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 151 destinations using 167 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 20,000 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. The airline is the proud holder of a number of awards.
 
As the focused industrialist 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.’ Mr. Akbar is one of the most influential leaders in the aviation industry. The man lives, breaths, sleeps not just for Qatar Airways, but for Qatar as a whole. It’s because of his deep passion and drive for excellence that Qatar Airways is one of the best airlines in the world. He’s well-known in the industry for this strong drive for results- very enthusiastic person.  Personally, I don’t think Qatar Airways should be a member of any airline alliance because they have a class of their own. It is no match to any other airline I have been on. Alliances may the future for other airlines as a way of survival in the aviation industry, but I don’t think Qatar Airways should be with OneWorld or any other alliance. It just lowers the brand image (my opinion). Etihad Airways has partnered with India’s Jet Airways (not good in my opinion) and Emirates has partnered with Qantas (again…Emirates was better off by themselves).
 
In January 2015, the airline concluded an order for four Boeing 777Fs in a deal worth US$1.24 billion; Qatar Airways also took purchase rights on four more aircraft of the type. In June 2015, it was disclosed Qatar Airways ordered ten Boeing 777-8Xs and four additional Boeing 777Fs for USD 4.18 billion.
 
The Airbus A320 aircraft is used for regional routes around the Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, and to South Asian routes. I took this flight as part of a package, flying from Dubai’s brand new airport (Dubai Al Maktoum Intl. Airport- DWC) to Hong Kong, via a stopover and change of airline and flight at Doha Hamad Intl. The new DWC airport is located on the outskirts of Dubai, around a 30-minute taxi ride from the downtown. It is in the middle of a desert near Jabel Ali.
 
Route: DUBAI AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL (DWC) to DOHA (DOH)

Departure date and time of flight: February 2015, 23:35

Flight number: QR1035 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 1035”)

Flight duration: 55 minutes

Cabin: FIRST CLASS

Aircraft type: AIRBUS A320-232 (31 in service)
 
Unit cost of each Airbus A320: US$97.0 (€92.0) million (2015)
 
Aircraft registration: A7-ADJ (First flight 16 September 2004)
 
Engine Type: Two x IAE V2527-A5
 
Aircraft Serial Number: 2288
 
Aircraft Name: Al Samriya
 
Frequent flyer programme: Qatar Airways' Privilege Club- Q Miles
 
Seat configuration for this aircraft:
 
First Class: 12 seats in a 2-2 configuration
Economy Class: 132 seats in a 3-3 configuration

Any baggage issues:
 
No issues regarding the baggage. For First and Business Class Qatar Airways have a checked baggage allowance of 40 kg and 30 kg total respectively for all routes excluding transatlantic routes. Therefore, for the Dubai to Doha route, they have a 30 kg luggage policy. All routes have a carry-on allowance of one piece not exceeding 7 kg (50x37x25 cm).
 
Comments on the check-in:

I arrived around two hours early for check-in. I was the only passenger flying in First Class on this flight, which meant the 12 seats all for myself! It was interesting to see that on another flight, four Arab chaps carried a falcon each. They told me that each Falcon is prized at around US$1.5 million. In the Middle East (Dubai Airport here), even Falcons (the national bird of most of the ME countries) get to travel in First Class! They had the whole First Class cabin for themselves on that flight...all 18 seats booked for just four people and their birds. P.S. airlines only need to fill all First Class and Business Class seats in order to break even for a flight (Economy Class is just extra profit...so even if Economy Class is full, the airline will most likely not break-even for the flight if the First Class/Business Class are empty/not fully booked)...so, airlines need people like these rich travellers. They can fly up to 300 km/h and can spot food from around 12,000 feet in the air....smart bird.
 
The new airport is practically empty. Only a handful of flights go from here, at the time of writing.
 
