

I had the pleasure of flying with Air China from Beijing Capital Airport (China) to Shanghai  Hongqiao Airport, on one of their last remaining Boeing 767-300ER aircraft (and it will be phased out). I flew First Class, but since this aircraft only has a two class configuration, (Business and Economy), so the service provided was equivalent to that provided to First Class passengers.

Route: BEIJING (PEK) - SHANGHAI HONGQIAO (SHA)

Departure date and time of flight: October 2011, 13:30pm local time (Beijing)

Flight number: CA1517 (ICAO callsign: “Air China 1517”)

Flight duration: 2 Hours 10 minutes

Class: FIRST CLASS

Aircraft type: BOEING 767-332ER (One aircraft in service)

Aircraft registration: B-2499 (First flight 30th May 2000)

Aircraft Serial Number: 30957 - line 797

Frequent flyer programme: Phoenix Miles

Seat configuration for this aircraft: 

First/Business Class: 30 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration on the main deck
Economy Class: 200 seats in a 3-4-3 configuration

Comments on the check- in staff and any issues:

The check-in process was a smooth one with no hassle or long queues.I was met at the taxi rank by the Air China representative, who took me straight to the special VIP First Class counter. It was a hassle free and rapid process.

The security gates are also well organised and manned by the local staff. First Class passengers can pass through the fast track security lane (and yes, it is indeed fast here at Beijing). The staff were very polite, and efficient in processing the security procedures of all the passengers smoothly and in a punctual manner without any problems. Perhaps western overcrowded airport security companies (particularly at airports such as Heathrow, Paris, and Frankfurt) can learn a few lessons from the Chinese. Even though China does not have any serious terrorist threat, the security here is taken very seriously and everything is done very efficiently. 

Any baggage issues:

No issues regarding the baggage. Passengers travelling First Class with Air China are allowed a generous 40kg free of charge, and 30 kg (66 lbs) for Business Class. For domestic flights, each piece of checked baggage must not exceed 50 kg (110 lbs).

LOUNGE EXPERIENCE at Beijing Capital Airport:

Air China has a number of lounges at all the three terminals at Beijing Airport (Terminal 1, 2 and 3). These lounges are known as the Air China VIP lounges. Phoenix miles members (Gold, and Platinum) can use the lounges upon showing their cards. There are separate lounges for Business and First Class passengers. While both the Business and First Class lounges have buffet food (Chinese only), comfortable relaxing chairs, and a small cinema (25 seats maximum), the main difference between the Business and First Class lounges is that the First Class lounge also has beds. First Class passengers can hire the bedrooms (each room comes along with a single bed) for up to as many hours as they want. There are also shower facilities available in all the lounges. 

There are many options for hot and cold Chinese food, though western food is not available in the lounges at Beijing Airport at the time of writing. 

Punctuality of the flight:

Departed on time, and landed on time (rare in China!). First Class passengers are collected from the lounge, and taken to the VIP shuttle bus (or the gate). In this case we were taken to the waiting VIP shuttle bus that took us straight to the plane. We were lucky to have excellent weather conditions, and not a long queue. A straight in taxi to runway 36R, and a take-off without any delays. Landing at Shanghai Hongqiao was also a delightfully quick experience – no hustle and bustle (and no waiting around or circling over Shanghai!).

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

First Class passengers are offered a selection of drinks including champagne, apple juice, orange juice and a variety of teas (Chinese and Western). Passengers are also handed out hot towels prior to departure to refresh up. The cabin crew took the orders for the lunch service from all the passengers in the First Class cabin prior to departure.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

The meal service commended with air hostesses handing out hot towels. A selection of fine nuts was offered along with a choice of drink (orange juice, apple juice, and a selection of teats). 

Comments regarding the main meal:

There were two options for the main meal:

-       Hainan chicken with rice, and vegetables
-       Cod fish with rice, and vegetables.

I opted for the codfish with rice, and vegetables. Lovely soft chunky battered codfish covered in breadcrumbs served with hot and fresh boiled white rice. The accompanying vegetables went well with the dish. There was also a bowl of boiled tofu sticks (delicious!), and a bowl of roasted honey chicken salad (with generous portions of crunchy leaves, and tomatoes as well).  

Delicious soft and hard bread rolls were offered from the basket. All meals were served on fine bone china, and came with Air China chopsticks, and Air China stainless steel cutlery.

Comments regarding the after meal drinks and in-flight snacks:

Hot and cold drinks were served after the main meal. These included Chinese and Western tea options, as well as soft drinks. Alcohol is not served on domestic flights in China.

Comments on the in-flight entertainment system:

The Boeing 767-300ER aircraft has no individual TV screens (not even in Business/First Class), only the bigger screens at the front of each compartment. However, the new interactive entertainment system offers hundreds of movies and music selections, plus a whole range of online games. Most of the high tech gadgets are only available on the latest Boeing 777 aircraft, and perhaps also the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft. For most of the flight we were shown the route map.

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew were very professional and friendly. Air China is very particular on how their cabin crew staff should be like. They have to be of a certain weight, and height, and must be acquainted to beauty with a smile (this is what I was informed!). The cabin crew at Air China represent all the 56 minorities of China, and most of the cabin crew do speak good English (especially those in Business/First Class).  

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

The Business/First Class seats have 42-inch pitch and 19 inch width. The Economy Class seats have a 34-inch pitch, and an 18 inch width. Business Class seats feature a reclining angle of 170 degrees. For such a short domestic flight, passengers were offered a pair of luxury cotton slippers, and a thick cotton blanket. The cabin had a pleasant smell, and was very clean. All the seats in the Business/First Class section are covered with a luxury grey cloth that comes embedded with the phoenix bird logo. It creates a sense of comfort, elegance, and belonging to the Chinese culture. It also gives a very warm, fresh, spacious, modern, and touching feeling when you enter the cabin. 

Air China logo and livery: 

The red phoenix bird is the brand symbol of Air China, and is proudly displayed on the tailfin of every aircraft. The symbol has been present ever since the airline first commenced operations in 1988. The phoenix logo is also the artistic transfiguration of the word “VIP”.

Air China is one of the few world airlines that still has a cheat line going through right the way across the whole fuselage. Two dark blue cheat lines run from the nose of the plane to the back of the tailfin, essentially wrapping the aircraft. The top cheat line is slightly thinner than the bottom cheatline.

The national flag is proudly displayed near the first door, and following the national flag are the words in capitals, and black colour ‘Air China’ in English, and then in Mandarin Chinese. The belly of the aircraft is painted in a light grey.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

Qatar Airways (القطرية) is the national flag carrier of the State of Qatar (دولة قطر) in the Middle East. Founded on the 22nd of November 1993, the airline has gone through a rapid expansion in a short time span to serve 101 destinations using 100 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 18,000 people world-wide, is based in the ultra-modern Doha Control Tower at Doha International Airport and serves its destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australasia, the Indian subcontinent, and East Asia. At the time of writing Qatar Airways has a firm order for 136 aircraft to be delivered within the next 5-7 years. These include 5 Airbus A380-800 (Super Jumbos), 30 Boeing 787-8 (Dreamliner), and 90 orders for the Airbus A350 aircraft (Extra Wide Bodied).

The airline is the proud holder of a number of awards. The latest of these came in 2011, when Qatar Airways was named by Skytrax the "Airline of the Year 2011", at the Paris Air Show in June 2011. At the same time Qatar Airways placed an order for 6 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The ultimate ranking, this rating is awarded to airlines achieving the highest quality performance. Qatar Airways is one of just seven airlines globally to be awarded the 5-star rating.

As the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, says: ‘Travel by air has reached the point where it is now taken for granted in most corners of the globe. With a larger number of passengers and more choice available in the skies today, airlines looking to maintain or grow their position in the marketplace must provide high-quality service with ever-increasing efficiency.’

In 2011, some new interesting destinations for Qatar Airways include Chongqing (in Sichuan Province where hot and spicy Chinese cuisine derives from), and Shiraz in Iran. The sixth biggest city in Iran, Shiraz is the site of the country’s first solar power plant and was the birthplace of Shiraz wine hundreds of years B.C. It is not the same grape variety as the French Syrah (as served on this flight) because there is no chance of it having migrated there from Iran (the Iranian grape was a white one, and the French is a deep red).

In the United Kingdom, Qatar Airways flies non-stop between Doha and London Heathrow (28 flights a week), and Manchester (14 flights a week), connecting passengers to over 101 destinations worldwide through its hub at Doha. I was on the flight from Doha to London Heathrow on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER to check out their Business Class seats! Now, here is the trip report from seat 1A of flight QR11!:

Route: DOHA (DOH) to LONDON HEATHROW (LHR)

Departure date and time of flight: September 2011, 07:45am local time (Doha)

Flight number: QR11 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 11”)

Flight duration: 7 Hours 40 minutes

Class: BUSINESS CLASS

Aircraft type: BOEING 777-3DZER (16 aircraft in service)

Unit cost of each Boeing 777-300ER: US$284.1 million (2011)

Aircraft registration: A7-BAN (First flight 14th March 2011)

Engine Type: GE90-115B   

Aircraft Serial Number: 38246 - line 925

Frequent flyer programme: Qatar Airways' Privilege Club- Q Miles

Seat configuration for this aircraft:

Business Class: 42 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration,
Economy Class: 293 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration

Punctuality of the flight, and flight path:

Departed on time, and landed on time (surprisingly that for Heathrow there are normally delays, but this time it was a straight in approach). Our plane roared off runway 16 into the Arabian Sea, heading initially towards Bahrain control, before making our way towards Kuwait, Iraq (passed over Baghdad), Kurdistan, southern Turkey, Hungry, Austria, Germany (Nuremberg and Frankfurt), Paris, Brussels, Maastricht, North Sea, Lydd Airport, Lambourne control, Bovingdon control, and then finally into runway 09L at London Heathrow. ILS localiser was established somewhere over Slough (7 miles DME from runway 09L), and we had clear views of Windsor Castle (Ma’am was not in the Castle..perhaps she was too busy dealing with her young grandson (the ginger one I mean)!). All throughout the route, we were welcomed by clear blue skies, and lovely sunshine! London was experiencing the hottest late September weather for ages. It felt like summer.

Any baggage issues:

I was in transit in Doha on an incoming flight in from Guangzhou (China). Qatar Airways allows a checked-in baggage of maximum 30kg per passenger in Business Class, 40kg in First Class, and 23kg for Economy Class. Passengers can also take two pieces of hand luggage on board the aircraft, not to exceed 15 kg in total (or 50 x 37 x 25 cm). Passengers may carry liquids, gels, pastes, and aerosols in containers up to 100 ml (3.4 oz) in their hand baggage (I always take a small mouth wash bottle, contact lens solution, mouth spray, anti-perspirant, and an eau de toilette for long flights). Passengers are provided with a transparent, resalable, quart- or litter-sized bag no larger than 20 x 20 cm.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

I was in transit in Doha on an incoming flight in from Guangzhou (China), so not required to check-in. However I did need to register at the Premier Terminal once I landed, and had to check-out before boarding for the flight to London Heathrow. Everything at Qatar Airways works smoothly like clockwork, with every staff member trained for every possible situation that passengers may occur. 

Premier Terminal Experience at Doha:

After landing from Guangzhou (on my previous connecting flight), I, along with other Business Class passengers, was transferred to the Premier terminal (the Economy Class passengers were transferred to the normal terminal). My experience of the Premier terminal is listed below.

Doha airport is simply an art of sophistication. It’s located only 5km away from the centre of Doha, but the airport may itself be considered as an oasis city itself. There are FOUR lounges at Doha Airport:

Privilege Club Gold Lounge

Provides a true 5-star service in all the elements that it offers. This lounge is to be used by Privilege Club Gold Card holders (irrespective of the class they travel in). Members will find a warm welcome and world-class facilities in this stylish lounge.

• Business centre with free internet access
• Buffet dining service
• Newspapers and magazines
• Smoking area
• Shower facilities
• Baggage Storage Facilities

Privilege Club Silver Lounge

The Silver lounge has all of the facilities as the Gold Members Lounge except baggage storage.

Oryx Lounge

This is 5-star lounge with all of the above mentioned facilities, and can be used by passengers travelling on First or Business Class on any other airline except Qatar Airways.

Premier Terminal

This is the exclusive Lounge for those travelling on First or Business Class with Qatar Airways. Its looks and feels like a 5-star hotel rather than an airport lounge. Complete with luxurious bedrooms, jacuzzi, nursery for kids, storage space, office facilities (fax, internet, and telephone), massage facilities, separate mosques for men and women, sauna facilities, and a Mecca for dining with a true 5-star service. You can eat whatever you like. The Premier Terminal has its own duty-free shop on the ground floor. Buses whisk passengers to/from their planes.

Overall there was an excellent atmosphere right from the conception phase to the point I had to take the connecting flight. If only airport lounges were of this excellent quality.

Service was exceedingly friendly. As I have mentioned numerous times, the staff all are well trained and offer a genuine hospitality. It shows clearly that the staff care for the customers from their heart. Their smile is a real one and not just to show that you are a customer of Qatar Airways. Its to make you feel special because they understand that:

1.    It is not easy to fly Business or First Class
2.    Not everyone flies First or Business Class, and those that do have to be flet special because they deserve it (because they or their companies have invested in flying First or Business Class).

It’s all about providing a service where the staff offer a an amazing attention to detail, and this is remarkable.

Selection of both hot and cold food is available in myriad quantities as if there is no tomorrow. I was comfortably able to take a shower and jump into the Jacuzzi in the excellent shower room with quality amenities and excellent staff (Spa is the superlative part of the terminal, and I had massage, which was unbelievably first-class). All toiletries in the bathroom, and showers are provided by L'Occitane en Provence.

In case you are not kept track of your flight, then don’t worry because you will be accordingly invited to board in a timely manner. The First Class lounge is not as busy as the Business Class lounge, nevertheless both are amazing. Perhaps the best lounge experience that I have had on any airline in the world. What you normally find is that some airlines are good, but their lounges are not good, but Qatar Airways

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

Once you enter the aircraft, the Qatari hospitality makes sure that you have an authentic experience of their culture and customs.

Passengers are greeted with a choice of signature welcome drink (orange juice, champagne, apple juice or watermelon juice), and hot or cold refreshing cotton towels.

On each Business Class seat there were a set of noise cancellation headphones, a rich cotton blanket (each one weighs 2KG!), a luxury amenity kit containing the Molton Brown toiletries, slippers, eyeshades, and a pair of Qatar Airways designer socks.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Passengers in Business Class can savour the outstanding in-seat service geared to suit their body clock. Passengers can pre-order and can choose to dine, breakfast, or enjoy a light snack at anytime they wish.

For breakfast I took a glass of water and orange juice as this was an early morning flight (to keep me from being dehydrated).

To revive we were offered a selection of some fresh fruit juices. Check these tempting options:

·         Freshly squeezed orange juice
·         Apricot and bran breakfast shake
·         Cranberry juice

I opted for my favourite drink (if you worship orange juice, like I do, then there is no reason to doubt this beautiful liquid sunshine offer by Qatari!). Qatar Airways have sourced out the best partners when it comes to providing excellent food, and their orange juice with the orange bits and skin parts is just awesome. It is good enough to wake you up refreshed, and with just the right amount of pulp, no wonder why it tastes like a cross between a real orange, and a orange smoothie drink! Equally well, the breakfast bran shake was well worth to wash down the throat- it’s just sheer luxury food like this that gives a true meaning to living the good life.  

