TEX277

Background

Having secured my future employment I decided to treat myself to a nice holiday. I was torn between the BA Club World sale and the VS Upper Class sale and had in mind flying over to LA and then making my own way to Las Vegas where I intended to laze by The Beach at Mandalay Bay. These flights were on sale for around £1500. However, I spent some time looking through various websites and wanted to try Qatar Airways (QR) new A340-600 in First that has an onboard lounge area. The problem was that the fare for their flights to South East Asia were, although quite reasonable, a little above my budget at £2500. I was surprised to see that when I entered two passengers rather than one, it came back with a price of £1569 each. Initially, I thought it was an error and was tempted to book it there and then before it disappeared. It would seem that the fare is a special ‘companion deal’ where purchasing two seats represents a significant saving, although it was strange that the promotion was not mentioned anywhere on the three sites (lastminute, Travelmood and Airline Network) where I found the price. Travelmood did have a similar QR companion deal advertised but that was for Business Class. I found it interesting to note that the companion Business Class fare was less than £200 cheaper than the First fare that we booked. Convinced that I had found an absolute bargain I just needed to find a willing companion.

Realising that Mrs TEX277 may have taken exception to such lavish spending upon her behalf without her consultation, and not being aware of her plans for the upcoming school half-term holidays, I waited until I collected her from work to discuss the matter. After a little gentle persuasion (and plenty of TEX277 charm) we decided to book the tickets. We encountered a small problem on the lastminute.com website. Despite requesting First class and the price displayed being similar to that which we expected, it stated ‘Economy class’. Now there was absolutely no way I was going to hand over £3138 based on the assumption that ‘Economy’ actually meant ‘First’. I decided to call them to make the booking and figured that their £10 phone booking surcharge was worth paying for the peace of mind.

The lady at lastminute.com processed the booking and reassured me that it was a First ticket without charging us the £10 phone surcharge. However, my heart did skip a beat when I received the comfirmation email and it stated ‘economy’. However, soon enough I was able to check the reservation on QR’s website as well as on checkmytrip.com and both stated ‘First’.

Next I had to make the decision of which frequent flyer programme to credit the flights too. The choice was between crediting my BD account and opening a QR ‘Privilege Club’ account. Both airlines would give me triple miles (totalling 43000) for a QR F fare but crediting to QR (with the same trip booked with them for August in economy) would also earn me their top-tier Gold status. As I am currently without any status (except with a couple of hotel chains) I was tempted to go with QR. However, I figured that the BD miles are more valuable to me due to their fantastic Miles and Cash redemption options. It is also worth mentioning that lastminute.com give Tesco Clubcard points on travel booked through them and I paid on my BA Amex card. I calculate that as well as the 43000 BD miles that we will both receive for making the trip, I will also earn 12298 BA miles!

27th May 2007
The LHR Ground Experience including the UA F Lounge

After parking our car at the Parking Express car park at Heathrow we waited for 5-10 minutes for the coach to transport us to Terminal 3. The transfer was relatively swift and soon enough we were at T3 and heading to the check-in area. I had seen somewhere that Qatar Airways check-in was located in zone F and when we saw a desk with Qatar Airways First Class displayed above we headed straight for it. The desk was vacant leading us to assume that the agent that use popped off somewhere for a moment. For a brief moment I wondered if we had arrived too early but soon realised that out flight was scheduled for a 15:05 departure and it was already 13:30!!! We waited patiently for a few minutes but nobody appeared to check us in. Growing a little frustrated, I noticed the QR Ticket desk and enquired there as to when the desk would open. The agent on the desk informed me that check-in was actually located in zone C! We took a quick walk to zone C and located the First desk.

Upon our arrival a lady was being checked in and after a couple of minutes it was our turn. The chap processed us quickly, confirming our final destination, the fact that our bags had been checked through to HKG, issuing our boarding passes and handed us our invitations to the Third party lounge as well as our passes to use the Premium Terminal upon our arrival at DOH.

The Premium Terminal passes were a luxury that we are unlikely to utilise as our transit time between flight in DOH would be a mere 70 minutes assuming everything runs according to schedule. It may be worth pointing out that we have our fingers crossed that there may be a delay to our ex-LHR flight resulting in QR being unable to get our luggage onto the connecting flight. Our BA Amex PP card provides a nice ‘essential clothing’ allowance should our bags arrive six or more hours after our flight!!

We took the lift up to the departure level and made for the Travelex desk. I had pre-ordered our currency to ensure that we avoided their commission but received a preferential exchange rate. The transaction was soon completed by a rather scruffy member of staff allowing us to move on to ‘Fast Track’ security. Only one of the two machines were being staffed and although the ‘Fast Track’ was processing a smaller number of passengers the queue actually seemed to be moving much slower than the normal line. I dare say that the ‘Fast Track’ as actually a shorter queue rather than an expedited entrance to the departure lounge.