Qatar Airways Lounge at Dubai World Airport
 
The Qatar Airways lounge is located after security on the second floor. The lounge experience was pleasant, enjoyable and quiet, as it should be, until the loud, boisterous and drunk members of the Qatar Rugby team entered the lounge. Their captain was the worst culprit of all, as he encouraged the lads to (I quote): “help yourselves to the free food and alcohol while it lasts”. Most of the young men appeared to be British (from their accents), and these were men, not teenagers or kids. If these guys are representing Qatar and behaving like chavs in an international airport First Class lounge, then there is a serious issue and problem that Qatar needs to deal with (these guys were flying Economy Class, but had access to the lounge because they had collected the air miles). It’s a serious image problem to say the least. At first I thought they were a bunch of hooligans who had perhaps come a football match and were on a stopover in Dubai. I was quite shocked and disappointed when I learned that they were professional rugby players representing the Qatar national team. Seriously, these guys were behaving as if they’ve never seen food before, and because it was free, so they were drinking alcohol like fish and eating with their mouths open. They had no manners. If anything, it turned out to become one of the worst lounge experiences ever. It wasn’t just me, but others in the lounge also complained, too. I am sure if the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbad Al Baker, was in the lounge, he would have had a word with them.
 
Punctuality of the flight:
 
Departed bang on time, however we landed around 15 minutes late due to the air traffic at Doha. The new Hamad airport has two runways and so it can get busy during the airlines peak hours (which are at night time). 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 Dubai are very efficient in what they do and how they operate on time. The captain 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. Once we arrived in Doha, I had two hours to enjoy in the huge lounge before I had to catch my connecting flight to Hong Kong (with Cathay Pacific Airways as CX640). It was a straight walk into the security check at the Premium Terminal and onto the plane for the next flight. There was a lot of time to shop around or wander around the Premium Terminal (which I have seen before).
 
Since I was the only First Class passenger on the flight, so I had the transfer shuttle bus from the terminal to the aircraft all for myself. I was the last passenger to board and the first off the aircraft once we landed at Doha. It was a full on VIP experience.  
 
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 First Class seat there were a set of noise cancellation headphones, a rich cotton blanket (each one weighs 2KG!). However, because this was a short flight, so therefore there was no luxury amenity kit.
 
Passengers in First 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. There was also an antipasti which consisted of fresh olives (without the seeds). I was also provided a small bowl of nuts to go with the champagne drink I had.
 
Comments regarding the meal:

Dinner was served around 10 minutes after take-off from Dubai World Airport. For this very late night flight, I had ordered a vegetarian option for a meal. The meal tray consisted of hot vegetable noodles, accompanied with two soft bread buns and a bowl of fresh fruit. I took a glass of water (to keep me from being dehydrated). But for such a short flight, and because it was late in the evening, I did not each much.
 
Comments on the in-flight entertainment system:

Huge headphones with noise cancellation technology were offered in the Business Class cabin.
 
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 1,000 Video and Audio on-demand options in First 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.
 
Just like on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the Airbus A320 aircraft have all the seats with 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.
 
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 120 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.
 
Comments on the interior of the aircraft (including seat comfort): 
 
Qatar Airways have 12 First Class seats on their Airbus A320 aircraft with a 2-2 configuration. Each seat has a generous pitch of a 45 inch recline and is 21 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.
 
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 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 FIVE 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 109 destinations using 103 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 20,000 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.

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 commenced services to Chongqing 7 times a week from Doha using the Airbus A330 aircraft with a two-class configuration (Business and Economy Class). 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 Shanghai Pudong on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER to check out their Business Class seat, cabin and service. So enjoy the 5-star experience from SEAT 1E of this beautiful aircraft, and airline:

Route: DOHA (DOH) to SHANGHAI  PUDONG (PVG)

Departure date and time of flight: February 2012, 01:00am local time (Doha)

Flight number: QR888 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 888 heavy”)

Flight duration: 8 Hours and 25 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-BAB (First flight 11th December 2007)

Aircraft Name: Um- Alamad

Engine Type: 2 x GE90-115B (each engine can power a Boeing 747-400 all by itself!)  

Aircraft Serial Number: 36103 - line 686

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:

This was a connecting flight, and I had already checked in at London Heathrow Airport.

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 at the Doha gates. I was so relieved to get rid of my HUGE luggage bag (weighed less than 30kg) at the check-in desk.