Comments regarding the first meal:

Breakfast service commenced around 35 minutes after take-off from Doha. We must have been somewhere over northern Bahrain (or near enough to Kuwait). The following tempting options were offered:

·         Toasted Muesli
·         Fresh fruit and fruit compote with yogurt
·         Salad plate of Gravlax and branade of salted cod

I went for the healthy option of having muesli with full cream full. Its good to have this kind of food with a significant attention paid to the high fibre in a highly pressurised environment such as an aircraft. What do I think of this? I thought it was out of this world!

Following on from the commencement options were three choices for the main breakfast dish:

·         Ricotta hotcakes, raspberries with crème fraiche, maple syrup
·         Three cheese frittata with field mushrooms and roasted capsicum sauce and spring onion potato cake
·         Classic Arabic breakfast

* and with a choice of Japanese grilled salmon, spring onion potato cake, or veal burger.

I went for the ‘three cheese frittata’, with a spring onion potato cake which went really well with tomato ketchup and Tabasco sauce. The palate is just gorgeous medium sweet and sour, exceptionally smooth flow to the cheese, with powerful mozzarella, red Leicester, and spring onion flavours. The cheese melts away in your mouth with each spoonful, and the amazing complexity of the capsicum aromas and the flavours develops. It’s a journey for the senses to savour. This only allows the finest tastes to touch your stomach as a finale. Don’t rush, but take your time to enjoy the moment that you have with this luxury food. Though I just tried a spoonful of the tempting Arabic breakfast, it had this awesome high quality finish that you would expect along with a strong thread of the spices and aroma of Arabic flavours. Priceless dish to tuck into.

Every passenger was provided with a generous portion of the bread from the bakery basket containing a croissant, banana muffin, and a brown and white toast.

Breakfast was followed with a final round of drinks was completed. This included a selection of beverages, soft drinks, juices, eight types of teas (early grey, English breakfast, green, roasted Japanese, Moroccan mint, camomile, sencha green, and green jasmine), and five types of coffees (cappuccino, espresso, cafe latte, macchiato, and American) were offered after the main meal.

Comments regarding the after meal drinks and in-flight snacks :

A second round of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (including any coffee, tea and beverages) were offered. I opted to drink plenty of still mineral water. Tempting drinks such as Martini Rosso/Dry, Campari, Glenfiddich Single Malt Solera 15 years old, Chivas Regal, Baileys, and many more were available.

Qatar Airways is proud to offer the finest wines from around the world. Every flight route has a different selection of wines. It’s another minor but important thing like this that differentiates Qatar Airways from the other airlines in the world. Wines and beverages available by the bottle on this flight included the following:

·         Champagne: Lanson, Brut, 1998 (France)
·         Chardonnay: Chartron et Trebuchet, Meursault, 2007 (Burgundy, France)
·         Sauvignon Blanc: Saint Clair, Pioneer Block 11, 2010 (Marlborough, New Zealand)
·         Riesling: Fritz Haag, Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr, Spatiese, 2008 (Mosel Valley, Germany)
·         Meritage- Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot: Chateau Brane Cantenac, AC Margaux, 2nd growth, 2007 (Bordeaux, France)
·         Grenache, Carinena, Syrah, Torres, Salmos, 2007 (Priorat, Spain)
·         Shiraz: Brokenwood, 2007 (Barossa Valley & McLaren Vale, Australia)
·         Taylor’s, 20 Year Old Twany (Douro Valley, Portugal)

Passengers in Business Class could go to the galley and get free flowing drinks, fruit, ice cream (Häagen-Dazs), Godiva chocolates, and a variety of hot pot noodles. 

Comments regarding the second meal:

SIX options for the second meal were offered- I say again- SIX options! Well, if you are with Qatar Airways then its not hard to believe because they are one of the few airlines that offers a second meal within a 6 hour flight. On this flight, I actually felt as if Qatar Airways was feeding me like as if there is no tomorrow (quick eat everything before it runs out, Navjot!).

So the six options for the second meal were as follows:

·         Soup of wild mushroom and pearl barley with gremolata lavosh
·         Tandoori king prawns served on seasonal garden salad
·         Classic Arabic mezze
·         Warm Arabic lamb and cheese sandwich, tomato herb sauce
·         An individual cheese plate of farmhouse aged cheddar double cream brie and mild blue

I opted for the ‘classic Arabic mezze’. Mezze is the combination of the myriad dishes of the splendid hors d’oeuvres to traditional Arab meals, comes from the Italian word mezzano. A extravaganza of all the traditional Arabic delicious such as Hummus with meat, plain pitta bread, Pastirma (curried beef), rocket salad, Tzatziki, and plenty of köfte. The tandoori king prawns tasted just like mum’s cooking. These marinated prawns are traditionally cooked in a tandoor, but it seemed like the chefs at Qatar Airways cooked them very quickly in a frying pan. Brightly coliured due to the food colouring the tantalising garam masala, this gem of a dish was just perfect to go with one of the posh wines on offer during the flight.

I wish I had the stomach to eat the remaining dishes and try them out, but I was too full. But looking at the names of the dishes, I hope you get an idea the kind of high quality food that is served in Business Class at Qatar Airways. They really do take their in-flight catering seriously and to high standards.

Lunch was followed with another round of drinks was completed. This included a selection of beverages, soft drinks, juices, eight types of teas (early grey, English breakfast, green, roasted Japanese, Moroccan mint, camomile, sencha green, and green jasmine), and five types of coffees (cappuccino, espresso, cafe latte, macchiato, and American) were offered after the main meal.

Comments on the in-flight entertainment system :

Huge headphones with noise cancellation technology were offered in the Business Class cabin. The HUGE 33cm by 22cm (15.6-inch) PTV screen, which can be easily folded away into the right hand side armrest, can be used to watch movies, choose any kinds of music to play, watch how your flight is progressing, catch up on current affairs, or play computer games with.

Qatar Airways has three different IFE systems: Widescreen AVOD, PTV AVOD and Main screen. The digital AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) in-cabin entertainment system is known as Oryx entertainment system, is in use on all the routes. Passengers can select their program either from the panel in the arm of the seat or simply by touching the screen.

The AVOD system fall into three categories: 'Information', 'Entertainment’, and 'Communications'. Altogether, there are over 120 channels and levels of entertainment to absorb during your flight (Overall IFE has over 1000 Video and Audio on-demand options in Business Class). Then there is, Oryx, the five-star quality in-flight magazine of Qatar Airways to keep you mesmerized with many stories and useful information.

It has a PTV and a remote. This was Qatar's first AVOD system. It is the only system that offers live television. The PTV system on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is touch screen.

The good thing is that on the Boeing 777-300ER all the seats have AC power plugs for passengers to do their work (or if you want to charge up your phone, camera, laptop etc.).

Connections enabling passengers to listen to, or watch on their individual screens, content on their personal iPods or USB devices are available on this aircraft (the Boeing 777-300ER).

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew were very hospitable, and proud to work for Qatar Airways. There was a genuine smile on every crew members face and you could tell that they really enjoyed their job. There was a real sense of teamwork in the cabin. As a customer (or passenger) it is easy to tell if the cabin crew are not getting along with each other (it does happen like any other job!), and on this flight I could see that everyone was in a joyous mood. If there was something I wanted or a question I had, then no one objected to it. Instead, they tried their best to help me as much as they could. The senior purser was just gem of a person. The whole flight experience was like magic, and everything seemed to go smoothly. Therefore, yes the world can be ideal sometimes.

It’s no wonder that Qatar Airways cabin crew were voted the ‘Best Cabin Crew’ in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year at the 2009 Skytrax airline awards. Qatar Airways has over 100 nationalities as cabin crew who offer a consistent 5-star service to its passengers. Some airline companies have all kinds of motivated mottos that they will look after their customers, but sometimes they fail in this miserably. Qatar Airways however really does make sure that everyone enjoys a smooth, and comfortable flight.

On our flight, we had cabin crew from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Philippines, United Kingdom, Italy and, Morocco. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, German, Italian, and Tamil.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort) : 

Qatar Airways have 42 Business Class flatbed seats on their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a 2-2-2 configuration. Each seat has a generous pitch of a 78 inch recline and is 22 inches wide. Generous legroom allows you to stretch comfortably and the built-in massager helps you relax. This is far better than most other airlines around the world. All the seats have a huge 15.6-inch PTV display screen, in-seat reading light, in-seat drinks holders, and in-seat power units.

In Business Class, the toilets are equipped with refreshing towels (various coloured packaging), eau de toilette, moisture cream, and a hand cream (all by Molton Brown). On this daytime flight passengers in Business Class were provided with cotton-lined pure wool blankets (100% cotton sleeper suits are only provided on night time long-haul flights). Another sign of why it’s the world’s 5-star airline.

Mood lighting is used throughout the flight to keep the passengers in touch with the time zones. So blue, orange, red and yellow shades of the mood lighting is used to highlight  the different time zones (dawn, night time, evening and, afternoon). This is so that passengers’ eyes and body can adapt to the different time zones. All the Business Class seats have an electronic touch pad control system allowing them to easily control the seat settings.

Qatar Airways logo and livery : 

Qatar Airways logo consist of the head of the national animal of the State of Qatar, the Oryx gazelle, as a motif, stuck on a round background of zigzags which resembles the background of the national flag of the State of Qatar. In line with the colors of the national flag of Qatar, the identity uses maroon as its primary color for all logos and branding.

The airline advertises heavily internationally including on international television channels like CNN, and BBC World. The airline’s motto is ‘The World’s 5-star airline that takes you more personally’, and this is certainly true when it comes to everything they do for their customers and passengers.

The word ‘’QATAR’ occupies the front of the fuselage, using a quite bland font, in huge letters on the livery. The whole logo on the airline portrays the perfect flair and distinctiveness that it deserves. There is a sense of luxury among that design. The grey and maroon colors are adopted from the national flag, and it essentially looks like a large Qatar flag on a plane (with those huge ‘QATAR’ letters on the front of the fuselage).

The Arabic name of the airline ‘Al Qatariyah‎’ is rendered in a much smaller, light grey font is is barely noticeable on the plane. All the Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A340-642 aircraft have the world ‘QATAR’ painted on the belly of the fuselage (it is easily visible from the ground when a plane is flying). In addition, there is the Qatar Airways’ Oryx logo on the winglets of the Airbus A340-600, and on the engine pods of all aircraft. Even the wheels have their interior painted in grey to resemble the brand identity. It looks cool!

The Oryx on the plane’s tail is itself a work of art, and suits the airline’s tailfins splendidly. It portrays the authentic culture and heritage of the Qatar people and country. Like most airlines around the world, Qatar Airways have adopted to a more modern and simple livery that portrays elegance, sophistication, and a smooth blend of comfort and imaginativeness. The airline logo stands out like a strong brand, and is proudly displayed on all tableware, cloths, in-flight seat covers, tissue paper, cups, airport buses, and on all the uniforms.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best) : 10

Qatar Airways (القطرية) is the national flag carrier of the State of Qatar (دولة قطر) in the Middle East. Founded on the 22nd of November 1993, the airline has gone through a rapid expansion in a short time span to serve 101 destinations using 100 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 18,000 people world-wide, is based in the ultra-modern Doha Control Tower at Doha International Airport and serves its destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australasia, the Indian subcontinent, and East Asia. At the time of writing Qatar Airways has a firm order for 136 aircraft to be delivered within the next 5-7 years. These include 5 Airbus A380-800 (Super Jumbos), 30 Boeing 787-8 (Dreamliner), and 90 orders for the Airbus A350 aircraft (Extra Wide Bodied).

The airline is the proud holder of a number of awards. The latest of these came in 2011, when Qatar Airways was named by Skytrax the "Airline of the Year 2011", at the Paris Air Show in June 2011. At the same time Qatar Airways placed an order for 6 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The ultimate ranking, this rating is awarded to airlines achieving the highest quality performance. Qatar Airways is one of just seven airlines globally to be awarded the 5-star rating.

As the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, says: ‘Travel by air has reached the point where it is now taken for granted in most corners of the globe. With a larger number of passengers and more choice available in the skies today, airlines looking to maintain or grow their position in the marketplace must provide high-quality service with ever-increasing efficiency.’

In China, Qatar Airways flies non-stop between Doha and Guangzhou (7 flights a week), Beijing (4 flights a week), and Shanghai (7 flights a week), connecting passengers to over 101 destinations worldwide through its hub at Doha. In November 2011, Qatar Airways will commence services to Chongqing 7 times a week from Doha using the Airbus A330 aircraft with a two-class configuration (business and economy). Qatar Airways was proud to have been named Asia’s Most Preferred Airline Brand at the 2011 Asian Leadership Awards in October 2011. As mentioned by CEO Akbar Al Baker: ‘Over 30 per cent of Qatar Airways’ global coverage is in the Far East, South East Asia and South Asia’. The awards covered more than 20 categories, including business innovation, human resources, corporate responsibility and products and services.

I was on the flight from Doha to Guangzhou on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER to check out their Business Class seat, cabin and service. So enjoy the 5-star experience from seat 1A of this beautiful aircraft, and airline:

Route: GUANGZHOU (CAN) to DOHA (DOH)

Departure date and time of flight: September 2011, 01:30am local time (Guangzhou)

Flight number: QR877 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 877 heavy”)

Flight duration: 8 Hours and 25 minutes (we shaved off 30 minutes- original flight time was 8 hours and 55 minutes)

Class: BUSINESS CLASS

Aircraft type: BOEING 777-3DZER (16 aircraft in service)

Unit cost of each Boeing 777-300ER: US$284.1 million (2011)

Aircraft registration: A7-BAF (First flight 16th September 2009)

Engine Type: GE90-115B

Aircraft Serial Number: 37661 - line 815

Frequent flyer programme: Qatar Airways' Privilege Club- Q Miles

Seat configuration for this aircraft:

Business Class: 42 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration,
Economy Class: 293 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration

Comments on the check- in process, and any issues:

Though I had checked-in online from my home in Suzhou (Qatar Airways passengers can check-in online 36-hours prior to departure), I still had to drop my luggage. My handpicked seat (1A) was firmly confirmed. Guangzhou Baiyun Airport has two terminals, Terminal 1 and, Terminal 2. The latter is used for international flights. There are two major zones for aircraft gates- Zone A and Zone B. For international flights, gates in Zone A are used for arrivals and departures (Qatar Airways normally uses gate A110). The flight departed at 1:30am, so the check-in desks opened at 10:30pm, allowing plenty of time for passengers to do duty free shopping or stroll around the airport premises.

I actually arrived at the airport at around 8pm (from another connecting flight), Therefore, with the Pullman Hotel located only a 3-minute walk away from the check-in desk area, I decided to relax with a drink and while away the relaxing time. If you are travelling business class with Qatar Airways then you can even leave your baggage for free with the concierge, and they’ll take you to the departure lounge using the electric buggy when it’s the right time to check-in. Everything with Qatar Airways works smoothly like a clock’s magical dial.

While Qatar Airways has done everything they can do facilitate the 5-star service at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, however just like in every other corporation in China the problems of staff not speaking good English, and ending up in serious misunderstandings with the customers (i.e. passengers) is evident, and it is not difficult to observe.

On the whole the staff at Qatar Airways are more professional and work with as much integrity as they can then they would with other airlines. Part of this success comes from within the excellent amounts of investment that Qatar Airways has put in place for training their staff. The basic reason why some check-in staff get angry with passengers quickly is because they (the staff) have not been trained properly by their airline companies. I have a lot of examples (especially at Guangzhou Airport) where check-in staff lose their professionalism and integrity if they are under pressure- and that’s basically due to the fact that they have not been managed properly.