After a quick visit to Dixons and having shown Mrs TEX277 the entrance to the London Lounge and the Singapore Silver Kris Lounge, we proceeded to the Third Party Lounge. As we entered the reception of United’s lounge we were welcomed by an Air New Zealand representative. If took our lounge invitation and a quick look at our BPs before pointing us towards the First lounge. It was quite entertaining to overhear a couple of people trying to gain admission to the F lounge. One was told “You’ll have to pay much more for a ticket to get you in there!” which made us both chuckle. Another was trying to blag his way in with “I was UGS last year before UA took it off me!” He was not successful either.

The lounge itself was much larger than I had expected. Although it must be noted that the seating is almost upon the same level as the RCC next door but the food and drink selection is a little wider and it was much less crowded. We each ate a sandwich or two, drank a bottle of water and were pleased to hear our boarding call within 20 minutes of arriving in the lounge. Mrs TEX277 quickly finished off her tea as I was eager to get onboard QR’s A340-600.

Exiting the lounge we took a right turn, left at the end and then walked to gate 35 at the far end of the concourse where our plane was waiting. I managed to get a few good pictures of the aircraft before entering the gate area. Boarding had already commenced and the gate area itself was actually pretty empty. The lady who reached the gate agent just before us decided that she wanted to ensure that her lounge was in fact onboard and that she was travelling with some other passengers who were not there yet but want reassurance that the staff would wait for them to arrive before the plane departed. The agent informed her that they must be their 10 minutes before departure and invited her onto the aircraft. When we handed over our BPs, I was close to expressing our strong preference for our baggage to not be loaded onto the aircraft but though better off it was the agent or the previous passenger (who had not moved from the desk yet – we worked around her!) may have thought that I was taking the pee!

London Heathrow (LHR) T3 – Doha (DOH)
Flight: QR12
Aircraft: A340-600 HGW
First Class
Seats 1E & 1F
Depart: 15:05
Arrive: 23:59


We were welcomed onboard and lead us into the onboard First Class lounge were our FA lead us to our seats. I was impressed with quick glimpse of the lounge and looked forward to spending some time in there during the flight. Once settle our drink orders were delivered. Whilst the tea-total better half opted for still water I decided to begin recouping some sort of value from the price of our tickets and went for the Veuve Cliquot La Grand Dame 1996. Truth be told, I polished off two before the glasses were collected in preparation for departure. There was quite a period before my glass was topped up and the crew did seem to be a little absent during this time. We both sighed when the Captain announced over the PA system that our departure would be delayed by 15 minutes and that he hoped to make up the time during the flight! We were hoping for around a 40 minute delay.!!

The First cabin is home to two rows of seats in a 1-2-1 lay-out with the galley at the front and the First lounge behind. Of the 8 seats available, when the doors are closed and all passengers are onboard announcement was made, 2 remained free. The free seats were 1K and 2K (window seats on the right side) and since we were in 1E & 1F I decided to occupy 1K for a good view during take-off. I enjoyed the view of T4 as we climbed away from runway 09R heading to our cruising altitude of 36500ft. The width of the suites for the window seats on this aircraft are superior to that offered by the central twosomes. The windows seats have a large bin in which you can store large carry-on baggage to save you the hassle of having to reach into the overhead lockers.

The central seats (E&F) do have a privacy screen that can be raised should you be travelling independently. We did not raise it to see just how much privacy it does provide but in the name of research I shall make sure that I do so on the return journey. One issue with our seats (width is not a problem but just not as good as the window seats) is that there is a television monitor on the upper section of the bulkhead in front. This monitor is for the First cabin and displays the safety briefing, advertising as well as tracking the flight’s progress. However, seats 1E & 1F in particular suffer from a lot of light pollution from it and I would thoroughly recommend using the eyeshades when attempting to sleep.

As we climbed through FL190 one of the FAs approached and asked if we’d like her to serve our drinks in the onboard lounge. We jumped at the invitation and followed her to the lounge. She served the drinks and brought through a light appetiser and then some warmed nuts. She also kindly volunteered to take a picture of us enjoying a glass of Champagne in the lounge. I was actually quite saddened to learn that, although the QR website and advertising material display the lounge with a table laid ready for a meal to be served, it is not possible to dine in there and that we would have to return to our seats for the meal service. Not the end of the world but it would have been a nice experience! We made the conscious decision to not order the same options from the menu and enjoyed sampling each other’s dishes when they arrived.


I have a couple of relatively minor gripes with the service at this point. Firstly, as I was busy taking a few pictures of the lounge while it was empty, the other passengers were given a napkin. It was not until I pointed this out after the appetiser had been consumed that one was delivered. Secondly, and rather more disheartening, was the fact that our dishes were not delivered simultaneously. I would give them some benefit of the doubt with the main course which were both hot dishes. However, as I opted for the Caviar there was no reason why this was should have been served 5-10 minutes before Mrs TEX277 received her soup. Admittedly, it was better to have the cold dish delivered first and then the hot dish but it would not have taken much effort to have delivered them at the same time.