Punctuality of the flight, and flight route:

Departed on time, and landed on time as well. The flight path taken was typical of most flights that are on the Middle-East to Shanghai route. We were provided with splendid views of the Ganges over India, Northern Thailand, Burma, and then entering the Chinese airspace around Kunming. Surprisingly, considering the hazy visibility I was expecting, I did however manage to get beautiful views of Wuxi, Wuxi Airport, Suzhou SIP area, and Guiyang. We landed on runway 17L at Shanghai Pudong Airport, which meant a long taxi (nearly 35 minutes!) into the arrival gate. The taxi from the runway to the gate took just as long as it took to get from Wuxi to Shanghai Pudong Aiport (took flight route A470 directing to 'dotmi' VOR/IFR). Click HERE to see the photos of this flight (and the one before this flight). 

Premier Terminal Experience at Doha:

After landing from London Heathrow (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 Vlass 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 felt 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 which is 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 is ahead of their game. 

Comments regarding the pre-flight service:

Passengers in Business Class were offered hot towels and boiled sweets prior to departure. 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 pajamas, a luxury amenity kit containing the Molton Brown toiletries, slippers, eye-shades, and a pair of Qatar Airways designer socks. The pajamas came handy for this long flight. They are very useful if you want to freely toss and turn in your flatbed while you sleep because wearing your normal cloths while sleeping on a plane is not comfortable at all!

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 (2 litre bottle!), 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, and came with a fresh slice of an actual orange. The Champagne can be perfect for caviar smoked salmon lobster. A plate pleaser with uramaki sushi with ginger pickles and wasabi 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. 

Comments regarding the first meal:

Hot towels were handed out prior to 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 40 minutes after take-off. Since this was a early morning/late night flight, so the meal service was not so heavy.  

The choice of dishes included:

·         Stir-fried egg noodles with braised oriental prawns, Chinese greens accompanied by pearl chilli sauce.
·         Classic Arabic mezze
·         Warm tandoori chicken sandwich served with mint chutney
·         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.

As I had eaten enough food on the previous flight in from London Heathrow to Doha, so for this night time flight I opted to go for the ‘warm tandoori chicken sandwich served with mint chutney’. A simple yet artistic dish that looked more like a Mexican fajita wrap surrounded by saffron leaves and a healthy portion of mint chutney. The succulent chicken breast pieces tasted great. It was just the perfect portion for a night time snack. Airline meals were never really too healthy because healthy eating used to mean being condemned to a round of virtuous but dull meals. Modern in-flight meal chefs, however, are competing with one another to please their passengers (especially in First and Business Class), by producing airline meals that are light on calories, high on healthy ingredients AND above all, are delicious, and tasting fresh. Healthy food is one that keeps all its natural nutrients and flavours. Qatar Airways certainly does not fail in this department.  

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, 2002 (France)
·         Chardonnay: Vincent Giradin, AC Meursault, Vieilles Vignes, 2007 (Burgundy, France)
·         Sauvignon Blanc: Villa Maria, Celler Selection, 2010 (Marlborough, New Zealand)
·         Riesling: Markus Molitor, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Spatlese, 2007 (Mosel Valley, Germany)
·         Meritage- Merlot & Cabernet blend: Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, AC Pomerol, 2006 (Bordeaux, France)
·         Sangiovese: Poggio Antico, Altero, 2005 (Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy)
·         Shiraz: Hollick, 2009 (Wrattonbully, Australia)
·         Twany Port: Kopke, Colheita, 1974 (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. I had some English Breakfast tea with a few packets of Walkers shortbread biscuits (un-resistible!).   

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 beauty of sleeping in the Business Class cabin is that it really is a similar (if not equal) feeling to waking up in a hotel bed except that on a plane you may feel some slight turbulence, and the noise of pressurisation (use ear plugs!). The cabin crew started handing out hot 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
·         Date, and banana energizer.
·         Cranberry juice

I opted for my favourite drink (I LOVE orange juice...got to 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 Greek yoghurt
·   Balik style salmon, and breakfast salad with pink grapefruit, spicy lemon dressing.