This is a key area that Qatar Airways takes very seriously, and its easy to see that all the staff at Qatar Airways are all enjoying their job. Hence the reason why their customer service is one of the best in the skies (and on the ground). In a customer service business, the customer comes FIRST- everything else is secondary. Sometimes things cannot be changed, but if someone takes time to explain in a cool, calm courteous manner to the passengers why things are not working as they should (could be anything from a flight delay, or why they cannot take extra baggage etc.), then there would be no problems (as with Qatar Airways).    

Any baggage issues:

Qatar Airways allows a checked-in baggage of maximum 30kg per passenger in Business Class, 40kg in First Class, and 23kg for Economy Class. Passengers can also take two pieces of hand luggage on board the aircraft, not to exceed 15 kg in total (or 50 x 37 x 25 cm). Passengers may carry liquids, gels, pastes, and aerosols in containers up to 100 ml (3.4 oz) in their hand baggage (I always take a small mouth wash bottle, contact lens solution, mouth spray, anti-perspirant, and an eau de toilette for long flights). 

Passengers are provided with a transparent, resalable, quart- or litter-sized bag no larger than 20 x 20 cm at the security of Guangzhou gates. I was so relieved to get rid of my HUGE luggage bag (weighed less than 30kg) at the check-in desk. In the sheer heat and humidity of Guangzhou (and that of a big airport like Guangzhou), it’s not easy for a single man to carry a laptop, my camera, and plenty of duty-free shopping!!. I was exhausted. I actually felt like I had been to the gym in my suit!

Punctuality of the flight, and flight route:

Departed on time, and landed 35 minutes ahead of schedule. We narrowly avoided the typhoon that was heading in from the Philippines towards the southern China border (close to Hong Kong and Shenzhen area). Our plane roared out of Guangzhou’s runway 02R, and landed 35 minutes ahead of schedule at Doha International Airport. Our flight path took us from Guangzhou towards Guilin, Yunnan (Kunming), New Delhi, Karachi, Arabian Sea, Dubai, and then making our way towards Doha at around 4.30am in the morning.  

Guangzhou Baiyin Airport gets exceedingly busy at nighttime, especially with all the international flights heading towards the western hemisphere. Along with Qatar Airways, there is also Emirates, Sri Lankan, Ethiopian, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, and Kenya Airways who all have flights departing late in the evening (or early morning). With this in mind, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport looks more like an airport in Africa or the Middle East as the large number of passengers is from the African continent, or from the Middle East returning to their home counties from a trade visit to Guangzhou.

Essentially the main reason why Guangzhou has prospered as a prime destination for many international airline companies in recent years is because of the city’s strong trade links with Africa and the Middle East. Guangzhou has been for hundreds of years the hub of all kinds of trade, and also hosts the Canton Fair two times a year (April and October)- which provides BIG business for the airline industry as all flights are fully booked.

Once we landed at Doha, a bus was waiting to take the Business Class passengers from the plane directly to the Premium Terminal, which has a wide atrium and divided into the Business Class section and First Class section.

Qatar Airways keep their planes flying on the go. Our particular plane was schedule to fly onto Johannesburg (South Africa) 2 hours after we had landed at Doha.

Lounge Experience (Guangzhou):

A medium size lounge that can house around 200 passengers is located on the corner of the Gate A100. The Lounge is operated by China Southern Airlines, and , at peak hours when flights are departing to all over the Middle East, and Africa, does tend to get slightly crowded. There is a sufficient choice of hot and cold foods (mostly Chinese food), generous choice of wines (All Chinese wines), beers (Chinese beer), and soft drinks. Wifi has to be paid for. Large choice of newspaper and magazines in English and Chinese, and TV screens showing the Chinese state operated CCTV (in Chinese). There are a few massage chairs that one may find comfortable.

I have been through Guangzhou Baiyun Airport numerous times, and the fact is that the lounge needs to be managed properly. I am sure it must baffle Skyteam officials as to why China Southern have not maintained the high standards of quality that are required from an international business lounge. On a good note, I am glad to see that the toilet facilities have improved a lot at Guangzhou Airport in recent years. There are western style toilets, complete with soap and tissue paper (you may think it’s normal, but sadly in China not many public toilets have tissue paper and soap- except in 5-star hotels, western restaurants, and airports). Let’s hope things can change soon for the better.

One minor but important thing to note at Guangzhou Airport is that there is no currency exchange after security, and there is no ATM machine after security either. I have personally ended up being left without foreign currency after security, and by that time it’s already too late to go back to the main terminal.   

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

Once you enter the aircraft, it feels like you have already arrived in Doha! The true Qatar Airways experience begins once you step your foot onto the aircraft. A welcome in either English or Arabic confirms that you have stepped into the oasis of Qatar in the sky. The Qatari hospitality makes sure that you have an authentic experience of their culture and customs. In a nutshell, outside the aircraft it may have been Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, but within that metal tube, we were ‘effectively’ in Qatar!

Passengers are greeted with a choice of signature welcome drink (orange juice, champagne, apple juice or watermelon juice), and hot or cold refreshing cotton towels. On each Business Class seat there were a set of noise cancellation headphones, a rich cotton blanket (each one weighs 2KG!), 100% cotton pyjamas, a luxury amenity kit containing the Molton Brown toiletries, slippers, eyeshades, and a pair of Qatar Airways designer socks.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Passengers in Business Class can savour the outstanding in-seat service geared to suit their body clock. Passengers can pre-order and can choose to dine, breakfast, or enjoy a light snack at anytime they wish.

I took a glass of bubbly (Champagne Laurent Perrier Brut 2000 France), and plenty of water and orange juice as this was an early morning flight (to keep me from being dehydrated). The orange juice had a pleasingly fresh-squeezed flavour. The champagne can be perfect for caviar smoked salmon lobster. A plate pleaser with mixed oriental vegetable crepe, and mango salsa was provided to go along with the drinks service. The generous portions of the food provided on Qatar Airways are enough to put some other airlines to shame. You cannot go wrong when hideously delicious food like this is on offer. To have a mango salsa on an in-flight meal is just fantastic. It was so good that one portion was not enough (!).  

Comments regarding the first meal:

Inspired by culinary treats from around the world, Qatar Airways’  Business Class in-flight a la carte dining experience offers mouth-watering dishes created by award-winning chefs. A light snack was served around 45 minutes after take-off. Due to the typhoon in the South China Sea, and a slight storm in the Chongqing area, there was slight turbulence around 40 minutes into the flight. Since this was a early morning/late night flight, so the meal service was not so heavy.  

The 4-course dinner service consisted of (in order of service):

·         Cream of chicken and wild mushroom soup
·         Mixed fresh garden salad served with warm marinated prawns, and coriander vinaigrette
·         Warm toasted focaccia with smoked turkey with mango slice and mozzarella cheese
·         Assorted seasonal fresh fruit

I wish I had a huge stomach because even though I was hungry, there was no way I could have eaten all of the above dishes. The cabin crew were very hospitable and friendly. They politely asked me to try every dish, and hence I did.

I commenced the in-flight gastronomic adventure by tucking into the rich and filling ‘cream of chicken and mushroom soup’, which came with a small trendy bread stick to dip into the soup. One can easily taste the smooth yet strong flavours of garlic, onions, diced chicken, carrot, and, celery (all whisked into a cream). Be astonished, and more importantly be filled with good food. A soup like this is always good before a big meal. It’s one of such prestige appellation to the mouth, especially for an in-flight meal.

Following the delicious soup was the healthy ‘mixed fresh garden salad served with warm marinated prawns and coriander vinaigrette’. Lovely crunchy salad with a neat decoration of croutons, and plentiful of freshly cooked sea prawns. Presentation was immaculate. There were a variety of salad dressings (provided by Plate Monte Vibiano), accompanying this wonderful dish. These included ‘spicy lemon dressing’, ‘harrisa dressing’, ‘extra virgin olive oil’, and ‘tomato chilli dressing’.

If one can compare the meal service to a cricket match bowling (I know, it’s a weird combination), then these first two dishes can be considered to be the ‘looseners’. The meaty part was still to come, by which time I was already too full. Qatar Airways really feed you like there is no tomorrow- and its proof that in-flight standards are immaculately high with some airline companies.

The ‘warm toasted focaccia with smoked turkey with mango slice and mozzarella cheese’ was enough to put a blush on your face. With a well cooked and presented dish like this it’s so easy to lose your composure- lovely melted cheese bits, ham, and roasted tomato slices insisting on sticking out of my mouth! Nature took its toll, and my mouth said ‘I want more!’. It was the perfect way to complete a lovely dinner somewhere over Kunming (Yunnan Province). While the rest of China was asleep (you may assume so), yet here were 290 odd passengers tucking into a 5-star meal 38,000 feet in the sky at 2.30am in the morning local time! Oh, and we were travelling at 1900kmh, so much for the word ‘fast food’ on the go as well!

The gastronomic rejuvenation came to a finale with the healthy dish of freshly cut seasonal fruit. Slices of rich and exotic fruit such as dragon fruit, wild red grapes, melon, grapefruit, and pineapple were presented.

Comments regarding the after meal drinks and in-flight snacks :

A second round of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (including any coffee, tea and beverages) were offered. I opted to drink plenty of still mineral water. Tempting drinks such as Martini Rosso/Dry, Campari, Glenfiddich Single Malt Solera 15 years old, Chivas Regal, Baileys, and many more were available.

Qatar Airways is proud to offer the finest wines from around the world. Every flight route has a different selection of wines. It’s another minor but important thing like this that differentiates Qatar Airways from the other airlines in the world. Wines and beverages available by the bottle on this flight included the following:

·         Champagne: Laurent Perrier, Brut, 2000 (France)
·         Chardonnay: Vincent Giradin, AC Meursault, Vieilles Vignes, 2007 (Burgundy, France)
·         Sauvignon Blanc: Saint Clair, Pioneer Block 11, 2010 (Marlborough, New Zealand)
·         Riesling: Fritz Haag, Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr, Spatiese, 2008 (Mosel Valley, Germany)
·         Chateau Monbousquet: 2002 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (Bordeaux, France)
·         Sangiovese: Poggio Antico, Alter0, 2005 (Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy)
·         Shiraz: Brokenwood, 2007 (Barossa Valley & McLaren Vale, Australia)
·         Taylor’s, 20 Year Old Twany (Douro Valley, Portugal)

Passengers in Business Class could go to the galley and get free flowing drinks, fruit, ice cream (Häagen-Dazs), Godiva chocolates, and a variety of hot pot noodles. 

Comments regarding the second meal:

Qatar Airways are one of the few airlines to serve two meals during a six-hour flight. The second meal, offered around an hour and half before landing, was heavier, and more options were available than the first meal. I was just wondering how I would eat all that! A quick visit to the hotel style toilet to clean my teeth and refresh myself before the second meal felt good. The cabin crew started handing out hot (or cold) towels prior to the breakfast a la carte. 

To revive we were offered a selection of some fresh fruit juices. Check these tempting options:

·         Freshly squeezed orange juice
·         Peach, mango, and banana energizer.
·         Cranberry juice

I opted for my favourite drink (I LOVE orange juice...gotta love that pleasant balance of sweet and tart). Qatar Airways have sourced out the best partners when it comes to providing excellent food, and their orange juice with the orange bits and skin parts is just awesome. It is good enough to wake you up refreshed.

To commence the breakfast adventure, there were the following two dishes (in the order of writing):

·         Tropical fruit with honey yogurt
·         Breakfast salad with smoked salmon, chicken devilled egg, avocado, and emmenthal cheese.

The ‘tropical fruit with honey yogurt’ is the kind of breakfast opener that you wish you can eat everyday. A celebration of kiwi fruit, papaya, grapefruit, and pomelo grapefruit drowned in a generous pool of luxury honey milk yogurt. Every spoonful is perhaps the closest thing to be on a tropical faraway island. I enjoyed its level of sweetness and found it seriously appetizing.

The ‘breakfast salad’ is the one with the ‘Wow!’ factor to it- both in terms of taste, and presentation. It’s the egg, and the vibrant colours of the smoked salmon, and the avocado that took my breath away. A perfectly boiled egg cut in half is overly filled with a beautifully coloured yellow yolk paste, and sprinkled with peppers. The vibrant combination of the different ingredients is just magical.

Following on from the above starters -I say again- starters (yes, hard to believe but the above were just the starters!), there was a choice to indulge into one of the following dishes:

·         Garlic egg fried rice, stir fried beef with ginger and spring onion, shitake mushroom, choy sum, and carrot
·         Peach pancakes, mixed berries and mascarpone cream with maple syrup
·         Cheddar cheese omelette, mushroom, chive ragout with asparagus tips, roasted red capsicum*

* Passengers could add their choice of seared vine cherry tomato, fresh roesti potato, and herb chicken patty.     

I am sure that if I had a big enough stomach, I would have tried to taste all of the dishes! However, for a medium guy like me, I ended up opting for the ‘cheddar cheese omelette’, with an added option of fresh roesti potato. The colour of this dish is a bright pale straw like indicating a slight youth of the taste and a deep stainless steel cooking style. The richly thick potato tasted like a delicious mashed potato pasty- very smooth to the tongue and just scrumptious! While the colours of the roasted tomatoes and the asparagus may look very bright and shiny, it can be confirmed that no artificial colours or excess preservatives are used in the cooking of all the meals on Qatar Airways. In actual fact a Business Class meal on a major airline as Qatar Airways should feel as close as possible to eating at a good quality restaurant (even though the saturated fat may top more than twice of what the recommended daily fat intake of 70g!).

Various types of bread rolls, pain du chocolate, croissant, and brown and white toast were provides from the bakery basket.

A final round of drinks was completed. This included a selection of beverages, soft drinks, juices, eight types of teas (early grey, English breakfast, green, roasted Japanese, Moroccan mint, camomile, sencha green, and green jasmine), and five types of coffees (cappuccino, espresso, cafe latte, macchiato, and American) were offered after the main meal.

Comments on the in-flight entertainment system:

Huge headphones with noise cancellation technology were offered in the Business Class cabin. The HUGE 33cm by 22cm (15.6-inch) PTV screen, which can be easily folded away into the right hand side armrest, can be used to watch movies, choose any kinds of music to play, watch how your flight is progressing, catch up on current affairs, or play computer games with.

Qatar Airways has three different IFE systems: Widescreen AVOD, PTV AVOD and Mainscreen. The digital AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) in-cabin entertainment system is known as Oryx entertainment system, is in use on all the routes. Passengers can select their program either from the panel in the arm of the seat or simply by touching the screen.

The AVOD system fall into three categories: 'Information', 'Entertainment’, and 'Communications'. Altogether, there are over 120 channels and levels of entertainment to absorb during your flight (Overall IFE has over 1000 Video and Audio on-demand options in Business Class). Then there is, Oryx, the five-star quality in-flight magazine of Qatar Airways to keep you mesmerized with many stories and useful information. PTV AVOD is fitted on board all Airbus A330s and Airbus A340s. It has a PTV and a remote. This was Qatar's first AVOD system. It is the only system that offers live television. The PTV system on the Airbus A340-642 aircraft is not touch screen (as that’s only available on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft).

The good thing is that on the Boeing 777-300ER all the seats have AC power plugs for passengers to do their work (or if you want to charge up your phone, camera, laptop etc.).

Connections enabling passengers to listen to, or watch on their individual screens, content on their personal iPods or USB devices are available on this aircraft (the Boeing 777-300ER).