Finally (and I really don’t mean to be snobbish here but…) I did not like the amount of traffic coming from the Business cabin to use the First toilets. One bloke was rejected upon his second incursion by a sharp eyed FA but was soon back not long after and at least once more later on. It seemed that there were maybe 5 or 6 people from Business that had extremely weak bladders and they must have accumulated around 20 incursions between them. Initially I thought that they were too lazy to go to their own toilets but soon realised that they were have a good gawk as they paraded through First. To be honest it did make me feel a bit like a zoo attraction and I did contempt asking for the admission charge each time they incurred. Perhaps if the onboard lounge was either permanently staffed or if the lounge was located at the front of the aircraft with the First galley behind the cabin, the staff would have been more aware of what was happening and they could have reduced the flow. Although I suppose that nowadays having the lounge in which passenger could loiter at the front would represent a security risk.

The food itself was good and I am pleased to say that I actually completed the meal. Although I think was perhaps more to do with sensible portions than an increase in my appetite compared to previous trips.

Once the meal was completed we retired to the lounge for drinks. We occupied the smaller side as another couple were playing scrabble in the larger (dining) seats. The fellow in 1A entered the lounge but sat with the other couple as there was more space over there. They chatted and seemed to be getting along well as we finished our drinks and took our assigned seat. As most of you will know, I love all of the amenities that some airlines shower you with in their premium cabins. I enquired as to the availability of a set of PJs but was informed that as it was a daylight flight they were not available. So in our everyday clothes, I typed away as Mrs TEX277 watched some animated film about penguins.

We were offered and accepted the offer of afternoon tea:



All too soon we began our descent into DOH and as our wheels come into contact with the tarmac we realised that the delay departing Heathrow did not prevent us from arriving on time. After a relatively short taxi, we parked on a remote stand (as seems common practice here) then exited through 1L. I was worried that due to our short connect time in DOH we would not have time to take a look around. However, to contrast the extremely lengthy wait for a Lufthansa transfer to the FRA First Class Terminal, on my recent RTW trip, I was delighted to spot three or four BMW 7 series waiting for the First Class passengers. We were directed into one and within three minutes were inside the terminal.

28th May 2007
A Quick Visit to QR's DOH Premium Terminal

Upon entry our BPs were checked but we were not asked for the passes that we had been issued at LHR enabling us to keep them as souvenirs. The couple in front of us (who were bound for Seychelles) did not notice the security check point and walked through the x-ray with all of their bags! It was only after the alarm sounded and the sole security officer asked them to go back and put their bags through the scanner that they realised.

We walked past the duty free shop, rode the escalator to the First floor and were directed to the First lounge. It was a large lounge with plenty of space for the occupants but it must be noted that this was at 00:30. I am sure that it would be busier at other times but still I would not expect it to be difficult finding a seat. Mrs TEX277 headed straight for the Spa to enquire as to the treatments on offer as we hoped to enjoy one on the return leg when he have a 3 ½ hour transit. The attendant showed her what was on offer and the accompanying prices . Just in case you missed that – the treatments are not complimentary! I did not really take too much notice of the prices as I was actually quite shocked that we were expected to pay. I have enjoyed complimentary treatments in BA lounges at LHR and JFK, with VS at LHR and with TG at BKK but they expect you to pay for the privilege here. Prices ranged from QAR 400 to 750 (around £55 up to over £100)

I took a good look around the First lounge itself and took many pictures while it was sparsely populated. There is a restaurant in which to dine (we had no time and quite frankly were not hungry) and seating areas in the airy lounge.

A member of staff informed us that it was time for us to board our flight. We exited the lounge, descended the escalator and presented ourselves to the gate agent. He scanned our BPs and pointed us towards the door behind where several coaches were waiting to transport the premium passengers to their aircraft. Another chap checked our BPs and then lead us to our First Class coach away from the busier Business Class coach. This coach was not any old coach but one which had been designed exclusively for the transportation of First Class passengers. The seats were comfy and arranged sparsely around the sides of the cabin. We waited onboard whilst the air conditioning blowing like an Artic blizzard! We were joined by another passenger and when the driver reduced the a/c to a lower setting we all gave him the thumbs up!

Doha (DOH) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight: QR816
Aircraft: A340-600 HGW
First Class
Seats 2E & 2F
Depart: 01:10
Arrive: 14:25

We climbed the stairs to the aircraft and were greeted by the FAs who lead us to our seats. As the Business Class passengers had not yet arrived I seized the opportunity to take a photo or two of their cabin. We stood around with the other First passenger in the onboard lounge and chatted away with him and two of the FAs, one of which was kind enough to volunteer (i.e. I did not ask) to take our picture..