I opted for the ‘breakfast salad’. A very colourful dish with a generous decorative portion of salmon that will take your breath away. The vibrant salmon is bathed in the not so spicy lemon dressing. The vibrant combination of the different ingredients, such as the pink grapefruit and the rocket salad, is just magical.

Following on from the above starters there was a choice to indulge into one of the following dishes:

·         Creamy salmon omelette, button mushrooms, and sugar snap peas*
·         Congee with steamed Japanese scallops
·         Apple and cinnamon pancakes with sour cherry compote and vanilla sauce
·         Classic Arabic breakfast

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

It’s very tempting to try every dish on the menu. However, I opted for the ‘creamy salmon omelette’, with an added option of herb chicken patty. 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 delicious salmon is neatly tucked inside the omelette so that with every mouthful you taste both the salmon and the freshly made omelette. The rectangular shaped omelette is surrounded by a few pieces of button mushrooms, and plenty of snap peas. The snap peas are boiled and fresh, but their colour tends to fade a bit (perhaps because it’s a in-flight meal). None of the meals on Qatar Airways contain any 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 Kreakfast, 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 crew members face and you could tell that they really enjoyed their job. There was a real sense of teamwork in the cabin.

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. Though night time flights are usually easy to handle for the crew as almost everyone goes to sleep!

On our flight, we had cabin crew from China, India, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Slovakia, and, Iran. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Slovak, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin Chinese.

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.

Special thanks to Qatar Airways 

_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 109 destinations using 103 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 20,000 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 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.

Qatar Airways announced that in 2012 the company will introduce seven new routes. These are Perth in Western Australia, the Finnish capital Helsinki, Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb, Gassim in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and three East African cities – Zanzibar, Kigali and Mombasa, in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, respectively.

Operating from the airline’s hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, all seven new routes will be launched over the next few months. They will join previously announced Baku and Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively, which have become part of Qatar Airways’ family of routes since February 1st.

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 109 destinations worldwide through its hub at Doha. I was on the flight from London Heathrow to Doha on Qatar Airways’ Airbus A340-642 to check out their Business Class seats! Now, here is the trip report from SEAT 10A of flight QR008!:

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

Departure date and time of flight: February 2012, 15:00pm

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

Flight duration: 6 Hours 55 minutes

Class: BUSINESS CLASS

Aircraft type: AIRBUS A340-642 (4 in service)

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

Aircraft registration: A7-AGC (First flight 13th October 2006)

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

Aircraft Serial Number: F8C42Y216 - 766

Aircraft Name: Ras Ushairij

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 Business Class Qatar Airways have a checked baggage allowance of 30 kg total for all routes excluding transatlantic routes. Therefore, for the London to Doha route, they have a 30KG 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 and Burberry, as well as other brands such as Cartier and Gucci.

Considering that I departed on a daytime flight, 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! While all 8 seats in First Class were taken, Business Class was around 40% empty, and likewise for Economy Class.

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 09R), and even there we did not come across the long wait for take-off. The aircraft ahead of us was also a Airbus A340 belonging to Qatar Airways Amiri flight (VIP plane used by the Qatar government and Royalty). 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. Wonderful views of London were presented right after take-off with all the major sites of London clearly visible (Houses of parliament, Greenwich, Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, and much more). You can check the photos by clicking here. 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). Click HERE to see the photos for this trip.

Qatar Airways Premium Lounge at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4

If you are flying Business or First Class internationally, then airport Lounges are great. You can munch away on finger food, cheese and some luxury food while waiting for a flight. One airline has taken the concept of airline lounges to a whole new level that has never been seen before by any other airline. Opened in January 2012 at London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4 the spanking new Premium Lounge by Qatar Airways for Business and First Class passengers looks and feels rather more like a boutique 5-star hotel!

Ideally located within a 5-minute walk to the gates, and about the same time from the customs security check, the Qatar Airways Premium Lounge is the first Lounge that the airline has installed at an airport outside of Doha International Airport in Qatar. London is a prime destination for most Qataris (and also for most non-Qataris connecting to London with Qatar Airways), so it makes sense for London Heathrow to be the place for their first Lounge outside of Doha.

