QATAR AIRWAYS review (GUANGZHOU to DOHA, BUSINESS CLASS) – BOEING 777-300ER

The tailfin of the Boeing 777-300ER parked at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport before our flight back to Doha (QR877): Photo Copyright Navjot Singh

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