Although there were only three of us on the First coach, 5 Business passengers were upgraded to make the cabin full. It was funny to watch one of them playing about with his seat and the enthusiasm with which he donned his PJs. I was not too far behind him with the latter as I needed some sleep on this flight after enjoying perhaps a little too much Champagne and later Shiraz on the LHR-DOH flight.

However, we made the mistake of taking a look at the menu:



I immediately noticed the Caviar appetiser and then the Prawn and Chicken Wonton noodle soup. I ordered them along with a glass of Champagne. I am always willing to temporarily postpone sleep for some caviar!!!

Our departure was delayed by the late arrival of some connecting passengers for 40 minutes. I think that we have absolutely no hope of our bags not being onboard. It is worth noting that this crew seemed much more personable than the previous crew and also that there was a lot less traffic from Business coming through to use the toilets.

I was not disappointed with the food as each slice of baguette came fully loaded with caviar. Unfortunately, I was so eager to dive in and enjoy the food I forgot to get a picture first! Once the meal service was over we sacrificed a visit to the onboard lounge, reclined our seats into bed mode and went to sleep.

The FAs had asked earlier if I would like to be woken for breakfast and I said that I would. So it was no great surprise when I was gently awoken by one of the FAs. My table was set and I ordered from the menu:



After changing back into our normal clothes we prepared for our arrival into HKG. However, I did have time to play a couple of games of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ on the IFE. Knowing that nobody would believe that I actually managed to win a Million without proof – I took this photo. Now where’s my cheque???!!! The arrival into HKG was delayed just like our departure from DOH. The Captain informed us that weather conditions as well as other traffic were to blame. By the time that we had lined up for approach, the map showing our route into the hold, around the hold and then our approach path looked like a 6 month old had scrawled all over it!!!

HKG Arrivals

Mrs TEX277 was eager to try the new fast track immigration programme that she had signed up to on her previous as she holds a Hong Kong ID card. I had the pleasure of wanting for one of four immigration officers as they processed the queue in front of me. Just as I was close to the front of the queue, three of the immigration officers got up and walked off leaving one chap to tackle the lengthy queue. I was glad that I was not just joining the back of the queue. Soon enough I was through and Mrs TEX277 had collected our baggage and was patiently waiting for me.

We stopped by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and booked a couple of free activities: a Junk boat ride along the harbour for an hour and a Feng Shui class. Our bus into the city was waiting and pulled off just after we boarded. It only cost HK$45 (£3) and literally stopped at the entrance to our hotel, the Harbour Plaza North Point that we had pre-booked through Expedia.

28th May – 2nd June

I was quite impressed with The Harbour Plaza North Point Hotel especially for the price that we paid. It was located about a 10 minute walk from City Plaza shopping centre and a two minute walk straight out of Exit C at Quarry Bay MTR station allowing quick access to Central and Causeway Bay. A small supermarket was also located on just the other side of the road. Our room faced north and had a view across the harbour.

One day we took a day trip over to Macau on the ferry where we were both amazed by the new casinos developments springing up since we last visited specifically The Wynn, Sands, Venetian and the MGM Grand. After a ‘free sightseeing tour’, we spent some time in the Wine Museum and the Grand Prix Museum, dining in a local restaurant, a quick look around the Lisboa casino before financing the Wynn casino and utilising their complimentary coach transfer back to the Ferry pier.

A ‘free sightseeing tour’ was the term used by Mrs TEX277 to describe what I would call ‘a wild goose chase’! I made the mistake (again!) of allowing her to navigate us to our initial destination in Macau, the Tourist Activity Centre. She spotted a complimentary hotel casino coach providing transfers to/from the hotel and the ferry pier. Rather than make the 15 minute walk from the ferry pier (as originally planned) she decided that we would jump onto a coach that she promised was destined for the Hotel Waldo casino very close to the Tourist Centre. In her defence, the ‘wild goose chase’ was free and we did see the hotel that she was expecting us to be transported to as we drove straight past it. We also drove past the far end of town before crossing a large bridge beside the Macau Tower and continuing on some way before pulling up at The Grand Waldo Hotel.

Concierge were quite confused to see two tourists getting off the coach and asking when the next coach back to the ferry pier departed! Once back at the ferry pier we reverted back to Plan A!

The rest of our time was spent walking around Hong Kong and most of its shopping centres (although it must be noted that I was the only one of us to purchase anything – a jrather snazzy pair of Nike trainers), eating in a variety of restaurants including Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese and Australian, attending the Feng Shui class, riding the junk around the harbour and swimming in the hotel’s pool. On the final day when returned to City Plaza shopping centre as there was a Sumo demonstration being held to promote the opening of a Japanese store. It pulled quite a crowd but the wrestlers just turned the other cheek. night we sat and watched the sun go down and the lights of the office blocks come on from across the harbour.