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew were very hospitable, and proud to work for Qatar Airways. There was a genuine smile on every crewmembers face and you could tell that they really enjoyed their job. There was a real sense of teamwork in the cabin. As a customer (or passenger) it is easy to tell if the cabin crew are not getting along with each other (it does happen like any other job!), and on this flight I could see that everyone was in a joyous mood. If there was something I wanted or a question I had, then no one objected to it. Instead, they tried their best to help me as much as they could. The senior purser was just gem of a person. The whole flight experience was like magic, and everything seemed to go smoothly. Therefore, yes the world can be ideal sometimes.

It’s no wonder that Qatar Airways cabin crew were voted the ‘Best Cabin Crew’ in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year at the 2009 Skytrax airline awards. Qatar Airways has over 100 nationalities as cabin crew who offer a consistent 5-star service to its passengers. Some airline companies have all kinds of motivated mottos that they will look after their customers, but sometimes they fail in this miserably. Qatar Airways however really does make sure that everyone enjoys a smooth, and comfortable flight.

On our flight, we had cabin crew from Thailand, India, Malaysia, Philippines, United Kingdom, Germany and, Morocco. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, German, Malay, and Tamil.

The Captain was nice enough to invite me to the cockpit for a small chat and a tour of his beautiful office of this Boeing 777-300ER. Interesting to see that both the Captain and the Senior First Officer cleaned the yolk stick, seat handles, and the throttles with a germ free disinfectant prior to departure. Now it makes sense why some pilots (especially Japanese pilots) wear gloves when they are taking-off or landing (so that the yolk and throttles don’t get germs on them). Cockpit photos are attached. The Captain also drank a whole 1-litre bottle of water prior to take-off (to stay away from dehydration during the night flight). That inspired me to drink water too- alcohol and coffee don’t go too well during long flights! 

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

Qatar Airways have 42 Business Class flatbed seats on their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a 2-2-2 configuration. Each seat has a generous pitch of a 78 inch recline and is 22 inches wide. Generous legroom allows you to stretch comfortably and the built-in massager helps you relax. I had a wonderful sleep for around 5 hours in between the two meals. Slept like a log with my head on the soft cotton pillow. The senior purse even gave me a hand to cover me with the Qatar Airways blanket- such is the amazing service of the cabin crew. This is far better than most other airlines around the world. All the seats have a huge 15.6-inch PTV display screen, in-seat reading light, in-seat drinks holders, and in-seat power units.

In Business Class, the toilets are equipped with refreshing towels (various coloured packaging), eau de toilette, moisture cream, and a hand cream (all by Molton Brown). Passengers in Business Class are provided with cotton-lined pure wool blankets and 100% cotton sleeper suits. Another sign of why it’s the world’s 5-star airline.

Mood lighting is used throughout the flight to keep the passengers in touch with the time zones. So blue, orange, red and yellow shades of the mood lighting is used to highlight  the different time zones (dawn, night time, evening and, afternoon). This is so that passengers’ eyes and body can adapt to the different time zones. All the Business Class seats have an electronic touch pad control system allowing them to easily control the seat settings.

Qatar Airways logo and livery: 

Qatar Airways logo consist of the head of the national animal of the State of Qatar, the Oryx gazelle, as a motif, stuck on a round background of zigzags which resembles the background of the national flag of the State of Qatar. In line with the colors of the national flag of Qatar, the identity uses maroon as its primary color for all logos and branding.

The airline advertises heavily internationally including on international television channels like CNN, and BBC World. The airline’s motto is ‘The World’s 5-star airline that takes you more personally’, and this is certainly true when it comes to everything they do for their customers and passengers.

The word ‘’QATAR’ occupies the front of the fuselage, using a quite bland font, in huge letters on the livery. The whole logo on the airline portrays the perfect flair and distinctiveness that it deserves. There is a sense of luxury among that design. The grey and maroon colors are adopted from the national flag, and it essentially looks like a large Qatar flag on a plane (with those huge ‘QATAR’ letters on the front of the fuselage).

The Arabic name of the airline ‘Al Qatariyah‎’ is rendered in a much smaller, light grey font is is barely noticeable on the plane. All the Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A340-642 aircraft have the world ‘QATAR’ painted on the belly of the fuselage (it is easily visible from the ground when a plane is flying). In addition, there is the Qatar Airways’ Oryx logo on the winglets of the Airbus A340-600, and on the engine pods of all aircraft. Even the wheels have their interior painted in grey to resemble the brand identity. It looks cool!

The Oryx on the plane’s tail is itself a work of art, and suits the airline’s tailfins splendidly. It portrays the authentic culture and heritage of the Qatar people and country. Like most airlines around the world, Qatar Airways have adopted to a more modern and simple livery that portrays elegance, sophistication, and a smooth blend of comfort and imaginativeness. The airline logo stands out like a strong brand, and is proudly displayed on all tableware, cloths, in-flight seat covers, tissue paper, cups, airport buses, and on all the uniforms.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

Qatar Airways (القطرية) is the national flag carrier of the State of Qatar (دولة قطر) in the Middle East. Founded on the 22nd of November 1993, the airline has gone through a rapid expansion in a short time span to serve 101 destinations using 100 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 18,000 people world-wide, is based in the ultra-modern Doha Control Tower at Doha International Airport and serves its destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australasia, the Indian subcontinent, and East Asia. At the time of writing Qatar Airways has a firm order for 136 aircraft to be delivered within the next 5-7 years. These include five Airbus A380-800 (Super Jumbos), 30 Boeing 787-8 (Dreamliner), and 90 orders for the Airbus A350 aircraft (Extra Wide Bodied).

The airline is the proud holder of a number of awards. The latest of these came in 2011, when Qatar Airways was named by Skytrax the "Airline of the Year 2011", at the Paris Air Show in June 2011. At the same time Qatar Airways placed an order for six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The ultimate ranking, this rating is awarded to airlines achieving the highest quality performance. Qatar Airways is one of just seven airlines globally to be awarded the 5-star rating.

As the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, says: ‘Travel by air has reached the point where it is now taken for granted in most corners of the globe. With a larger number of passengers and more choice available in the skies today, airlines looking to maintain or grow their position in the marketplace must provide high-quality service with ever-increasing efficiency.’

In China, Qatar Airways flies non-stop between Doha and Guangzhou (seven flights a week), Beijing (four flights a week), and Shanghai (seven flights a week), connecting passengers to over 101 destinations worldwide through its hub at Doha. In November 2011, Qatar Airways will commence services to Chongqing seven times a week from Doha using the Airbus A330 aircraft with a two-class configuration (Business and Economy). When the Airbus A380-800 and the Boeing 787-8 enter into service, I am sure that Chinese destinations will be on the priority list. This is a hot market for the aviation industry.

Qatar Airways was proud to have been named Asia’s Most Preferred Airline Brand at the 2011 Asian Leadership Awards in October 2011. As mentioned by CEO Akbar Al Baker: ‘Over 30 per cent of Qatar Airways’ global coverage is in the Far East, South East Asia and South Asia’. The awards covered more than 20 categories, including business innovation, human resources, corporate responsibility and products and services.

I was on the flight from Doha to Guangzhou on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER to check out their Economy Class seats! What a flight it was…check this out:

Route: DOHA (DOH) to GUANGZHOU (CAN)

Departure date and time of flight: February 2011

Flight number: QR874 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 874”)

Flight duration: 7 Hours 10 minutes

Class: ECONOMY CLASS

Aircraft type: BOEING 777-3DZER (16 in service)

Unit cost of each Boeing 777-300ER: US$284.1 million (2011)

Aircraft registration: A7-BAB (First flight 11th December 2007)

Engine Type: 2 x GE GE90-115B (General Electric)

Aircraft Serial Number: 36103 LN:686

Aircraft Name: Um-Alamad  

Frequent flyer programme: Qatar Airways' Privilege Club- Q Miles

Seat configuration for this aircraft:

Business Class: 42 lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration,
Economy Class: 293 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration

The CEO of Qatar Airways Mr. Akbar Al-Baker has announced in 2010 that Qatar Airways plans to eliminate First Class cabins from existing A340 aircraft, as well as new aircraft deliveries, except the A380 aircraft (of which Qatar Airways will have five aircraft in service). All the Business Class seats on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offer the same features that are offered by most airlines in most their First Class cabins (such as in seat massage, extra legroom, and more entertainment channels). 

Punctuality of the flight :

Departed bang on time, and landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Doha airport gets exceedingly busy at nighttime with Qatar Airways flights connecting passengers to all parts of the world. Qatar Airways makes full use of the cost effective nighttime allowance to fly. Even though the airport is close to the city centre (only 5km), however noise is not a problem because most of the time the winds are prevailing towards the city, so planes can take-off  in the opposite direction (i,e. towards the sea), and this also benefits the airlines timetables. Even though a 3am flight is not good for the body clock (this was a connecting flight that I had taken while coming in from London Heathrow), early morning flights provide some truly priceless and spectacular views of the sunrise (or sunset). We got a magical view of the sunrise over Asia while we were cruising somewhere over north-west India (please see photos). Just makes you realise how beautiful earth and life is.   

Any baggage issues:

Qatar Airways flies from Terminal A at Doha International Airport. Terminal B is used by all other international airlines. No issues regarding the baggage. For Economy Class Qatar Airways have dedicated a checked baggage allowance of 23 kg total for all routes excluding transatlantic routes. Therefore, for the Doha to Guangzhou route, they have a 23KG luggage policy. All routes have a carry-on allowance of one piece not exceeding 7 kg (50x37x25 cm). Since I was in transit (flying from London Heathrow to Guangzhou via Doha), therefore I did not have to worry about this.

Comments on the check-in staff and flight route :

There was no need for me to check-in as I was in transit from London Heathrow to Guangzhou. The flight from Doha to Guangzhou was full to the maximum with passengers, and cargo. ‘Full cargo, and full payload, as the Captain told me. Doha airport caters for around 15 million passengers every year (2010 data), and is mainly used by Qatar Airways (as well as the 23 other airlines that use it). The existing airport will be replaced in late 2011 (or early 2012!) when the first phase of New Doha International Airport (NDIA) is expected to open with its two new runways. NDIA will be located around 5km from the existing airport, and will be the only commercial airport in the State of Qatar.

It is no surprise that as the Chinese economy is rising at a dizzying pace; there is an increase in the number of people flying to/from China for business (and travel). These days on almost of the flights that I have been to China, they have been FULL. Airline companies have recognised that China is definitely a HUGE market for the aviation industry. Qatar Airways was one of the first Middle Eastern carriers to fly into Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province. With a population of 12.78 million people, the city has strong connections with many Chinese, and non-Chinese people living and working in Europe (Eastern and Western), the Middle East, and the African Subcontinent. Hence the reason why it is so vitally important for Qatar Airways to tap into this important destination (and market!).

In fact, Guangzhou, which has been a major trade port for hundreds of years, has a large African expatriate population- almost 50,000 as of 2011. Most are from Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Algeria, and Egypt. A casual discussion with some passengers at China customs, and at the baggage collection belts at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport seemed to point that most of the passengers on our flight were from African countries on trade missions to Guangzhou.

We departed Doha bang on time, leaving from runway 16 (the 15th longest runway in the world at 15,000 feet), at 03:15am towards the Arabian sea, heading towards Bahrain control, then onto Abu Dhabi, Dubai, southern Afghanistan, and then entering Pakistan from Karachi. The flight entered Indian airspace from the Rajasthan desert, heading towards New Delhi control, then making its way towards the Ganges Delta near Kolkata before entering Bangladesh Airspace (got a view of dusty Dhaka baking in sheer heat from 38,000 feet!), and Burma. At around five hours into the flight we entered Chinese airspace in from Yunnan Province (went over Kunming), Guangxi Province (Yangshuo and Guilin were clearly visible with their dreamy hills), and then finally entering Guangdong Province from Foshan, sliding nicely into Guangzhou (beautiful views of Guangzhou city centre). This flight was just a journey to remember just because of the beautiful views that were offered on the way. Shame that those passengers who were sleep missed some awesome and breathtaking views (including the spectacular sunrise over India!).

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

Upon embarking the aircraft, passengers in Business Class and Economy Class were offered welcome drinks consisting of fresh orange juice, fresh apple juice, mineral water (champagne, wines, and caviar in Business Class only). As opposed to other airlines, Qatar Airlines offers refreshing towels to all passengers in all the classes prior to departure, prior to their meals and prior to landing. This is part of the true 5-star service that sets Qatar Airways apart from the rest. The cabin crew are truly one of the best trained I have met on any other airline. Customer comes first and Qatar Airways truly define the meaning of a 5-star service. 

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Passengers in Economy Class were offered a packet of fresh pretzels packed in Qatar Airways branded packets, and a choice of drinks from the trolley service. Wine in Economy Class is provided by Fortant De France by Syrah. The cabin crew were polite and friendly. Even though this flight was full, the cabin crew paid full attention each and every customer instead of just passing the meal to passengers like they do on some other airlines. Since this was an early morning flight, and I was quite fatigued (as were the rest of the passengers), so I just resorted to drinking plenty of bottled water (at least two liters throughout the flight!). Though they may sound very tempting, however, alcohol and coffee are not good to drink during this kind of early morning flight as it just dehydrates you. Water is the best.

Comments regarding the first meal:

In true Qatar Airways style, before each meal service in Economy Class, the cabin crew placed a coloured mat (paper mat) on the tray table. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the mat is slightly static so it will stop your cup of drink from sliding away if there is turbulence; secondly it will act as a sponge in case you do spill your drink or drop food (keeps everything clean!); and thirdly it’s to give that extra personal service to passengers even in Economy (if Business Class passengers can get a luxury white cloth, then there is no reason why Economy Class passengers cannot get a similar service).

The meal tray arrived at around 40 minutes after take-off from Doha. A tray full of goodies was staring at my eyes. There were two options for the main meal:

1.    Two Italian style large ravioli style triangles with a Cumberland sausage, garnished with plenty of homemade tomato sauce.
2.    Cantonese style chicken with fragrant rice and lavish thick soy sauce.

I opted for the Italian option. It was nice to see a creative dish such as this being provided as an airline meal. What you normally tend to find on some other airlines is that the quality of the ingredients’, the style of the cooking, and the type of the meal is not well cooked and nothing special (normally it’s just simple like chicken with rice, beef with rice etc.). The Cumberland sausage tasted just as if it was taken fresh from the cooking oven. With good food like this, it is so easy to get carried away and completely lose your composure! I had to wipe clean all that sauce from my face, and I would not be surprised if a few passengers even finger licked the food clean off the plate. The guy sitting next to me kept on showing me the double thumbs up after every bite. ‘Hmmm...this is good food!’ said the Syrian passenger on his way to Guangzhou. This is why Qatar Airways is different because they provide a fine dining experience in all classes of travel- one that is easily comparable to going to a 5-star restaurant. You get what you pay for, and Qatar Airways does not fail.

Accompanying the main dish was a bowl of freshly cut salad (carrot strings, tomato, shredded lettuce, sweet corn, olives, and chickpeas all in one action packed bowl!). It’s ridiculously good to have some crunchy salad to accompany a slightly heavy yet tasty dish as I had.

For dessert, Qatar Airways provided a low-fat vanilla and banana moose decorated with a dash of honey and baked maple syrup. Though it was low fat, it tasted just as good as a moose would at room temperature on the ground. Slightly thick, but kind to the tongue nevertheless. All the in-flight meals at Qatar Airways are prepared according to strict Islamic traditions.

Cheese (by Labaneh), and biscuits (by Nutro) accompanied the main meal as a side snack. Free flowing bread from the basket with butter were also available (you don’t get this on other airlines. It was difficult to forget the endless amounts of Godiva chocolates that the cabin crew kept on bringing us. In Economy Class, Qatar Airways still provides plastic cutlery to the passengers.  