One thing is for sure, this Lounge is all about you, the passenger, and if there is one airline that is striving its best to bring back the hey days of luxury flying, then it has to be Qatar Airways. The distinction of the Lounge is portrayed finely as one enters it. There is no conventional reception desk but rather a similar feeling to that of entering a five star hotel foyer laid with calming spaces, and certain discreet greeters noting your wishes for dining, wining, and relaxation choices on their iPads.

It is so easy to become attracted to the culturally inspired fountains, and the luxurious touch of a Middle Eastern Palace that the Lounge presents. There is plenty of Arabic calligraphy on the walls, the carpets, the mosaics, and the gentle sounds of the fountains in the background. Would you believe it? The designers have even taken the trouble to put in scents of real olive trees and herbs around the dining areas just to make you feel attached to the culture of the country’s airline you would be taking.

Who could resist temptations such as a signature Wine and Martini bar, a luxury 5-star restaurant complete with an open Global Brassiere, and a dedicated Delicatessen? All in all you’ll be spoil for choice when it comes to wining and dining- and the good things can go on for as long as you want (and don’t worry- you won’t miss your flight because someone will escort in case you forget while having too much fun).

So is there a downside? Well, the only thing that could let you down is a flight delay. But then again would you care when you are in such cosy and pampering surroundings? Everything for the modern human life is taken care of, that includes complimentary Wi-Fi internet, iPod sockets, private showers with heated floor and mirrors (supplied with L’Occitane en Provence toiletries). So if you are flying business or first class then it’s perhaps best to make the most of this special experience that you don’t get to enjoy everyday. You just end up wondering whether future airport Lounges will end up looking the same? 

Punctuality of the flight:

Departed bang on time, however we landed around 15 minutes late due to the air traffic at Doha. Doha only has one runway and so it can get busy during the airlines peak hours (which are at night time). 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 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. Once we arrived in Doha, I had minutes before I had to catch my connecting flight to Shanghai Pudong. It was a straight into the security check at the Premium Terminal and onto the plane for the next flight. There was hardly any time to shop around or wander around the Premium Terminal (which I have seen before).

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. There was also a antipasti which consisted of fresh olives (without the seeds). I was also provided a small bowl of nuts to go with the champagne drink I had.

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

I opted for my favourite drink, orange juice. 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!  

Comments regarding the first meal:

Late lunch was served around 40 minutes after take-off from London Heathrow. We must have been somewhere over northern France. The following tempting options were offered:

·         Broad bean and zatar soup with lightly salted mini croutons
·         Seafood cocktail with smoked tuna, saffron prawn, marinated crayfish medallion, fresh tarragon potato salad
·         Classic Arabic mezze

I went for the healthy option of ‘seafood cocktail’. It was literally an extravaganza of colourful seafood portions blended in well with potato salad. A truly flavourful dish that has enough of its inclusion of wonderful tastes that would linger onto your tongue until you want to try more. Pungent, but well balanced and scrumptious, it was a testament to the creativity behind the menu at the kitchens of Qatar Airways in Doha. Truly wonderful.  

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

·         Stuffed chicken breast with pesto ricotta cheese with red pepper coulis, lentil rice, and roasted Mediterranean vegetables.
·         Pan-fried seabass with green tea and bonito flake lemon butter soba noodles, braised shitake mushrooms, and asparagus tips.
·         Paneer jalfrezi, dhal makhani and safed pulao.  

I went for the healthy option of ‘pan-fried seabass’. These fish are free of the growth hormones that are customarily fed to farmed fish. The fish is pan fried at high heat using butter to give a strong delicious flavour. This allows the fish to retain all of its natural flavours and juice as well as its minerals and vitamins producing a lower cholesterol level. The dark coloured soba noodles add a hint of lemon flavour to the tongue. While the asparagus and the tiny shitake mushrooms provide a good presentation for the whole dish. The romance of this dish is inspired by Mediterranean and Arabic traditions.