2nd June
HKG Ground Experience including CX's The Wing First Lounge

We arrived at the airport by coach just before three hours prior to departure. I had done some research on FT (yes – the search function does work) earlier today and discovered that QR lounge facilities at HKG were provided by Cathay Pacific at least until December 2006 but we were not sure if this was still the case. We hoped that it was hence the early arrival. In fact we were so early, check-in had not even opened by the time that we found the QR branded queue barriers.

This provided me with the chance to locate a stop that sold postcards and the post office. I wrote a quick postcard addressed to my parents as my mother had requested one be send to her from Washington DC on my last trip but that was thwarted by the absence of post boxes within the airside section of the airport (I like to leave things until the last minute!!). Once this task had been taken care of, we returned to the QR check-in desks.

Closest to us was a single First Class desk, and then two Business Class desks followed by several Economy desks. My wife immediately recognised the chap who was checking in at the closest Business Class desk and said hello. It was the same chap as the one with which we shared the First coach from DOH Premium Terminal to our DOH-HKG flight. He quickly explained to use that he had to come back sooner than planned but there were no F seats available on this flight so he would be in Business instead. The took it well and seemed glad to have a seat at all.

Unfortunately, despite there being no queue at the F counter, we were asked to wait in the Business queue (a queue of one before we joined) as they had problems with their system. We waited patiently and, a few minutes later, were invited back to the F counter. We were checked in quickly and I was absolutely amazed to discover our two bags (that collectively weighed only 25kgs on the outbound) now weighed in at 38kgs!!!!!!! How much could 5 amenity kits, a pair of (admittedly rather snazzy) Nike trainers and HK$200’s worth of Aji Ichiban goodies weigh? I do hope that Mrs TEX277 has not inserted a bag or two of high value narcotics into my luggage without me knowing. She knows that I am worth more dead than alive but what use/value would I be if incarcerated????

We then discovered that QR does indeed still use the CX lounge facilities at HKG when we were issued our invitations. These were issued along with our BPs for the return journey and our passes for the Premium Terminal in DOH. I again hoped that we would not have to surrender these but could instead keep them as souvenirs of our trip, I know that I am very childish in that respect!

Mrs TEX277 again utilised the fast track departure immigration whilst I slowly progressed through the slow visitors channel. Quite what time she was saving by doing that and then waiting for me – I’ll never know! I suppose it is the ‘I will because I can’ philosophy.

However, she had located the (admittedly rather obvious entrance) to CX’s The Wing First Class Lounge. We entered determined not to surrender our lounge invitation unless directly asked, presented our passports and BPs and waited. At first the lady on the desk thought that they were QF BPs but we corrected her - which was a bit of a mistake as the next words to leave her mouth were “Do you have the invitation that they gave you at check-in?” There goes a souvenir!

The lounge itself was nice presented and we were both surprised to realise that the lounge was open plan and that there was no physical barrier/wall between it and the airport departure lounge particularly the few gate areas just below. The quietness betrayed the location.

We headed straight for the Long Bar and thought that we were making a mistake by leaving the F lounge to get to it. No guesses necessary as to why this is named the Long Bar!!! The bar provided a great view of the northern apron and of the waiting aircraft. Mrs TEX277 obscured my photo of our aircraft parked at a remote stand. I managed to down a quick two glasses of Champagne (non-vintage Lanson) whilst Mrs TEX277 (a total lightweight when it comes to alcohol) sampled one of the non-alcoholic cocktails. We took a picture or two of the bar area and then she had a quick walk around the Business Class section whilst I finished off my second glass. Bless her – she even took a picture or two of the Business Class section of The Wing for you including the food section, the Short Bar and the Noodle Bar!

As we had only had a quick snack up until this point, we decided to grab a bite to eat in the restaurant section of the F lounge. Along the right hand side of the dining room is a nice water feature with trickling water. Tables are already set and, rather than order food, it is provided buffet style. We knew that QR would look after us onboard and intended to just have a light snack. However, when presented with such a nice selection of foods, it was hard to resist indulging a little more than originally planned.

We retired to the seating area of the lounge. Mrs TEX277 read a newspaper and magazine whilst I jumped onto one of the internet terminals. Drinks were offered by the lounge attendant and we opted for water this time. We returned to the Long Bar for another cocktail each. Whilst Mrs TEX277 visited the lady’s, I got chatting with the bartender. He is an absolute asset to the airline. Very friendly and when Mrs TEX277 he even volunteered to take a photo of us together at the bar. Bless him; he had to walk around from behind the bar which is no short walk in itself considering we were located right in the centre. When one of his colleagues appeared we even managed to get him into one of the photos! Great bloke!

I was shocked at just how quickly two hours can go in an airline lounge – even an F lounge. We took a picture of the lounge entrance area as we departed for Gate 27 where our QR A340-600 HGW awaited. Boarding had already begun and we avoided the small economy queue by using the First/Business line. We entered the aircraft through 1L and had the horror of having to turn right once onboard.