Comments regarding the after meal drinks and in-flight snacks :

Plenty of fresh water (provided by Rayyan), Godiva chocolates, and boiled sweets by ‘Zoom’ were distributed throughout the flight. Passengers could go to the galley and get a free flow of pot noodles, drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol) if they wanted. Coffee and tea are offered in lovely Qatar Airways branded paper cups (that can be recycled), and milk is offered by local Qatari vendor, Rainbow. Bottled water is exclusively offered by Evian, and Rayyan.

Comments regarding the second meal:

Qatar Airways is one of the few global airlines that offer a full second meal on flights within six-hour duration. Since our flight was seven hours, so we were treated to a meal similar to the meal we got after take-off from Doha.   

Served around an hour and a half prior to landing at Guangzhou, we were treated to the following options for the second meal:

1.    Curried codfish served with a portion of boiled baby carrots, freshly cut broccoli, and mashed potatoes.
2.    Cantonese style chicken with fragrant rice and lavish thick soy sauce.

I opted for the codfish option. Mashed potatoes always go well with flying, but just have to be careful with all those carbohydrates! Lovely chunks of tuna dipped in with a spoonful of mashed potato and some carrot and broccoli- this is luxury airline food at its best! Airline meals are specially prepared to be fresh in a pressurised environment at 38,000 feet, and are normally freeze dried in the fuselage belly before being served (!), so they have to be served as fresh as possible. Even as a normal meal, this dish would be just great for a quick lunch on the ground.

Served alongside with the main dish was the semolina and rice pudding. Now, doesn't that sound gorgeous? And it wasn't just a normal rice pudding, but had minute droplets of strawberry pieces dropped in randomly. You could taste a strawberry every other bite. The views out of the window at this time were magical too. We had just crossed the massive Ganges plain, and were heading towards Bangladesh, and then onto Burma before entering Chinese airspace near Yunnan Province. The flight paths over India and China are heavily crowded with air traffic heading to and from Asia.

Improved systems such as radars, aircraft instrumentation, autopilots, and systems engineered to a higher quality, with qualified crews and controllers operating to critical specifications, allow the airspace to be deemed Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM). RVSM means that aeroplanes can be only 1,000 feet apart instead of the standard 2,000 feet. It’s cool...but we never saw a single aircraft within our vicinity during our flight.

By which time it was time to tuck into the chocolate fudge cake blended with strawberry moose (and generously decorated with a dash of Godiva chocolate sauce). The Godiva sauce went really well with the accompanying Godiva chocolates. Too many are not good, but hey you are flying, so enjoy it!

Another round of drinks and refreshments were offered after the second meal. In the 50 minutes it took to eat my second meal, we had crossed around about 1,750 km of land below us (and three countries: India, Bangladesh and Burma). How’s that for speed eating?!  

Comments on the in-flight entertainment system:

Huge headphones were offered in the Economy Class cabin. The 10.6 inch PTV screen is placed behind every Economy Class seat. Qatar Airways has three different IFE systems: Widescreen AVOD, PTV AVOD and Mainscreen. The digital AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) in-cabin entertainment system is known as Oryx entertainment system, is in use on all the routes. Passengers can select their program either from the panel in the arm of the seat or simply by touching the screen. The AVOD system fall into three categories: 'Information', 'Entertainment’, and 'Communications'. Altogether, there are over 120 channels and levels of entertainment to absorb during your flight (with a combined 700 different options for audio and video entertainment). 

Then there is Oryx, the five-star quality in-flight magazine of Qatar Airways to keep you mesmerized with many stories and useful information. PTV AVOD is fitted on board all Airbus A330s and Airbus A340s. It has a PTV and a remote. This was Qatar's first AVOD system. It is the only system that offers live television. The PTV system on the Airbus A340-642 aircraft is not touch screen (as that’s only available on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft).

The good thing is that on the Boeing 777-300ER all the seats have AC power plugs for passengers to do their work (or if you want to charge up your phone, camera, laptop etc.).

Connections enabling passengers to listen to, or watch on their individual screens, content on their personal iPods or USB devices are available on this aircraft (the Boeing 777-300ER).

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew were very hospitable, and proud to work for Qatar Airways. There was a genuine smile on every crew members face and you could tell that they really enjoyed their job. There was a real sense of teamwork in the cabin. As a customer (or passenger) it is easy to tell if the cabin crew are not getting along with each other (it does happen like any other job!), and on this flight I could see that everyone was in a joyous mood. If there was something I wanted or a question I had, then no one objected to it. Instead, they tried their best to help me as much as they could. The senior purser was just gem of a person. The whole flight experience was like magic, and everything seemed to go smoothly. So, yes the world can be ideal sometimes.

It’s no wonder that Qatar Airways cabin crew were voted the ‘Best Cabin Crew’ in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year at the 2009 Skytrax airline awards. Qatar Airways has over 100 nationalities as cabin crew who offer a consistent 5-star service to its passengers. Some airline companies have all kinds of motivated mottos that they will look after their customers, but sometimes they fail in this miserably. Qatar Airways however really does make sure that everyone enjoys a smooth, and comfortable flight.

On our flight, we had cabin crew from Thailand, India, Malaysia, Philippines, United Kingdom, Germany and, Morocco. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, German, Malay, and Tamil. 

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

In the 2009 and 2010 Skytrax Awards, Qatar Airways Economy Class was named best in the world.

Qatar Airways have 293 Economy Class seats on their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a 3-3-3 configuration (better than most other airlines that have 10 seats across each Economy Class row). Each seat has a generous pitch of a 34 inch recline and is 18.9 inches wide. This is far better than most other airlines around the world. All the seats have a PTV displayed at the back of each seat, and a reading light. The one thing that Qatar Airways can perhaps improve is to have the hand rests to be reclined 90 degrees instead of the 45 degrees. The hand rests for the seats don’t go backwards completely. Nevertheless, the seat itself is very comfortable, and for a flight of seven hours, it’s hard to complain about anything!

Even in Economy Class, the toilets are equipped with refreshing towels (various coloured packaging), eau de toilette, and a hand cream (Molton Brown). Another sign of why it’s the world’s 5-star airline. 

Qatar Airways logo and livery: 

Qatar Airways logo consist of the head of the national animal of the State of Qatar, the Oryx gazelle, as a motif, stuck on a round background of zigzags which resembles the background of the national flag of the State of Qatar. In line with the colors of the national flag of Qatar, the identity uses maroon as its primary color for all logos and branding.

The airline advertises heavily internationally including on international television channels like CNN, and BBC World. The airline’s motto is ‘The World’s 5-star airline that takes you more personally’, and this is certainly true when it comes to everything they do for their customers and passengers.

The word ‘’QATAR’ occupies the front of the fuselage, using a quite bland font, in huge letters on the livery. The whole logo on the airline portrays the perfect flair and distinctiveness that it deserves. There is a sense of luxury among that design. The grey and maroon colors are adopted from the national flag, and it essentially looks like a large Qatar flag on a plane (with those huge ‘QATAR’ letters on the front of the fuselage).

The Arabic name of the airline ‘Al Qatariyah‎’ is rendered in a much smaller, light grey font is is barely noticeable on the plane. All the Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A340-642 aircraft have the world ‘QATAR’ painted on the belly of the fuselage (it is easily visible from the ground when a plane is flying). In addition, there is the Qatar Airways’ Oryx logo on the winglets of the Airbus A340-600, and on the engine pods of all aircraft. Even the wheels have their interior painted in grey to resemble the brand identity. It looks cool!

The Oryx on the plane’s tail is itself a work of art, and suits the airline’s tailfins splendidly. It portrays the authentic culture and heritage of the Qatar people and country. Like most airlines around the world, Qatar Airways have adopted to a more modern and simple livery that portrays elegance, sophistication, and a smooth blend of comfort and imaginativeness. The airline logo stands out like a strong brand, and is proudly displayed on all tableware, cloths, in-flight seat covers, tissue paper, cups, airport buses, and on all the uniforms.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

THE WORLD’S 5-STAR AIRLINE (TAKING YOU MORE PERSONALLY)

Qatar Airways (القطرية) is the national flag carrier of the State of Qatar (دولة قطر) in the Middle East. Founded on the 22nd of November 1993, the airline has gone through a rapid expansion in a short time span to serve 101 destinations using 100 state-of-the-art modern and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 18,000 people world-wide, is based in the ultra-modern Doha Control Tower at Doha International Airport and serves its destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australasia, the Indian subcontinent, and East Asia. At the time of writing Qatar Airways has a firm order for 136 aircraft to be delivered within the next 5-7 years. These include 5 Airbus A380-800 (Super Jumbos), 30 Boeing 787-8 (Dreamliner), and 90 orders for the Airbus A350 aircraft (Extra Wide Bodied).

The airline is the proud holder of a number of awards. The latest of these came in 2011, when Qatar Airways was named by Skytrax the "Airline of the Year 2011", at the Paris Air Show in June 2011. At the same time, Qatar Airways placed an order for 6 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The ultimate ranking, this rating is awarded to airlines achieving the highest quality performance. Qatar Airways is one of just seven airlines globally to be awarded the 5-star rating.

As the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, says: ‘Travel by air has reached the point where it is now taken for granted in most corners of the globe. With a larger number of passengers and more choice available in the skies today, airlines looking to maintain or grow their position in the marketplace must provide high-quality service with ever-increasing efficiency.’

In 2011, some new interesting destinations for Qatar Airways include Chongqing (in Sichuan Province where hot and spicy Chinese cuisine derives from), and Shiraz in Iran. The sixth biggest city in Iran, Shiraz is the site of the country’s first solar power plant and was the birthplace of Shiraz wine hundreds of years B.C. It is not the same grape variety as the French Syrah (as served on this flight) because there is no chance of it having migrated there from Iran (the Iranian grape was a white one, and the French is a deep red).

In the United Kingdom, Qatar Airways flies non-stop between Doha and London Heathrow (28 flights a week), and Manchester (14 flights a week), connecting passengers to over 101 destinations worldwide through its hub at Doha. When the Boeing 787 comes into service, Qatar Airways hopes to use it for the London-Doha route. I was on the flight from London Heathrow to Doha on Qatar Airways’ Airbus A340-642 to check out their Economy Class seats! What a flight it was…check this out:

Route: LONDON HEATHROW (LHR) to DOHA (DOH)

Departure date and time of flight: February 2011

Flight number: QR008 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 008 heavy”)

Flight duration: 6 Hours 35 minutes

Class: ECONOMY CLASS

Aircraft type: AIRBUS A340-642 (3 in service)

Unit cost of each Airbus A340-642: US$275.4 million (£168.25 million or €190 million) (2011)

Aircraft registration: A7-AGD (First flight 16th February 2007)

Engine Type: 4 x RR Trent 556-61 (ROLLS-ROYCE)

Aircraft Serial Number: 798

Frequent flyer programme: Qatar Airways' Privilege Club- Q Miles

Seat configuration for this aircraft:

First Class: 8 flat bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration (6.5 Feet legroom)
Business Class: 42 lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration,
Economy Class: 256 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration

Presently the Airbus A340-642 is the only aircraft where Qatar Airways offers First Class cabin. However the CEO of Qatar Airways Mr. Akbar Al-Baker has announced in 2010 that Qatar Airways plans to eliminate First Class cabins from existing A340 aircraft, as well as new aircraft deliveries, except the A380 aircraft (of which Qatar Airways will have 5 aircraft in service). In fact all the Business Class seats on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offer the same features that are offered by most airlines in most their First Class cabins (such as in seat massage, extra legroom, and more entertainment channels).

Any baggage issues:

Qatar Airways flies from Terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport, which tends to be quieter and much hassle free than the chaotic Terminal 3 (from where all the major international airlines fly from)! No issues regarding the baggage. For Economy Class Qatar Airways have dedicated a checked baggage allowance of 23 kg total for all routes excluding transatlantic routes. Therefore, for the London to Doha route, they have a 23KG luggage policy. All routes have a carry-on allowance of one piece not exceeding 7 kg (50x37x25 cm).

Comments on the check-in staff and flight route:

At the time of writing, Qatar Airways customers can check-in at Zone A, (from desks 115-122). The check-in staff were very polite and swift in processing the check-in process.

Non-EU citizens, can claim Value Added Tax (VAT) before they check-in, at the VAT desk which is accessed by the lift in Zone G. If you want this service then it is wise to add an extra hour to your check-in time for this process. Therefore overall it is wise to be at the airport at least 3 hours before departure (though you may get away with only 2 hours before your flight, but considering it is Heathrow- I would not risk it for the sake of missing your flight!).

After check-in, proceed straight to security (which can take a long time at Heathrow), and within the departure lounge you will find iconic British brands such as Harrods, as well as other brands such as Cartier and Gucci.

Considering that I departed on a daytime, there was hardly any hustle or bustle that you would normally expect at Heathrow on a busy rush hour period. The check-in process went smoothly (there was NO queue!) and quickly. It must have taken less than 20 minutes to get from the check-in desk to the aircraft gate. Because of the large number of flights between London and Doha, the flights are not that full. On our flight, there were only around 50 passengers on a plane that can carry up to 250 passengers!

When checking in for Qatar Airways, passengers are provided with one of the three types of boarding passes depending on where they are going, and which class they are flying in. So passengers whose final destination is Doha will be given a blue boarding pass wallet. Passengers that are flying Economy Class & transferring at Doha Airport are given a yellow boarding pass wallet, and passengers that are flying either Business or First Class & are transferring at Doha Airport are provided with a burgundy coloured boarding pass wallet along with an invitation card to the exclusive Premier terminal at Doha Airport. 

From Terminal 4, we had a short taxi to the active runway (runway 27L), and even there we did not come across the long wait for take-off. It was a straight approach to the threshold piano keys and an immediate take-off. Our flight took us from London Heathrow towards a Dover departure, and then reached cruise level of FL350 (35,000 feet), at around Maastricht control. As this was an evening-night flight, so as we approached the Qatar peninsula, near the border of Iraq, one can easily see the huge oil fields in the desert with flames gushing into the Arabian sky. This land is full of oil...billions of cash just lurking under the ground (and that’s what has made Qatar into a rich state over the past few years).

Qatar Airways Lounge at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4

Qatar Airways Premium customers (those flying First or Business Class, or those who hold the Premier Card for the Privilege club), can enjoy the relaxing facilities at the Skyteam lounge. Turn right after security and the longue can be found opposite gate 10. The lounge is shared by other airlines that are part of the Skyteam program (Delta Airlines, Aeroflot, KLM, Air France, Kenya Airways, CSA, Korean Airlines, and others). It has seating for around 250 people, long tables with built-in AC power supplies, PCs, a self-service bar with a good selection of drinks (beers, wines and soft drinks), a barista service, a hot and cold snack menu, a quiet zone, baby changing facilities, free WiFi, flat screen TVs, meeting rooms, and showers as well.

Punctuality of the flight:

Departed bang on time, and landed 35 minutes ahead of schedule. Time is money when it comes to the aviation industry as fuel costs, combined with landing fees, take-off slot fees, and airport management fees pile on rapidly the longer the aircraft stays on the ground. Qatar Airways, and the ground-handling agents at Heathrow, are very efficient in what they do and how they operate on time. The Captain told me that the plane had plenty of fuel in the tanks in case we had to do a fuel dumping (god forbid!), and everything was well managed for this flight.