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

After the main meal a cheese plate with an individual plate of Cornish double cream brie, vale of bevoir stilton and mull of Kintyre cheddar. The cheese went nicely with a glass of fine Shiraz (Hollick, 2009).

A sweet finale included a selection of the following dishes:

·         Warm pumpkin and sultana brioche pudding with raspberry cream
·         Sliced fresh fruit
·         Vanilla ice-cream and rosewater pomegranate sorbet with forest berries.

I went for the first option. A little bit heavy as it may have been but it was worth every bite, especially as it was taken on a plane. You don’t get to eat delicious food like this everyday on the ground, and even if you do then the enjoyment and ambiance is not the same as that of eating healthy and delicious food like this. The presentation was immaculate. For the best taste and enjoyment, dip each piece of the brioche into the raspberry cream, then close your eyes and enjoy! Luxury food in the sky never tasted so good.

Lunch 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, 2008 (Burgundy, France)
·         Sauvignon Blanc: Villa Maria, Celler Selection, 2010 (Marlborough, New Zealand)
·         Riesling: Markus Molitor, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Spatlese, 2007 (Mosel Valley Germany)
·         Meritage- Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot: Chateau Brane Cantenac, AC Margaux, 2nd growth, 2007 (Bordeaux, France)
·         Grenache, Carinena, Syrah, Torres, Salmos, 2008 (Priorat, Spain)
·         Shiraz: Hollick, 2009 (Wrattonbully, Australia)
·         Twany Port: Kopke, Colheita, 1974 (Douro Valley, Portugal)

These are quality wines where the fermentation to achieve a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. The exotic notes of various fruits such as peaches and apricots are evident all around in the perfumes of the wines. 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:

A late dinner snack commenced around an hour and a half before landing at Doha Airport. The following tempting goodies were offered all in one plate:

·         Reception sandwiches
·         Petit steak and cheese pie
·         Plain and fruit scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserve
·         Selection of petit fours
·         Forest berries

Small cute portions of forest berries, and various petit fours. Now, effectively these miniature versions of the actual dishes are quite filling. The flavours project positive synergy from all corners of the dish. Most of the emphasis comes from the high expectations of flavour and health as well.

The light snack 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 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 Airbus A340-642 aircraft is touch screen.

Just like on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the Airbus A340-642 aircraft have all the seats with 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. 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, Bhutan, India, Mauritius, United Kingdom, Italy and, China. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Chinese, and Italian.

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.

Qatar Airways have 42 Business Class flatbed seats on their Airbus A340-642 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- 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 109 destinations using 103 state-of-the-art modern and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 20,000 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.

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 Doha to London Heathrow on Qatar Airways’ Airbus A330-300 to check out their Economy Class seats! What a flight it was…check this out:

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

Departure date and time of flight: January 2012, 07:30am

Flight number: QR005 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 005”)

Flight duration: 5 Hours 40 minutes

Class: ECONOMY CLASS

Aircraft type: AIRBUS A330-300 (13 in service)

Aircraft registration: A7-AEQ (First flight 6th March 2008)

Engine Type: 2 x GE CF6-80E1A4B (General Electric)

Aircraft Serial Number: 918

Aircraft Name: Shadeedah

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

Seat configuration for this aircraft:

First Class: 12 flat bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration (6.5 Feet legroom)
Business Class: 24 lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration,
Economy Class: 217 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration

Presently the Airbus A330 and the Airbus A340 are 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:

My baggage was checked in at Beijing. For Economy Class Qatar Airways have a checked baggage allowance of 23 kg total for all routes excluding transatlantic routes. Therefore, for the Beijing-Doha-London 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:

I was on a connecting flight in from Beijing Capital Airport. Passengers that are in transit are whisked by bus from the arriving aircraft to the transit terminal (and vice-versa). My connection time between the two flights was around 40 minutes (this was welcoming!). A standard flight route from Doha to London Heathrow was taken (flying north-west wards towards Kuwait, Iraq, Kurdistan, Turkey, and then entering Eastern Europe, then Germany, and onwards to Heathrow). We entered London airspace at the holding pattern over Lambourne VOR before making a 180 degrees turn over central London on for a straight in approach into runway 27L at Heathrow (beautiful views of South London on the way from my side of the window- including Wimbledon, Richmond Park, Twickenham Rugby Stadium, and Crystal Palace.