Hong Kong (HKG) – Doha (DOH)
Flight: QR817
Aircraft: A340-600 HGW
First Class
Seats 2E & 2F
Depart: 19:30
Arrive: 23:00

We were lead to our seats and I enquired whether PJs would be available on the flight. I was expecting the answer to be negative but was pleased to discover that this was not the case. We noticed the German gent from the previous flight that we had bumped into again at the check-in desk at HKG had managed to secure his F seat and took 1K after a brief chat with us. Push back was soon upon us and we began taxiing away towards runway 25L for departure.

Once airborne I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Champagne in the onboard lounge. This is the last flight of the trip with the onboard lounge fitted A340 so we wanted to make sure that we made use of it! After a few minutes chatting together, our German friend (whose name we never learnt) entered the lounge. We invited him to sit with us and spend a while chatting away. We exchanged stories about our current and past travels and our opinion of QR F. It was his first time with QR too as LH had no F availability on his preferred departure dates. I am quite open and honest about many things and after I had mentioned the fact that one of the things that encouraged us to try QR was ‘the fantastic deal’ that we had found, he enquired as to the price of the tickets. Informed him and his jaw hit the floor! He did manage to squeeze out a ‘wow’ as well and after a few seconds was mentally back with us again! He exclaimed that we must have a great travel agent. Mrs TEX277 informed him that it was all of my good work. It was a sense of modesty that prevented me correcting him myself!

We heard some noises coming from the F cabin that sounded like tables being set and food being delivered. All three of us shot back to our respective seats and tucked into our dinners:


Once completed I began to think about my upcoming job as a Teacher of Travel and Tourism and how I could gather information onboard that would be useful in the classroom. After a little discussion my Mrs TEX277 and having referred to the course specifications, I choice to focus on the different classes of travel and the variation of inflight services provided. Now armed with eight questions, paper, pen and camera I set off in search of willing cabin crew (one serving each cabin) to assist. This was no problem at all as each of the staff that I approached were very welcoming and prepared to spend some time with me answer the questions and posing for photographs. They were so helpful! They even provided me with menus from both the Business and Economy Class cabin to take away with me. One even tried persuading me to open a QR FF account until I explained that although I know QR’s FF programme received eight awards at The Freddies, BMI Miles & Cash was the best value! She took it well, bless her!

I actually collared a passing economy crew member in the onboard F lounge and conducted the interview there rather than having to venture down to the back galley. The F interview was also conducted here but I visited the Business Class onboard lounge (standing area only) for the Business interview. I had never sat in a crew seat before but she asked me to take a seat and it did allow for a seated face-to-face discussion. A passing colleague of hers took a picture of use seated once I had finished the interview before I took a picture of the Business Class onboard lounge area which unlike in First is standing room only. Whilst there I noticed that the aft Business Class cabin was empty and asked if we could take a picture. They gladly permitted us to take a look around. I extending a seat into the sleeping position and we tried the seat out. I have never before sat in an angled lie-flat seat before and to be honest I thought that it was more comfortable than I had expected.

I must admit that onboard each QR flight the crew seem to be getting better and better. I really could not fault any of the crew on this flight at all. Whilst conducting the F interview in the F onboard lounge, three or four Business passengers entered heading for the F cabin. On every occasion the FA very politely asked if she could help and when they invariably replied ‘I just wanted to go to the toilet’ she informed them that their toilets were located in the galley behind their seats. She also seemed genuinely interested to hear my impressions of the service that I had received on QR. She gave me a questionnaire to complete (which I did) but I also provided her with some of my observations. I was honest and informed her of the two areas of displeasure with the crew on the first leg of our trip (i.e. our meals not being served together and the constant intrusion by Business passengers into the F cabin) and the absence of PJs on the flight but made the truthful comment that she had been great in both service regards and the rest of the crew were also fantastic. She explained that it was not necessarily a case of them deliberately venturing into F to use the toilets but rather misleading signage indicating the status of their toilet facilities on the bulkhead above the curtain leading to the F lounge. Either side of the toilet symbol are two arrows both of which point upwards leading them to believe that the toilets are forward. Even if the arrows pointed down (i.e. towards the curtain) they could be excused for believing that this also indicated forward. In fact the arrows merely indicate whether either the left or right hand side toilets in Business are occupied. I suppose all can be forgiven except for the one passenger who even after being caught and informed returned at least twice more.

I also asked about the 10 course menu that I had seen mentioned on the QR website. As we had guessed, it is available and is the normal menu but you can have every single hors d’oeuvre and entrée along with a dessert and the cheese plate. Neither of our appetites could have managed this!

The flight path that we took on the route was quite strange in so much that we zigzagged our way to DOH. After bringing my trip report up to date, the second meal service was offered. I had not even developed enough of an appetite despite only having 4 courses (two starters, one entrée and the cheese platter – Mrs TEX277 had done even worse in so much as she had not even made it as far as the cheese plate) previously to warrant anything other than fresh fruit and ice cream.