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

Upon embarking the aircraft, passengers in First, Business Class, and Economy Class were offered welcome drinks consisting of fresh orange juice, fresh apple juice, mineral water (champagne, wines, and caviar in First and Business Class only). As opposed to other airlines, Qatar Airlines offers refreshing towels to all passengers in all the classes prior to departure, prior to their meals and prior to landing. This is part of the true 5-star service that sets Qatar Airways apart from the rest. The cabin crew are truly one of the best trained I have met on any other airline. Customer comes first and Qatar Airways truly define the meaning of a 5-star service.  

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Passengers in economy class were offered a packet of fresh pretzels packed in Qatar Airways branded packets, and a choice of drinks from the trolley service. Wine in economy class is provided by Fortant De France by Syrah. The cabin crew were so nice and friendly. Because the flight was so empty, so they took their time to serve every customer. There was no rush.

Comments regarding the first meal:

Before each meal service in Economy Class, the cabin crew place a coloured mat (paper mat) on the tray table. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the mat is slightly static so it will stop your cup of drink from sliding away if there is turbulence;  secondly it will act as a sponge in case you do spill your drink or drop food (keeps everything clean!); and thirdly, it’s to give that extra personal service to passengers even in Economy (if Business Class passengers can get a luxury white cloth, then there is no reason why Economy Class passengers cannot get a similar service).

Now, another reason why Qatar Airways is a 5-star airline is because of the high quality of the food provided to the customers even in economy class. All Economy Class passengers are treated just they are special VIP customers. The main meal tray arrived around 35 minutes after departure from Heathrow. The following were the options for the dinner service:

1.    Chicken in mustard curry with banana leaf sauce (non-veg)
2.    Special fragrant basmati rice with okra and spinach sabji (vegetarian)

I went for the chicken in mustard curry with banana leaf sauce. You can tell that an airline meal is freshly cooked especially when the tender taste of the meat melts in your mouth. Succulent pieces of chicken thighs and breasts were dancing on the tongue with each mouthful;. This Indian meal was better than most of the Indian restaurants in London (in my opinion, its true!).

Accompanying this meal was a lovely bowl of daal (mixed lentils) and soya beans sprinkled with a dash of fresh lemon and ginger juice. The garnish was complete with a few fresh crushed mint leaves blended into the daal. Impossibly yummy!.

The bowl of raita (fresh Indian yogurt) was not just some ordinary yogurt, but it was Greek yogurt merged with fine sprinkling of salt, pepper, and some Indian spices. Lovely addition to the main meal, and nice to dip in the Indian bread into the raita!

A scrumptious portion of Coxton Manor cheddar cheese with biscuits, and cubes of Lily O Brian’s chocolates as extras.

The most important dish of the tray happened to include a richly made chocolate and orange moose, topped with generous portions of chocolate chips, and a dash of Bacardi rum. Only Qatar Airways would provide food like that!

Comments regarding the after meal drinks and in-flight snacks:

Plenty of fresh water, Lily O Brian’s chocolates, and boiled sweets by ‘Zoom’ were distributed throughout the flight. Passengers could go to the galley and get a free flow of pot noodles, drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol) if they wanted. Coffee and tea are offered in lovely Qatar Airways branded paper cups (that can be recycled), and milk is offered by local Qatari vendor, Rainbow. Bottled water is exclusively offered by Evian.

Comments regarding the second meal:

Qatar Airways is one of the few global airlines that offer a second meal on flights within a 6-hour duration. The second meal was a light one compared to the slightly heavier one offered after take-off from London Heathrow. Offered just an hour prior to landing, passengers were treated to a selection of hot posh wraps by Monty’s bakehouse (tangy tomato, and chickpea and, char grilled chicken with tomato). The hot wraps were accompanied with a choice of non-alcohol drinks (hot and cold), and a chocolate biscuit. All the in-flight meals at Qatar Airways are prepared according to strict Islamic traditions. In Economy Class, Qatar Airways still provides plastic cutlery to the passengers. 

Another round of drinks and refreshments were offered after the second meal.

Lounges at Doha Airport

My flight landed at half past midnight, and even though I was travelling on Economy Class, Qatar Airways still have lounge facilities for those members that have Privilege cards. Doha International Airport is the only commercial airport in Qatar, and has two terminals: Terminal A for Qatar Airways flights, and Terminal B for all other airlines. The airport handled more than 15 million passengers in 2010, and will officially be replaced by the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) that is due to be opened in late 2011 (or early 2012) around 5km from the current airport’s location. As opposed to the current airport which has only one runway (runway 16/34 is the 15th longest runway in the world at 15,000 feet), NDIA will have 2 parallel runways to cater for the rapid rise in air travel in the region, and Qatar Airways’ rapid growth plans (including stands for the Airbus A380 aircraft, for which Qatar Airways has ordered 5 aircraft).

For those passengers that don’t have any Qatar Airways Privilege member cards, they can still use complimentary state-of-the-art facilities like showers, and rest areas. There are a myriad of shops serving hot and cold food and drinks. The Economy Class terminal has its own duty free area. Since Qatar Airways operate most of their flights at nighttime, so from around 11pm to 4am, Doha Airport is like a funfair! You’ll see people from all parts of the world waiting to be connected to all corners of the globe. It’s really an interesting place- almost like the United Nations!. If you want to get a real culture shock, then come and experience Doha Airport, perhaps the most cosmopolitan airport in the world. In the background of the Economy Class terminal waiting area, planes can be heard all night roaring off on take-off to faraway lands. Since most of the planes are parked away from the terminal building, therefore buses are used to connect passengers to the aircraft rather than using the usual jetties connected to the terminal buildings.

Doha airport is simply an art of sophistication. It’s located only 5km away from the centre of Doha, but the airport may itself be considered as an oasis city itself. There are FOUR lounges at Doha Airport:

Privilege Club Gold Lounge

Provides a true 5-star service in all the elements that it offers. This lounge is to be used by Privilege Club Gold Card holders (irrespective of the class they travel in). Members will find a warm welcome and world-class facilities in this stylish lounge.

• Business centre with free internet access
• Buffet dining service
• Newspapers and magazines
• Smoking area
• Shower facilities
• Baggage Storage Facilities

Privilege Club Silver Lounge

The Silver Lounge has all of the facilities as the Gold Members Lounge except baggage storage.

Oryx Lounge

This is 5-star lounge with all of the above mentioned facilities, and can be used by passengers travelling on first or Business Class on any other airline except Qatar Airways.

Premier Terminal

This is the exclusive Lounge for those travelling on First or Business Class with Qatar Airways. Its looks and feels like a 5-star hotel rather than an airport lounge. Complete with luxurious bedrooms, Jacuzzi, nursery for kids, storage space, office facilities (fax, internet, and telephone), massage facilities, separate mosques for men and women, sauna facilities, and a Mecca for dining with a true 5-star service. You can eat whatever you like. The Premier terminal has its own duty-free shop on the ground floor. Buses whisk passengers to/from their planes.

Comments on the in-flight entertainment system:

Headphones were offered in the Economy Class cabin. The 10.6 inch PTV screen is placed behind every Economy Class seat. Qatar Airways has 3 different IFE systems: Widescreen AVOD, PTV AVOD and Mainscreen. The digital AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) in-cabin entertainment system is known as Oryx entertainment system, is in use on all the routes. Passengers can select their program either from the panel in the arm of the seat or simply by touching the screen. The AVOD system fall into three categories: 'Information', 'Entertainment’, and 'Communications'. Altogether, there are over 120 channels and levels of entertainment to absorb during your flight (providing an overall 700 audio and video options for every passengers on every flight). 

Then there is Oryx, the five-star quality in-flight magazine of Qatar Airways to keep you mesmerized with many stories and useful information. PTV AVOD is fitted on board all Airbus A330s and Airbus A340s. It has a PTV and a remote. This was Qatar's first AVOD system. It is the only system that offers live television. The PTV system on the Airbus A340-642 aircraft is not touch screen (as that’s only available on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft). The good thing is that on the Airbus A340-642 all the seats have AC power plugs for passengers to do their work (or if you want to charge up your phone, camera, laptop etc.).

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew :

The cabin crew were very hospitable, and proud to work for Qatar Airways. There was a genuine smile on every crew members face and you could tell that they really enjoyed their job. There was a real sense of teamwork in the cabin. As a customer (or passenger) it is easy to tell if the cabin crew are not getting along with each other (it does happen like any other job!), and on this flight I could see that everyone was in a joyous mood. If there was something I wanted or a question I had, then no one objected to it. Instead, they tried their best to help me as much as they could.

It’s no wonder that Qatar Airways cabin crew were voted the ‘Best Cabin Crew’ in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year at the 2009 Skytrax airline awards. Qatar Airways has over 100 nationalities as cabin crew who offer a consistent 5-star service to its passengers. Some airline companies have all kinds of motivated mottos that they will look after their customers, but sometimes they fail in this miserably. Qatar Airways however really does make sure that everyone enjoys a smooth, and comfortable flight.

Qatar Airways, like most other Middle Eastern carriers, invest a lot in training their staff, which is why their cabin crew and pilots are one of the best in the world. All that money from the passengers’ ticket price revenue is poured back into the high-class training provided to the staff, state-of-the-art aircraft, first-class facilities, and unmatchable tax-free salaries to the correct staff. This all equals to the making of a 5-star airline where you have the best staff that are well trained, and well looked after. An excellent example of this was demonstrated on the 13th October 2010, when a Qatar Airways Captain sadly died while on duty from a heart attack on a flight from Manila to Doha. His First Officer diverted the aircraft to Kuala Lumpur, and landed safely. This tragic event, whilst having a safe outcome for the rest of the crew and the 260 passengers; was a wake-up call for the industry. In other airlines where the training is not as good as that of Qatar Airways, this may have resulted in a negative result (I hope not, god forbid...but I fear it may).  

Airlines in the Middle East region (Emirates, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, and Etihad), tend to employ highly experienced pilots who have had entire careers at airlines in their home countries before embarking on an expat lifestyle. In addition, they spend huge amounts of cash on simulator training at their base hubs. Their first-officers train-for and are examined on their response to ‘pilot incapacitation’.

On our flight, we had cabin crew from Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, United Kingdom, France and, Morocco. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, French, Spanish, and Tamil. The entire staff at Qatar Airways are thoroughly taught and regularly checked on how to deal with all kinds of situations in a metal tube flying at 37,000 feet in the sky, including first aid, very young children, pregnant mothers, terrorism, drunken passengers (it does happen), bad behaviour by passengers, and any other mayday situations.  

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort) 

The A340-642 aircraft has an on-board lounge near the First and Business class compartments. Priestmangoode, (famous for Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa seating), designed the lounge. Building on traditional Qatari hospitality Priestmangoode has developed the design of the on-board lounge to be an extension of the airline’s airport lounge. The overall aim of the design was to generate the feeling of a integrated VIP corporate jet. The lounge offers cream leather sofa seating for six passengers and standing room at the bar. There is also a small mini-bar with spotlight mood lighting, and some space for magazines to be placed. In the 2009 and 2010 Skytrax Awards, Qatar Airways Economy Class was named best in the world.

There are 256 Economy Seats on the Airbus A340-642 aircraft with a 2-4-2 configuration. Each seat has a generous pitch of a 34-inch recline and is 18.9 inches wide. This is far better than most other airlines around the world. All the seats have a PTV displayed at the back of each seat, and a reading light. The one thing that Qatar Airways can perhaps improve is to have the hand rests to be reclined 90 degrees instead of the 45 degrees. The hand rests for the seats don’t go backwards completely. Nevertheless, the seat itself is very comfortable, and for a flight of 7 hours, it’s hard to complain about anything!

Even in Economy Class, the toilets are equipped with refreshing towels (various coloured packaging), eau de toilette, and a hand cream (Molton Brown of London). Another sign of why it’s the world’s 5-star airline.  

Qatar Airways logo and livery : 

Qatar Airways logo consist of the head of the national animal of the State of Qatar, the Oryx gazelle, as a motif, stuck on a round background of zigzags which resembles the background of the national flag of the State of Qatar. In line with the colors of the national flag of Qatar, the identity uses maroon as its primary color for all logos and branding.

The airline advertises heavily internationally including on international television channels like CNN, and BBC World. The airline’s motto is ‘The World’s 5-star airline that takes you more personally’, and this is certainly true when it comes to everything they do for their customers and passengers.

The word ‘’QATAR’ occupies the front of the fuselage, using a quite bland font, in huge letters on the livery. The whole logo on the airline portrays the perfect flair and distinctiveness that it deserves. There is a sense of luxury among that design. The grey and maroon colors are adopted from the national flag, and it essentially looks like a large Qatar flag on a plane (with those huge ‘QATAR’ letters on the front of the fuselage).

The Arabic name of the airline ‘Al Qatariyah‎’ is rendered in a much smaller, light grey font is barely noticeable on the plane. All the Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A340-642 aircraft have the world ‘QATAR’ painted on the belly of the fuselage (it is easily visible from the ground when a plane is flying). In addition there is the Qatar Airways’ Oryx logo on the winglets of the Airbus A340-600 (as shown in the photos), and on the engine pods of all aircraft. Even the wheels have their interior painted in grey to resemble the brand identity. It looks cool!

The Oryx on the plane’s tail is itself a work of art, and suits the airline’s tailfins splendidly. It portrays the authentic culture and heritage of the Qatar people and country. Like most airlines around the world, Qatar Airways have adopted to a more modern and simple livery that portrays elegance, sophistication, and a smooth blend of comfort and imaginativeness. The airline logo stands out like a strong brand, and is proudly displayed on all tableware, cloths, in-flight seat covers, tissue paper, cups, airport buses, and on all the uniforms.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best) : 10

British Airways is the national flag carrier of the United Kingdom, and operates full international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers, freight, and mail and the provision of ancillary services. British Airways operates to 148 destinations around the world with a fleet of 245 aircraft. British Airways are one of the world’s leading scheduled premium international airlines. Their main principal place of business is Heathrow, one of the world’s premier airport locations, which serves a large geographical area with a comparatively high proportion of point-to-point business. Operating one of the most extensive international scheduled airline route networks, together with our code share and franchise partners, British Airways flies to more than 300 destinations worldwide.

I had the pleasure of flying with British Airways from London Heathrow Airport (U.K.), to Beijing Capital Airport (China), on one of their Boeing 747-400 aircraft. I flew Club World Class, which is the name given to business class on British Airways. On 13 November 2006, British Airways launched Next Generation New Club World, featuring larger seats. This was my first time ever I sat at the upper deck cabin of a Boeing 747-400, so it was very exciting to experience the service and flight from a different angle of an aircraft that I would normally fly in.

In mainland China, British Airways flies to Beijing (Six flights a week), and Shanghai (Six flights a week) using the Boeing 747-400, and the Boeing 777 aircraft. So enjoy the flight experience from seat 63A on the upper deck of this splendid Boeing 747-400 aircraft! The Beijing route used to be flown by the Boeing 777, but due to extra need, the flights are operated by the Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

Route: LONDON HEATHROW (LHR) - BEIJING (PEK)

Departure date and time of flight: October 2011, 16:45pm local time (London)

Flight number: BA39 (ICAO callsign: “Speedbird 39 heavy”)

Flight duration: 8 Hours 45 minutes

Class: CLUB WORLD (BUSINESS CLASS)

Aircraft type: BOEING 747-436 (51 aircraft in service)

Aircraft registration: G-BYGA (First flight 4th December 1998)

Aircraft Serial Number: 28855 - line 1190

Seat configuration for this aircraft:

- First Class: 14 seats in a 1-1-1 configuration on the main deck
- Club World (Business class): 70 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration (2-2 configuration on the upper deck),
- World Traveller Plus (Premier Economy class): 30 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration
- World Traveller class (Economy class): 177 seats in a 3-4-3 configuration

Any baggage issues:

No issues regarding the baggage. The baggage limit is 3 bags (of 32kg each) for those flying in Club World to Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and connecting journeys between India and USA/Bermuda/Canada. For passengers travelling to all other destinations with British Airways, passengers travelling in Club World can carry 2-luggage bags up to 32kg each in the hold (no extra charge for extra weight).