Punctuality of the flight:

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. The captain 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 breakfast tray arrived around 35 minutes after departure from Doha. The following were the options for the dinner service:

1.    English breakfast with Cumberland sausages (Western option)
2.    Classic Arabic Mezze (Arabic option)

I went for the English breakfast. Two hash browns with a Cumberland sausage, and a delicious omelette. All of these were surrounded by a sea of sweetcorn, plenty of Italian tomato & herb sauce, and a cherry tomato. Cute and neat!

Accompanying the breakfast dish was a pot of natural strawberry yoghurt (provided by Qatari brand Ghadeer), and a pot of fresh orange juice. A selection of warm breads and croissants were offered along with cottage cheese and New Zealand butter (Anchor). To top it all up, a dish of freshly cut fruit was provided.

Plenty of hot and cold drinks were offered to wash down the breakfast in style. These included tea, coffee and a selection of cold drinks (fizzy and non-fizzy). Alcohol was freely available for those who needed it (though, I would have been surprised to see anyone drinking alcohol so early in the morning!).

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 (I took the 2 litre bottle- I drink a lot of water to keep me hydrated and fresh!).

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 Doha. 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.

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 A330-300 aircraft is not touch screen (as that’s only available on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft). The good thing is that on the Airbus A330-300 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. 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, Sri Lanka, Philippines, United Kingdom, France and, China. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Thai, French, Spanish, and Chinese. 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): 

There are 217 Economy Class seats on the Airbus A330-300 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 seat itself is very comfortable, and for a flight of 6 hours, it’s hard to complain about anything!

Unlike in other airlines, even in Economy Class, the toilets on all the Qatar Airways aircraft 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,, Airbus A330-300, and the 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 A330-300 (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

_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 109 destinations using 103 state-of-the-art modern, and young aircraft. The airline, which employees a total of around 20,000 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 commenced 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 Beijing to Doha on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER to check out their Economy Class seat, cabin and service. So enjoy the 5-star experience of this beautiful aircraft, and airline:

Route: BEIJING (PEK) to DOHA (DOH)

Departure date and time of flight: January 2012, 01:30am local time (Beijing)

Flight number: QR897 (ICAO callsign: “Qatari 897 heavy”)

Flight duration: 9 Hours and 25 minutes

Class: ECONOMY 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 (each engine can power a Boeing 747-400 all by itself!)  

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 the Grand Hyatt Beijing the night before (Qatar Airways passengers can check-in online 36-hours prior to departure), I still had to drop my luggage. My handpicked seat was firmly confirmed well in advance. I was well chuffed. Beijing’s HUGE airport was like a ghost town during the Chinese New Year. With the vast majority of Chinese people gone back to their hometowns, it left the airport feeling rather lonely! Beijing’s enormous Terminal 3 is used for international flights. The airport is so big that even after security and customs, you would need to take a monorail train to the gates (which takes about 5 minutes to get to the gates from the security).Beijing Airport is the 3rd largest building in the world. It houses the 2nd biggest terminal to Dubai and effectively you can fit ALL of Heathrow’s five terminals inside- and still have 18% to spare!

Any baggage issues:

Qatar Airways allows a checked-in baggage of maximum 30kg per passenger in Business Class, 40kg in First Class (but there was no First Class cabin on this flight!), 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 gates.