The tableware was collected and we began our approach into DOH. Once on the ground and parked at the remote gate, we boarded the First coach that transferred all of the F passengers over to the Premium Terminal (all eight passengers were connecting to other flights).

Three hours of suffering in the QR's DOH Premium Terminal

It is now that our opinion of QR began to descend. The German chap was also unable to find F availability on the DOH-FRA segment and held a Business BP instead. When the QR staff met us at the top of the escalator I asked if we could guest him into the F lounge. We were told that if we wanted to spend time with him then we’d have to join him in the Business lounge! I am sure that others may well be able to give examples of other airlines with a similar policy but I have never encountered this before.

Once inside the F lounge (without the German gent), we headed for the Spa to find out what other facilities they had. On the outbound flight we’d already discovered that Spa treatments must be purchased in contrast to the complimentary services we had received in other airlines’ Spa facilities. I was extremely tired after arriving in DOH at 3am HKG time and without any sleep onboard the HKG-DOH flight. I was so tired that I wanted to find somewhere to get some sleep. The F lounge does have sleep cabins containing twin beds that look very comfy. The thing is that they refused to allow us to use one of the rooms because “they are only for passengers with a connection time of more than five hours” . More than five hours? Are you kidding me?!

Okay, I thought to myself. Chill. If I can not go to sleep in there then I may as well stay awake (I would not want to share my snoring with the entire lounge by sleeping in a normal seat in the lounge). To wake me up I thought that some time spent in the Jacuzzi would perk me up a little @:-) . Mrs TEX277 was shown the ladies facility but the Spa staff could not show me the gents as “it is still under construction”. Okay then I’ll head over to the Games Room and play some computer/arcade games. Nope – the only one that I was interested in was inoperative!! I decided that I needed a drink and ordered a Royal cocktail.

I was really impressed on our first visit to this lounge by the way that when we entered the staff asked which flight we were departing on. Without any further contact, they found us when the flight was ready for boarding and sent us on our way. So far we have been asked directly on no less than five separate occasions “Where are you travelling to?” The staff have obviously realised that they have dropped the ball and without wanting to ask the same question any longer have reverted to walking through the lounge asking quietly and without making eye contact “Anybody travelling to xxx?”

The First and Business lounge share the same floor and are separated by some water features with no effort made to prevent noise from one transferring to another. Babies crying. colleagues chatting loudly, noise from the F TV and cutlery and crockery from the restaurant being clanged do not make for the type of ambiance that one may expect in a tranquil F facility. Perhaps I am a just cranky from sleep deprivation…

3rd JuneDoha (DOH) – London Heathrow (LHR) T3
Flight: QR05
Aircraft: A330-302
First Class
Seats 3E & 3F
Depart: 02:35
Arrive: 08:00

Finally we were informed that the aircraft was ready for boarding and lead to the BMW 7 series that ferried us to the awaiting A330-302. We climbed the stairs and were shown to our seats. I realised that we were the first to board and took a quick walk back to economy to get some photos of that cabin to complement the interviews that I had conducted with the FAs with regards to the variation in service between cabins. I was lucky that I did it quickly because after taking about three photos the economy passengers began to filter into the cabin.

We became aware that there were five couples travelling together in F. We had pre-allocated our seats and had secured 3E and 3F but others had either attempted to do likewise too late or had simply not bothered. One couple were occupying 1A and 1K while another had 2A and 2K. The woman in 2A was particularly unimpressed by having to sit on the opposite side of the cabin to her husband and let one of the FAs aware of her displeasure. I wondered if there were so many couples in F because they too had taken advantage of the same companion fare that we had.

The crew on this flight were rather impersonal and I feel that the service that they provided fell far below that experienced on the previous flight. This A330 had three rows of First seats and we were seated in row 3. It often felt like we were forgotten and received everything (drinks, food, PJs and making up our bed) 20 minutes after everybody else. After a very quick snack of Caviar laden baguette slices, and when the FA finally made up my bed, I did my best to get some much needed sleep.


We began our descent into LHR and soon touched down on 27R a little ahead of schedule. The fool in 1E decided to access his belongings in the overhead locker as soon as we had taxied off of the runway. His partner in 1A also removed her seat belt and leant forward to access something located on her footrest. Just as she did, the pilot applied the brakes sending her further forward than she would have liked. Unfortunately though, not as far forward as I had hoped as I did not hear the bang of her head contacting with the bulkhead. Why can people just wait until the aircraft is parked at the gate? I thought that they must be in a hurry for a connecting flight but when every other F passenger was disembarking through 2L and they were still standing around in the expectation that 1L would be opened, I figured that they were just stupid especially as the air-bridge at 1L was unmanned and obviously had not moved since we arrived.