Comments on the check-in staff:

Checking in at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 is an effortless affair because of the large numbers of check-in counters, and the abundance of electronic ticket (E-ticket) counters available on site. The whole checking process was a very quick and smooth one, having taking only around 20 minutes for me to get from checking in my baggage to the duty free area.

LOUNGE EXPERIENCE at Heathrow Terminal 5:

British Airways has not just one lounge, but eight lounges at Heathrow (six at Terminal 5, and 2 at Terminal 3). Lounges are available at Terminal 5A North (Galleries Lounge after security), Terminal 5A South (Galleries Lounge after security), Terminal 5A (Galleries Lounge at gate side), and Terminal 5B (Galleries Lounge at gate side). The British Airways Lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 is not just ordinary Lounge, but rather similar to a 5-star hotel. You can have breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can sleep in one of the many small ‘sleeper’ rooms, take a shower (20 shower suites available), watch some movies, catch up on the latest current affairs, have a massage, facial treatment, or just go shopping. The lounge caters for passengers transferring at Heathrow, as well as those departing as well.

For those travelling in First and Club World class (and for Gold Executive Club members flying long haul), British Airways can have a complimentary two-tier treatment menu at the Elemis Travel Spa at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, or Terminal 3. At Terminal 5, there is even a 20-seat cinema for live sporting events and tailored entertainment. Wireless internet is available free in all the lounges.

Punctuality of the flight, and route taken:

Departed on time, and landed on time. London Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and certainly gets busy during the peak hours unlike some other airports around the world. Considering that Heathrow only has two runways (27L/09R, and 27R/09L) where one is used for take-offs, and the other for landings, so therefore there tends to be a long queue of aircraft waiting to take-off (as was in this case). However, if you are an aviation enthusiast, then Heathrow is heaven for you because you can see airlines from all around the world (and going away to all corners of the world). In the line to runway 27L, we had the following aircraft ahead of us Qantas A380-800 (the big ugly looking Super Jumbo), Kenya Airways 777, Etihad Airways A340-600, Air India 777-200LR, British Midland A320, and an Alitalia A321. When I was younger, I used to listen to the ATC on my VHF radio, and used to copy the different accents of the pilots as they communicated with the Heathrow ATC. The comical ones were always those where English was not the first language for the Captain (or First Officer). Like Aeroflot, LOT Polish, Malev, Air China, and others.

We departed on a Clacton departure towards Ipswich, then North Sea, Scandinavia, North Russia, Siberia, North Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and then finally into Beijing (landing on Runway 36L).

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

Passengers’ in Club World are offered hot lemon scented towels prior to departure. This is followed by a drinks service, which consists of some of the world’s finest wines, and champagne. Passengers are also treated to a bag of Macadamia Nuts (dry roasted and salted from Kenya). The huge nuts go well with any wine. I opted for a glass of Chardonnay (Barwick Estates Black Label Chardonnay 2009, Margaret River, Western Australia 1997). The high flow of the fruit juices dance as they make down your throat. It’s a sheer delight to drink high quality wine like this on a flight.

Many of the British Airways classics are greatly adored by passengers around the world. Nothing less is expected from an airline that was once known as ‘World’s favourite airline’. 

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Around about 25 minutes after departure, drinks were served from the trolley along with another helping of the huge Macadamia Nuts. I opted for the Champagne this time (Taittinger Brut Reserve NV, Champagne 1734).

There was also the celebrated British Airways complimentary bar service, including various alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks. Ground coffee, and decaffeinated coffee or tea (English Tetley tea, and Chinese green tea) were also available. On top of this there were a selection of herbal teas including green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant, and camomile with honey.

Comments regarding the first meal:

British Airways have taken their in-flight menu to new heights, and indeed, it is called ‘Height Cuisine’ menu. The recipes used have been specially developed using the ingredients that are naturally high in a fifth taste known as Umami (after sweet, sour, bitter, and salt). The taste of Umami was identified in Japan, and it offers a pleasant savoury taste in many foods such as tomatoes, seaweed, and parmesan cheese. British Airways claims to source their ingredients locally wherever they can. Whereas East-West fusion cuisines are considered exotic as part of most in-flight meals, at British Airways they have a more common presence in their in-flight dining on flights to the Far East. Dinner service consisted of the following:

Starters:

- Smoked salmon and trout roulade with radish and fennel salad.

- Mushroom parfait with red onion, marmalade, and watercress salad (vegetarian)

I opted for the stylish looking smoked salmon. The dish has carefully adopted characteristics of Asian cuisines, such as matching beautifully created roll of the salmon, a bit like a big wrapped sushi with elegant garnish of radish and fennel salad. It is exactly this openness to new ideas and respect for tradition, which has enabled British Airways to not just survive, but also gracefully thrive when it comes to providing a 5-star quality in-flight meal in the 21st century.

Main Course:

There were four options for the main course, including:

- Asian style chicken and pumpkin curry with snow peas and jasmine rice

- Slow braised British beef with rosti potatoes

- Beetroot and horseradish risotto with ruby chard.

- Chilled main course salad of grilled king prawn with Thai noodles and cashews.

I opted for the ‘Asian style chicken’ dish. As well as upholding the traditional and authentic taste of the Chinese cuisine, this dish also incorporated certain herbal concepts. The slow-cooked chicken with the pumpkin curry, for example, is actually seasoned with traditional Chinese herbs to neutralise it’s undesirable heat when eaten at high altitude (even in a pressurised environment). The sweet essence of the jasmine rice gave way to a soft and elegant sweet smell that blended in neatly with the snow peas. The presentation off the dish was immaculate and just as it should be. A variety of freshly baked bread was served from the basket. Perhaps I should have also tried the traditional British option of beef and rosti potatoes (Yummy!). I am not a big fan of beetroot (very English indeed), however would not have minded tucking into that dish either.

The main course came with a large bone china bowl containing a generous amount of fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette.

Dessert:

- Pear and caramel delice with caramelised pear compote.

- Ice Cream (Beechdean farmhouse dairy ice cream from jersey cows)

- Blue Wensleydale, and smoked cheddar served with Jacobs English biscuits

- A selection of fruit and Lily O Brain’s luxury chocolates.

I could easily have gone for a Chinese option such as the plate of fresh fruit with exotic fruits such as kiwi, watermelon, grapefruit, orange, and red grapes. However I opted for the English option (pear and caramel delice), because I knew this would the last ‘real’ British food I would before I started my life again in China (western food in China does not quite pinch the authentic English flavour). The soft and creamy pear and caramel delice is really an extravaganza of a dessert- it’s both fun and whimsical. Just at the moment you pop your tongue into this, it becomes more intense by the second. This dish hits all the right buttons when it comes to presentation, and absolute British taste in the sky.

The Wensleydale, and smoked Cheddar served with Jacobs English biscuits provide an extra ‘icing’ on the cake so to speak. It’s the perfect way tom polish off an exceptionally created in-flight dinner meal.

Comments regarding the after meal drinks and in-flight snacks :

Ground coffee, and decaffeinated coffee or tea (English Tetley tea, and Chinese green tea) were also available. On top of this there were a selection of herbal teas including green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant, and camomile with honey.

The Club Kitchen is located on the main deck of the Boeing 747-400, and is available for snacks throughout the flight. Beechdean farmhouse dairy ice cream from jersey cows tasted too good. You could have easily forgotten about all those extra calories when plucking each spoonful of ice cream from the beautifully decorated tub. Oh, and of course, the hot pot noodles were available in abundance throughout the flight. There was also plenty of ‘Blue Wensleydale, and smoked Cheddar’ served with Jacobs English biscuits. Delicious.  

Other than this, the Club Kitchen also offered the following all throughout the flight:

-       fresh wraps, salads and bite-sized sandwiches
-       delicious hot dishes such as hot Chinese noodles, and tasty soups
-       luxury cakes and fair-trade chocolate
-       Fine wines, fruit smoothies, soft drinks and juices.

Comments regarding the second meal:

Breakfast was served around about an hour and a half prior to landing at Beijing Airport. There was a good selection of options available including:

Starters:

- Chilled fruit juice

- An energising fruit smoothie of raspberry and oatmeal

- Fresh fruit

- Yoghurt with pecans, strawberry, granola, and compote (vegetarian).

Though I adore orange juice very much, I decided to commence the meal with an energising smoothie of raspberry and oatmeal. Smoothies are popular with healthy eating crowds, and that includes me. High in protein and low in sugar and fat, drinking this powerful drink was the perfect way to wake up. Though many smoothies include crushed ice, and frozen yoghurt, thankfully this one did not. The milk and all other ingredients were organic. All breakfast trays came complete with a choice of bread from the bread basket (I could not resist those Danish pastries), and a bowl of fresh fruit. Preserves were provided by Wilkin & Sons Ltd of England.

Main breakfast dish:

- Full English breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, grilled bacon, Cumberland sausage, tomato, and sautéed potatoes.
- Creamy mushrooms on a toasted English muffins (Vegetarian)
- Pork congee

I opted for the English breakfast. It’s the one dish on the menu of all British Airways flights that I really look forward to. Many people in the UK swear by a traditional English breakfast in the morning as the only proper start to the day- and in true British culture British Airways offers one of the best English breakfasts in the sky. There is a long-standing tradition of a cooked breakfast, consisting of meat and egg products, with bread, washed down with gallons of English tea or coffee, across the UK, including Scotland and Wales, as well as Ireland. British Airways uses fine ingredients such as organic potatoes, tomatoes, prime English bacon, and free-range eggs for their English breakfast. There is nothing quite like it, and naturally the chefs at British Airways catering department do a fantastic job in not letting their passengers down. It gives a taste of true British food in the sky.

Ground coffee, and decaffeinated coffee or tea (English Tetley tea, and Chinese green tea) were also available. On top of this there were a selection of herbal teas including green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant, and camomile with honey.

Comments on the in-flight entertainment system :

All Club World and First Class passengers are provided with noise cancellation headphones that come complete with the BA logo on the sides. Every seat in Club World comes with a 10.4 inch flat screen (Personal Television- PTV). BA’s in-flight entertainment system is called HighLife Entertainment. The movies, and music albums vary according to the route (so for China, there were a mixture of Asian and Western movies and songs etc.), and every month a new list entertainment options crop up.

HighLife Entertainment’s Audio and Video On Demand (AVOD) system puts the passengers in full control of all kinds of audio, video and games entertainment. Passengers can choose from over 200 entertainment options and play, pause, stop, fast forward and rewind to fit in with their own schedule. These large PTVs and noise cancellations headphones are available on all longhaul flights (Boeing 777, 747, and 767 aircraft).

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

Representing the truly global and multicultural ethos of British Airways, the cabin crew come from a variety of cultures. Naturally, on this flight, the cabin crew were from China, and the United Kingdom, and so the languages spoken were Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, and British English. The cabin crew at British Airways are very proud of their airline, and their product. Detail to personal service is the key to the success of the airline. In the 1990s, British Airways used to be known as ‘The World’s Favourite Airline’. It probably is, but the main reason why this slogan is not used anymore is because of the number of routes the airline serves (it’s not as much as they used to go to, and not as many routes as some other airlines). Other than this there is no reason why British Airways can still be the world’s favourite airline. Indeed, their customer service is second to none in whatever they do. The staff were very polite, and brought along a true international flavour to the cabins. 

Many thanks to the Captain for allowing me to take photos in the cabin and the cockpit. Great crew!

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort):

In line with the airline’s livery, all the aircraft seats are covered with a navy blue fabric. In economy class, the seats have either blue or red ‘bibs’ on the headrest, while in Club World, and First Class the seats have an elegant white bib on the headrest.

The new Club World seat is 73” inch pitch, and a 20” inch width. The seat transform into a comfortable full flat bed which allows for a good long stretch of the legs (and back if you want to lie facing with head down). Each Club World seat has an automated glass divider that gives more privacy from your neighbouring passenger. The Club World seats next to the windows are rear facing. The Club World window seats on the upper deck of the Boeing 747-400 aircraft has extra space between the seat and the window that can be used for storage. Below each Club World seat there is also a special storage cupboard to stow away any shoes, or other essential items that you may have. Luxury 100% cotton blankets are provided by Osborne & Little. The whole experience is meant to make you flight as comfortable as possible.

On the upper deck of the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, the seats are in a 2-2 configuration, which allows extra space to move around. It is exceedingly good, especially for a long haul flight. On the main deck, the Club World seats are in a 2-4-2 configuration.

British Airways logo and livery: 

Based on the original logo, and design that featured on Concorde, the current British Airways logo was designed in 1997 by Newell & Sorrell. The colours are blue, and red. The additional colour is grey. All aircraft feature the word ‘BRITISH AIRWAYS’ in blue (British Airways uses its proprietary typefaces Mylius Sans and Mylius Serif, both designed by Rodney Mylius at Newell & Sorrell.), printed below the windows (and before the wing). On the 747 aircraft, the words appear above the main deck windows and just before the wing. Just before the cockpit windows and, at the front of the words, BRITISH AIRWAYS, there is a dash of the flag, which looks like an upside down tick. It starts with a navy blue, and the ‘flair’ of the logo is coloured in red.

The engines of all the aircraft are painted in a matching navy blue.

The bellies of all British Airways aircraft are painted in royal navy blue. The tailfin consists of an elegant version of the national flag of the United Kingdom, The Union Jack. It gives the feeling of a flag flying on the tail. Overall, the British Airways logo portrays elegance, romance, flair, and a touch of true British patriotism. It’s easy to identify for passengers, and also Air Traffic Controllers.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best) : 10

Route: Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport (苏南硕放国际机场)to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 17:00pm on the 28th September 2011

Flight Number: ZH9551

Flight duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Class: Economy Class

Aircraft type: Boeing 737-800NG

With a length of 39.5 m (129.5 ft) and a wingspan of 35.7 m (117 ft), the Boeing B737-800 is capable of a cruising speed of 514 mph/828 km/h. Its maximum range is 5,665 km (3,540 mi), while the maximum speed is 544 mph/876 km/h. The service ceiling of this aircraft is 41,000 ft (12,500 m).

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight departed on time and landed on time.

Any baggage issues:

No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

No check in issues. Everything went perfectly smoothly at Wuxi airport. Shenzhen Airlines have 6 specified check-in desks allocated for their airline. There are also specific desks for China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China.

I was surprised to see that during the afternoon I was there, within around an hour about 15 AWACS surveillance aircraft belonging to the Chinese Air Force landed at the airport (they were mostly Russian made IL-76/Antonov aircraft). Later I found out that the Chinese Air Force use Wuxi airport as a training field, as well as a base for surveillance aircraft that do sorties over the South China Sea, Taiwan, Korean, and around the Hong Kong peninsula.

Wuxi is a beautiful and small airport located only 14 miles from Suzhou, and is equipped with excellent western style facilities for passengers. It is after all an international airport that serves the two main cities of Suzhou and Wuxi. Passengers can fly to far away destinations such as Japan, Korea, and all over China.

