Breaking the records: Auckland - Doha - Brussels Qatar J
Apr 20, 2017, 5:36 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,985
Breaking the records: Auckland - Doha - Brussels Qatar J
Last year Qatar Airways had one of their many great business class sales from Scandinavia and I managed to bag myself flights from Helsinki to Sydney and Auckland to Copenhagen for around £1,700.
This report focuses on the record breaking part of the trip… the Auckland to Doha flight which is, as of March 2017, the longest non-stop flight in the world. I have also written about my connecting flight.
Originally, I was due to fly Auckland to Doha, and Doha to Copenhagen. But as ever, the schedule change fairies were at work and the flight from Auckland was retimed a little earlier and my flight to Copenhagen was made later. I purposely booked a long connection so I would be eligible for the free layover hotel package (STRPC) which becomes available at a 8 hour layover, subject to some other conditions. Now facing a revised layover of 7hrs45, this automatically (in theory) cancels my layover package and meant I would have an extended visit to the lounge.. and as good as the Al Mourjan lounge is, I really had no desire to spend that long in there.
I decided to ring QR to discuss my options, and on the agent agreeing that the STRPC would probably be cancelled due to the reduced layover she helpfully suggested he could rebook me to an alternative QR destination within 500 miles of Copenhagen. Que a frantic check of Great Circle Mapper to see where I could get to within 500 miles of Copenhagen.. London or Birmingham was the obvious choice (living in the UK) but this was narrowly out of the question due to the mileage. Various other destinations also had long layover times so I eventually settled on Brussels in part due to the short layover time at DOH and it also being a B787 route.
I rebooked my connecting flight from CPH-LHR, to BRU-LHR instead.
Anyway, enough introductions.. fast forward to the day of the flight!
Qatar Airways Flight 921
Auckland, New Zealand to Doha, Qatar
Boeing B777-200LR
Seat: 05K (Business Class)
After twelve days of visiting Australia and New Zealand, it was sadly time to go home. I had a nice leisurely start from my lovely AirBNB rental in Browns Bay on the North Shore of Auckland, going to the airport via the car hire place to drop off my car.
In the hire car shuttle back to the airport:
I arrived at the airport around 13:30, a comfortable 90 minutes prior to departure. There was no queue at the business check-in desks, or any of the other check-in desks for that matter, so I was quickly seen to.
Departures:
I asked the agent if she could tag my bag directly through to LHR.. a decisively contentious issue within OneWorld as around half of the member airlines won’t interline baggage on separate tickets anymore. However, Qatar alongside other airlines such as CX have recently re-introduced this and advertise it on their site so I was hopeful it would happen here too. The agent either couldn’t or wouldn’t, and after a little bit of “it won’t let me” discussion she suggested I went to speak to the supervisor at the end who quickly did it upon getting my flight details with no further hassle.
Eat your heart out, BA:
With my bags happily checked through to LHR, I made my way through exit immigration and security and up to the Qantas lounge. I had heard a mix bag of reviews for the Qantas lounge at AKL so I had low expectations.. and indeed, it was maybe a little bit dated compared to the lounges at Brisbane, Sydney etc but the food was pretty good… a nice selection of hot and cold food. I helped myself to some wine, quiche and fruit crumble pie; before banishing myself from eating anything else until the plane!
Mini Dubai:
Up to the QF lounge:
Food spread:
Quiche and wine:
Crumble pie. Best lounge desert ever? Maybe.
I didn’t have long in the lounge before boarding was due to begin, so I took a short walk to the gate via a quick browse of the duty free store which wasn’t that appealing to be honest. Most of the stuff in AKL at least can be cheaper at UK supermarkets.
To the gate:
After arriving at the gate, I took a few photos of our aircraft… A7-BBH. I took a few moments to appreciate the engineering and design that went into to producing an aircraft capable of flying such extreme distances. After being lost in that somewhat distant thought, boarding began and I joined the already short queue of gatelice waiting to board through gate 8.
Boarding:
Onboard:
My view for the next 19 hours or so:
Quick glimpse in economy:
Upon boarding I was greeted by the purser, and on arriving at my seat I was immediately introduced by the flight attendant serving my section of the plane.. she offered me a drink (alcoholic choices available too) and a hot or cold towel. She really set the standard straight away for the quality of the whole flight and a “thank you” has been sent to QR. I am quite found on the QR signature “lime and mint” so that was my choice today.. I find it really refreshing.
Boarding was wrapped up pretty quickly and in the meantime menus, pyjamas and amenity kits were distributed. My FA took the time to introduce the service concept to me and reminded me that I could eat anything from the menu whenever I wanted.. yeah, don’t mind if I do! She also said that if I get bored, I am welcome to come chat to them… a really positive impression.
Pyjamas and amenity kit... now since on eBay:
Menu:
The most annoying safety video ever:
The (possibly Spanish or Italian) Captain came on the PA shortly before pushback to introduce himself and announce a slightly longer flight time that usual.. we were looking at 17hrs30 or so in the air. His announcement was very thorough.. he’s clearly been to the announcement school of brand marketing! As we taxied to the runway, my FA came back to take my food order for dinner.