LHR T3 Arrivals

Only one set of the moving walkways in T3 were inoperative which showed a marked improvement over most of my other T3 experiences. However, the escalator was also out of service and we all had to climb the stair. Do BAA not know how difficult it is to carry your laptop, duty-frees (purchased at a third of the BAA duty-free price) and carry-on bag containing four amenity kits and four PJ sets??

As we approached the immigration hall we saw the queue stretching out of the hall and into the preceding corridor. I began to hope that IRIS was in operation or else we’d be waiting for hours. Luckily, it was and there was no queue for it either. One minute after entering the immigration hall, we were the other side and heading for reclaim. The bags were quickly out and we cleared customs with no hassle. Soon we were in my car heading back to Brighton.

Summary

The onboard lounge is a fantastic novelty that we thoroughly enjoyed and allows you the possibility of retreating from the cabin. A huge thumb up to QR for sacrificing 4 F seats to install this onboard. ^

A massive thumbs down for the Premium Terminal. Don’t get me wrong – it is okay but fails to achieve the any sort of high standards. Personally, I disliked several aspects of the service here: charging for Spa treatments, no sleep cabin access if your departing flight leaves within five hours, the gents Jacuzzi and sauna are not yet constructed, the same member of staff repeating enquiring as to our destination and the best games in the games room being inoperative.

Moomba

Another great report TEX277.

I was wondering how long it would be before someone wrote a report on QR F.

Looks like QR has some inconsistency issues. I suppose they are not alone there though.

I am off to KIX with QR in F in August. So far I have not been so impressed and I haven't even boarded yet. They seem to have a habit of messing with their schedule often. So far I had a 346 sector replaced with a 333 and I have been downgraded to a 2 class 332 on 1 sector.

HIDDY

Very interesting report TEX277 thanks.^

I had planned to take my wife on exactly the same deal booked through http://www.myqatar.co.uk/ but couldn't get availability to tie in with the dates we had planned.
Having read your report especially about the Premium Terminal which I was looking forward to seeing I may have ended up being disappointed?

G_G

Thanks TEX277 for this excellent and very detailed trip report ^ ^

More Champagne Sir?

WOW! Yet another stunning trip report!!! Thanks TEX277!

Gnopps

You write excellent reports TEX277!

lucky9876coins

Wow, what a totally fantastic trip report on an airline we don't usually get reports on! Thanks so much!^

PhilH

Pure quality TEX277 as always! ^

MACH81

Very good report TEX277! It's a pity that there are no pics of the last two meals.

stevenshev

Ah, you beat me to it by one day! And in so much better style.

I'm flying HKG-DOH-LHR in F tomorrow, so I'll comment on my experience as well!

UNITED959

Very nice. I was considering Qatar for a SIN-DXB trip; the stop in DOH "turned me off."

Did you need to get any kind of visa to transit at DOH?

TEX277

Many thanks to you all for your kind comments ^

I would like to address the points that some of you have made:

Moomba - I had seen your comments in another thread about the frequency by which your aircraft have been switched around. I was hoping that that would not happen to us. We booked the tickets less than 7 days before departure (a record for me!) and none were switched. Three A340-600 and one A330-300. I was not too bothered by the one A330 as it was on the DOH-LHR sector (departing at 02:35 arriving at 08:00) and I only planned to sleep onboard. The onboard lounge is what sets QR F apart from the competition.

I do hope that it works out for you though! ^

I am glad that we had the opportunity to sample QR F and would not say that overall it was a bad experience. I have read elsewhere on FT that others have spoken about how good the Premium Terminal is and that it is second only to LH's FRA FCT! As in most things YMMV but I that that despite it looking nice too many things (re: service) were just not good enough!

The absence of photos from the last two meals was actually a conscious decision. We did not eat a great deal ourselves and most of what we did eat varied very little from earlier choices which were photographed and displayed.

Again, others have spoken about how highly they rate the Premium Terminal but I have expressed my dissatisfaction. I also listed all of the reasons that brought me to take that view in order for others to decide whether my opinion is a far one. Perhaps I hit them on a bad day. Perhaps others hit them on a great day. YMMV.

There is absolutely no interaction with any immigration whatsoever when connecting through DOH (my experience is limited to the Premium Terminal experience but I would have thought that this would have been the same in the normal terminal) so no need for any visa. Reading the (British) Foreign & Commonwealth Office advice regarding entry requirements it would seem that visa are available (for a price) upon arrival.

Moomba

TEX277 do you know why you got the bus sometimes and the Beemer others in DOH?

Jamman

I'd be interested to try a middle eastern airline one day.
Great report and photos, thanks for sharing!

TEX277

I do indeed! The Beemers only serve European flights. So when you arrive or depart DOH from/to Europe, it is the car. To board or disembark a flight to/from the rest of the world you will be taken out on the coach.

Thanks Jamman! Welcome to FT!