I got the shuttle minibus from Suzhou Conference Centre. It costs 15RMB per person and takes around 40 minutes. Although early bookings are not required, it is recommended that you arrive early to the Suzhou Conference Centre as there are limited seats available on the minibus. The airport’s only runway 21/03 is 3,200 meters by 50 meters (10,499 × 164 ft), and can handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 767/757. But most of the aircraft are of the size of a Boeing 737-900, and Airbus A321. The airport was built in 1955 for military use, and commercial flights only started in 2004 hence why so many military aircraft can be seen here). 

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Just drinks (non-alcoholic), and including tea and coffee.  

Comments regarding the first meal:

For this two hour flight, Shenzhen Airlines provided a hot meal. The meal service started around 20 minutes after take-off from Wuxi airport. There were two options for the hot meal dish:

·         Pork with rice
·         Chicken with rice

I went for the pork with rice. It wasn’t of a bad taste for an airline meal, The chicken meat was soft to the tongue and the rice were well steamed just to the right texture. All in all it was a nice Chinese meal to have at 38,000 feet.

Accompanying the chicken and rice were the following snacks:

1.     Half cut walnuts covered in sugar and chocolate.
2.     Preserved pickle to be served with the rice with chicken. 

Its only recently that Chinese airline companies have started to give out the pickle with airline meals in order to make the food more delicious. But on the whole one thing people never notice is that airline meals are prepared almost twice as fast as a ‘fast-food’ chain restaurant. So the overall quality of ANY airline meal is not that good. All the food is freeze dried inside the fuselage belly, and heated in a microwave just prior to being served. 

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks were offered after the meal. No alcohol, but plenty of milk, coffee and tea.

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

None

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

Screens came down from the ceiling after take-off.

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The cabin crew seemed proud to work for Shenzhen Airlines  and were very welcoming. Just a normal flight, without any incidents.

Improvements that could be made:

The food was not bad for a 2 hour flight. Ever since the Shenzhen Universaide that happened in Shenzhen in August 2011, standards in in-flight catering have improved drastically in Chinese airline companies.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

The 737-800 plane had a seat configuration of 3-3 with Economy Class seats, and a 2-2 configuration with Business Class seats. The plane was clean and the toilets were clean too.

Economy Class seats have a pitch of 31 inches, and a width of 18 inches (159 seats)
Business Class seats have a pitch of 40 inches, and a width of 21 inches (8 seats).

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

Route: Hong Kong Airport (Chep Lap Kok) to Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 21:30pm on the 22nd July 2011

Flight Number: HX234 (code-shared with Hong Kong Express Airways, flight code UO4234)

Flight duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Class: BUSINESS CLASS

Aircraft type: AIRBUS A330-200

Loyalty Program: Fortune Wings Club

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight departed at least 3 hours late because of traffic congestion at Pudong International Airport. Pudong always has delays because of three main reasons: 1. There is normally military activity going on close to the north of the airport (Chinese Air Force practices sorties) around the sea, 2. The airport cannot handle too much traffic during busy periods, and 3. During poor visibility and bad weather the air traffic control cannot manage the slots well, and also the pilots of most Chinese airlines avoid flying in poor visibility because they are either not trained for that or they just do not want to take the risk of flying in bad weather (even if it should be OK provided the pilot is trained and experienced enough). There is also a lot of bureaucracy involved at airports in China.

Any baggage issues:

No issues. In Business Class each passenger can carry up to 2 pieces weighing a total of 30 KG.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

The check-in staff at Hong Kong Airport were polite, and very professional. There was no problem what so ever.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Business Class passengers were offered a choice of champagne, orange juice, tomato juice, and apple juice out of a hand tray service provided by the crew members. A choice of either sparkling or still mineral water is also offered. 

All Business Class passengers are handed out hot hand towels just prior to the meal service. The towels have a lemon scent.

Comments regarding the first meal:

Passengers in Business Class are offered a detailed dinner menu (the same menu is provided for flights leaving around lunch time as well).

Starters:

Dried mussel and hairy cucumber soup was served with all the meals. As they say in Chinese culture that soup is the main essence of every good meal, so it was no exception in this particular case that we had a delicious bowl of nice soup. The chefs have taken great care in choosing the right kind of the ingredients, and the cuisine is made to be as authentic Cantonese as it can get. Served warm.

Then there was the ‘cajun chicken breast with green bean salad’. Three delicious slices of cajun chicken provided a fine decoration over a neat blend of green beans, roasted baby cherry tomatoes, and a few curry flavoured roasted potatoes. There could be nothing wrong with the a dish that included a dash of tartar sauce presented in the shape of a lotus flower (the national motif of Hong Kong and also the brand image of Hong Kong Airlines). Served cold.  

Main Course:

There were three choices for the main dish. These included:

·         Pan fried fish with tomato concasse with potato slices, boiled carrots, and spinach,
·         Stir fried beef and bean curd sheet with satay sauce with vegetable rice and Chinese vegetables,
·         E-Fu noodles with daylily, and marinated braised gluten.

I opted for the first because I love fish, and fish always tastes better as airplane food because it does not lose its taste even at high altitude in a pressurised cabin. The fish (which was cod fish by the way) had a generous covering layer of the tomato concasse, which made the cod fish melt in the mouth with each bite. This dish was not just about the fish but also about those lovely boiled baby carrots and the boiled spicy potatoes wedges. A neat sprinkling of salt and pepper goes fine with the meal (both are provided in small 3D square ceramic cubes that have the Hong Kong Airlines logo on them (the lotus flower). The main meal was provided with a selection of bread rolls and pastries from the bread basket.

Dessert:

There were two portions of the dessert:

The first portion included a tub of Haagen-Dazs ice-cream (delicious!), and the second portion was a bowl of freshly cut exotic fruit (include mango, melon, pineapple and apple slices).

All the dishes were served on fine bone china cutlery embedded with the Hong Kong Airlines logo on it (with the lotus flower crest).

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks was offered after the meal. This included coffee and tea (green tea and black tea).  

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

Since Hong Kong Airlines is a Cantonese airline, so instead of giving away Godiva chocolates (like some other international airlines do), passengers get a traditional Cantonese Fortune Cookie with a lovely message. My message was ‘You will meet an opposite sex in the horoscope of Libra’. Whether that is true or not will come into light in the month of Libra (well, I am still single!)!

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

On the Airbus A330-200 Hong Kong Airlines provides a mobile 10.6 inch PTV screen in Business Class and a 10.6 screen in Economy Class as well. 

Economy Class seats have the screens embedded at the back of the seats while passengers in the Business Class cabins have their screens neatly tucked away in the armrest and can be pulled out wherever you want.  

Noise cancellation headphones are provided to every passenger in Business Class, and normal headphone are provided in Economy Class. In Business Class there is also the provision of purple slippers and a cotton blanket.

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The staff were very proud of their brand image and represented their airline at the highest level possible. When under a situation of high pressure, the staff seemed to act with professionalism and integrity.

Improvements that could be made:

None. For such a short flight, you could not really ask for much.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

Hong Kong Airlines has an emerging brand that is beginning to be globally recognised. For A330-200, Business Class cabin accommodates 24 passengers in a 2-2-2 seat design while Economy Class cabin caters for 259 passengers in a 2-4-2 setting.    

The seats in Economy Class on the Airbus A330-200 have a pitch of 32 inches recline, and are 17.5 inches wide.

Business Class seats on the Airbus A330-200 have a pitch of 60 inches recline (flatbed), and are 20 inches wide.

All the Business Class seats come standard with a plug for laptop or mobile phone (though you can only recharge the mobile phone but you cannot use it!), and an in-built massage system (the seat vibrates), Hong Kong Airlines are very proud of their brand image and have encrusted the lotus lower logo onto every product that they have on the aircraft. Lovely purple and red colours adorn the seats and the interior of the cabins.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

Route: Guilin Liang Jiang Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 11:30am 17th June 2011

Flight Number: FM9399

Flight duration: 1 hour

Class: ECONOMY CLASS

Aircraft type: Boeing 737-800

Punctuality of the flight:

The plane departed around 5 minutes late but landed bang on time because of the short flight. There was no holding into Guangzhou. Because the runway headings for both Guilin Airport and Guangzhou Airport lie on almost the same path, so therefore it was almost a straight flight from Guilin to Guangzhou with little or no turning (used runway 22R at Guangzhou for landing).  

Any baggage issues:

No issues. I only carried hand luggage with me so there was no problem.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

Check-in at Guilin Airport was easy and very efficient. It a very small airport with hardly any traffic whatsoever.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

None.

Comments regarding the first meal:

The passengers were given a heated small homemade bun that contained two slices of ham in a circle shape. It was O.K. for such a short flight, you could not ask for more.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

Just a bottle of water.

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

None

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

None

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The crew were very professional and offered to assist in any way possible. It was such a smooth flight that I fell into a deep sleep. If it had not been for the slightly bumpy landing, I would never have realised that we had already landed. It was that smooth.

Improvements that could be made:

None. You cannot ask for more on such a short flight.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

Shanghai Airlines have a 3-3 configuration on their Boeing 737-800 aircraft for Economy Class and a 2-2 configuration for their Business Class cabin.

Route: Shenzhen Baoan airport to Guilin Liang Jiang airport

Departure date and time of flight: 09:50am on the 12th June 2011

Flight Number: CZ3240

Flight duration: 1 hour

Class: ECONOMY CLASS

Aircraft type: Boeing 737-800

Punctuality of the flight:

Though our flight departed and landed on time, with Chinese airlines and airports you always have to be prepared for delays no matter what. It had been heavily raining with thunderstorms the night before, so therefore because of this many flights were either cancelled, or delayed. Most of the passengers told me that they sat on another China Southern Airlines plane bound for Guilin the night before for almost 7 hours because it was heavily raining. After that long wait they got put up into a local hotel before being put onto this flight. So I do think myself as being lucky to have taken this flight to Guilin and not the one night before. 
 
Any baggage issues:

No issues. I only carried hand luggage with me so there was no problem.

Comments on the check- in staff and any issues:

Check-in at Shenzhen Airport was easy and very efficient.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

None.

Comments regarding the first meal:

The passengers were offered a packet of peanuts.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

There was a choice of having either a bottle of water, or a small carton on Chinese herbal tea. I opted for both of them!

Comments of professionalism of the cabin-crew:

The crew were very professional and offered to assist in any way possible. Because China Southern Airline is part of the ‘Skyteam’ group, so the service is that much better than the other Chinese carriers.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

China Southern Airlines have a 3-3 configuration on their Boeing 737-800 aircraft for Economy Class and a 2-2 configuration for their Business Class cabin.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 10

Route: Shenzhen Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport

Departure date and time of flight: 10:30am on the 20th June

Flight Number: MU5314

Flight duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Class: Economy class

Aircraft type: Airbus A300B4-600R

Punctuality of the flight:

The flight departed and landed on time (rare).

Any baggage issues:

No issues- the bags arrived on time and in one piece. I had to check in 26KG of extra luggage at Shenzhen airport (around about 49KG in total). The total price for this came to 450RMB (approx 40 GBP Sterling). Unlike other airports in China, at Shenzhen airport they do give you a receipt for your extra baggage. Perhaps it was a special case as Shenzhen is going to be hosting the 2011 Universaide in august so the local government wants everything to be efficient and according to international standards.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

The check-in staff were polite, and very professional. There was no problem what so ever.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Choice of drinks (standard- tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, lemonade or coca cola). There was no alcohol served on this flight as alcohol is not served on domestic flights in China. I asked for orange juice, and a coffee. The orange juice was provided from a carton of a local brand (not Dole!), and the coffee was instant (but drinkable). 

Comments regarding the first meal:

A lovely colourful cardboard box was presented with the following contents:

1.     A plain bread bun (boring and simple...would have tasted better if they had provided us with butter)
2.     A muffin (either a blueberry or strawberry)
3.     A preserved packet of pickle (OK...nothing special...went really well with the ‘boring’ plain bread bun!)
4.     A small packet of preserved strawberry jam (it was good, but there was no butter to go with the meal!)

The box came with a printed message on the top: ‘For love, for you’. It was sweet...but the food wasn’t.

The best part of the meal was the HOT and delicious options of: either chicken with rice, or beef with rice. I opted for the chicken with rice. The chicken was tender and well cooked, while both the rice and the vegetables were of an edible quality. Though it was not the kind of quality you would get on most international carriers outside of China, but still very edible and delicious.

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks was offered after the meal. No alcohol was served.

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

None

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

There was no in-flight entertainment system installed on this aircraft, as the aircraft was old. China Eastern Airlines operate a mixture of old and new aircraft. Normally, the older aircraft are used on domestic routes.

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The staff were very proud of their brand image and represented their airline at the highest level possible. When under a situation of high pressure, the staff seemed to act with professionalism and integrity. 

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

China Eastern Airlines have improved quite a lot on most aspects of their aircraft interior. This includes the aircraft seating, the smell of the interior cabin, the cleanliness of the aircraft toilets, and the general positive attitude of the cabin crew members.

The seats in Economy Class on the Airbus A300 have a pitch of 32 inches recline, and are 17.8 inches wide.

Business Class seats on the Airbus A300 have a pitch of 58 inches recline, and are 20 inches wide.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 8

Route: Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Hong Kong Airport (Chep Lap Kok)

Departure date and time of flight: 08:30am on the 19th July 2011

Flight Number: HO1293

Flight duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Class: ECONOMY CLASS

Aircraft type: AIRBUS A320-200

Punctuality of the flight:

Pudong Airport is relatively quiet in the mornings, and so the flight departed right on time without any delays. Even the smog that lurks around the airport in the morning (because its so close to the sea) could not delay the plane!

Any baggage issues:

No issues. In Economy Class each passenger can carry up to 1 piece weighing a total of 23KG.

Comments on the check-in staff and any issues:

The check-in staff at Shanghai Pudong Airport were polite, and very professional. There was no problem what so ever. I took the metro line 2 from Zhongshan Park in downtown Shanghai, and it took around an hour to get to the airport. We arrived at terminal 1 which meant having to walk for around 25 minutes to the check-in counter at Terminal 2. Shanghai Pudong Airport easily dwarfs most international airports in Europe such as Rome, Paris, Brussels, and even London Gatwick.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

Economy class passengers were offered a choice orange juice or still mineral water. 

Comments regarding the first meal:

Passengers in business class are offered a detailed dinner menu (the same menu is provided for flights leaving around lunch time as well).

Starters:

A bumper box was presented to all the passengers. The contents of the box were as follows:

1.     A warm bun containing just a piece of butter
2.     A preserved packet containing pickle
3.     Dried berries

Comments regarding the drinks service:

A second round of drinks was offered after the meal. This included coffee and tea (green tea and black tea). No alcohol was offered on this morning flight.

Comments regarding the in-flight snacks (if any):

None.

Comments regarding the second meal (if any):

None

Comments on the in-flight system (if any):

On the Airbus A320-200 Juneyao Airlines has a 2-2 configuration in Business Class (21 inch width and a 38 inch recline), and a 3-3 configuration in the Economy Class cabin (seat width is 19 inch and a 31 inch pitch).

Comments of professionalism of the cabin crew:

The staff were very proud of their brand image and represented their airline at the highest level possible. When under a situation of high pressure, the staff seemed to act with professionalism and integrity.

Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 

Juneyao Airlines is China’s first private airline, and operates on routes primarily from its base in Shanghai Hongqiao Airport while operating a fleet of 20 aircraft (2 Airbus A319, and 18 Airbus A320). Its colour scheme is based on a gold embroidery on purple and burgundy red background. Soft duck feather pillows and slippers are provided in business class.  

Lovely purple and golden yellow colours adorn the seats and the interior of the cabins.

Overall rating 1-10 (worst-best): 9