Punctuality of the flight:

We departed on time, and landed on schedule in Doha. Normally the international departures terminal at night time is buzzing with activity all around, however since this was the Chinese New Year festive period in China, so therefore Beijing Airport was very quiet. The flight was not full, and majority of the airport concourse was simply deserted- a contrast to what it normally looks like. Along with Qatar Airways, there was also Emirates, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Air Koryo, and Singapore Airlines that were flying that night. For the first time ever I had seen all the Air China desks completely empty. Perhaps the best time to take a flight. After depature from Beijing, the flight took the standard route to Doha via Xian, then Chengdu, Kunming before leaving Chinese airspace to enter the Pakistan/India border airspace somewhere near the highest mountain range in the world (Himalayas). The captain did confirm with me later that we flew close to the 2nd highest mountain range in the world (Nanga Parbat, close to Mount K2) at a service ceiling of 41,000 feet (hence the turbulance we experienced!). Flights that take this route have to be extra careful because over that mountain range there are NO emergency landing strips! After crossing the mountain, we cleared the whole of Pakistan (from Peshawar to Karachi) in over 2 hours before entering the final 3 hours over the Arabian Sea for a early morning arrival into Doha.      

Once we landed at Doha, a bus was waiting to take the passengers from the plane directly to the Transfer 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 Beijing Airport, but within that metal tube, we were ‘effectively’ in Qatar!

Passengers are greeted with a choice of signature welcome drink (orange juice, apple juice or watermelon juice), and hot or cold refreshing cotton towels. On each Economy cCass seat there were a set of headphones, a rich cotton blanket, a luxury amenity kit, eyeshades, and a pair of Qatar Airways designer socks.

Comments regarding the pre-meal service:

I took 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. 

Comments regarding the first meal:

Inspired by culinary treats from around the world, Qatar Airways’ in-flight dining experience offers mouth-watering dishes created by award-winning chefs. A light snack was served around 45 minutes after take-off. Since this was an early morning/late night flight, so the meal service was not so heavy.  

In true Qatar Airways style, 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).

The meal tray arrived at around 40 minutes after take-off from Beijing. One of things you wonder on a night flight is whether there is any need to eat dinner at 2am! Yet, most passengers indulge into the 5-star meal irrespective if they are hungry or not just because it’s the luxury of flying and the ambiance is not your usual setting for a meal as it would be if you are on the ground.  A tray full of goodies was staring at my eyes. There were two options for the main meal:

1.    Italian style spaghetti with Italian herbs, garnished with plenty of homemade tomato sauce.
2.    Chicken thighs with basil and tomato concasse, buttered liunguini, sauteed green bean and carrots

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.). An action packed dish with plenty of strong flavours of the homemade Italian sauce that balanced the flavours and spices of the mushrooms and the carrots. The active ingredients within the dish are for sure there to light up the aroma of your tongue. I could hear my Chinese seat-neighbour slurping on his noodles with delight. Now, if a Chinese person slurps loudly on their spaghetti/noodles, then that’s a pretty good indication that the food is good.

Accompanying the main dish was a bowl of freshly cut roasted eggplant salad (carrot strings, tomato, boiled eggplant, red onions, olives, and mushrooms all in one action packed bowl!). It’s ridiculously good to have salad to accompany a slightly heavy yet tasty dish as I had.

For dessert, Qatar Airways provided a low-fat pineapple cheese cake decorated with a dash of honey and baked maple syrup. Though it was low fat, it tasted just as good as a cheesecake 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.

Chocolates by Dove (Chinese local brand) 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. In economy class, Qatar Airways still provides plastic cutlery to the passengers.

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.

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.

Passengers in Economy 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, breakfast, was 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. 

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

1.    Onion and cheese omelette, hash brown potato, button mushrooms, and french beans
2.    Cantonese style congee.

I opted for the English breakfast option. Hash brown potatoes always go well with flying, but just have to be careful with all those carbohydrates! Lovely button mushrooms mixed well with French beans provided a colourful combination - this is luxury airline food at its best! Airline meals are specially prepared to be fresh in a pressurised environment at 38,000feet, 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. The omelette was just perfect, and did taste fresh as it should.

Served alongside with the main dish was exotic fruit (melon and dragon fruit) with honey yoghurt. Every Economy Class meal tray contained a pot of fresh orange juice to wake up the senses after a long night time flight.

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:

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 (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, Korea, China, United Kingdom, Jordan, and Morocco. The languages spoken were English, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Chinese. 

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 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). 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

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