I decided to take the soup to start followed by the goats cheese salad for my appetiser and then the fish for my main course, followed by the cheesecake and fruit for dessert. I am not a fussy eater and would eat anything from the menu, but the QR menus do seem to get a bit “samey” after a while.
After what felt like a surprisingly short take-off, we began our long journey to Doha. We had some great views of the west coast as we left New Zealand behind.
On the way:
As the crew were released and service began, I had a look through the choices on the IFE system which QR name OryxOne. Fortunately, the selections have been refreshed since my flight to Sydney last month. I started with some episodes of "Bob’s Burgers" that I have yet to watch, followed by “Fresh off the Boat”.
As I was viewing those, the gastronomic avalanche began.. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
The unadvertised amousé bouche:
Tomato and red pepper soup:
Pumpkin and goat’s cheese salad:
Fillet of snapper:
White chocolate and ginger cheesecake:
Fruit plate:
Watching more TV:
No need to say.. but I was well and truly stuffed after all that food.. the quality and taste was great and the service was possibly the best I’ve received on QR so far. My FA was frequently checking to make sure I didn’t need anything, to check the meal was okay and to offer me top-ups on the drinks.
Bed mode:
After finishing everything up, I needed to sleep off my meal and must’ve managed a good 2-3 hour nap before I woke up geographically north of somewhere between Adelaide and Perth due to bladder requirements.
I took the opportunity to get another cup of tea from the galley and had a short chat to the FA who was serving me. We both discussed how disappointing the weather was in Auckland for our visits. It was her visit first to Auckland as crew and her plans to visit Waiheke Island were scuppered due to the rain. We discussed travelling a bit more, and where we both came from.. I made the sin of asking if she was Chinese.. no, turns out she’s from Korea. Oops - profuse apologies were offered! After a short while, she had to get back to work so I made by way back to my seat to work on this trip report. As we were starting to approach the west coast of Australia, it started to get a little dusky which provided some great sunset style views over the desert below.
I decided to watch the new Star Wars film.. I’ve seen it before but I rather liked it and it was just as good the second time. I ordered the cheese selection and a hot chocolate to go with it!
After the movie finished I put myself to bed.. I must’ve managed another 4 hours of sleep and woke up with 2 hours to go.
This was quickly noticed by the crew and I was offered a coffee and whether I wanted breakfast. Of course.. I had already reserved the salt beef potato cake. It tasted okay… it wasn’t to my taste but it was improved with the sauce!
After breakfast I decided to take another short nap, and not long after that it was time to prepare for landing and hot or cold towels were passed around. The FA who had served me came around to say goodbye and thanks.. although it was really only me that could say thank you to her!
Pretty quiet onboard today:
Descending:
After what felt like a rather extended hold by Doha standards we touched down after 17hr26 minutes in the sky. Considering the flight time, I’ve had 3 hour flights in economy that have felt longer.. but as ever the near perfect QR service meant it went quickly.
Bus stand:
Unfortunately we parked at a bus gate which meant an extended bus ride and no chance of bypassing transfer security.. but at least there are buses just for business class which means minimal waiting around… and a opportunity to marvel at the technology that managed to fly us here.
Another benefit arriving via bus is that it dispenses you straight by the transfer security and as there was no queue at the priority lane it was was straight through. Although based on my previous experiences security seems a lot more formal these days.. they wanted liquids and laptops out whereas before no one really seemed so bothered or the staff monitoring the x-ray machine sat around on their phones.
Token photo of the yellow bear:
I made a beeline for the Al Mourjan lounge, and arrived at around 00:30 which gave me ample time to grab a shower and freshen up… this is one lounge where I seldom seem to eat anything - you can usually guarantee to get stuffed on the plane. There was no queue for the showers either, quite unusually… I was expecting a long wait. My only criticism of the lounge is finding the shower attendants a little “over bearing”. I am not sure if they’re after tips or just being really nice… but the guy who showed me to my shower was just stood there inside the shower room as if he was waiting for something, and then moved to the doorway as I closed the door and did the same. A little bit creepy.
Shower time:
Lounge:
After an extended shower and a further awkward encounter with the shower attendants in the corridor as they stood to collect their tip they weren't getting I made my way to gate D24 for my flight to Brussels.
Qatar Airways Flight 195
Doha, Qatar to Brussels, Belgium
Boeing B787-8
Seat: 04K (Business Class)
As before, business class passengers had their own bus although this was the last one to arrive which meant those of us in business all arrived at once at the aircraft.. at this point all the economy passengers were onboard. This made things a bit hectic for the crew.. they tried their best to get everyone PDBs but some had to have theirs after takeoff.
Lime and mint:
Amazingly, as I was taking my seat I looked up to the FA who was welcoming passengers ahead of me.. it was a guy called David who had manned the bar aboard the A380 I was flying from Bangkok to Doha in January. We spent a good few hours that day chatting whilst he was making me various cocktails for me to try. He recognised me too and instantly recalled our conversations about this trip and remembered I was flying from Auckland. He said the chance of us meeting twice on a QR flight in less than 2 months (and especially after we speculated if he would be on my flight again) was pretty rare… I agree!
Menus and amenity kits were handed out before takeoff, and I made mental decisions as we were taxiing out. Here’s a menu to be excited by…. considerably better than what you’d get on a equivalent BA “sleeper service”.
Menu:
Okay...
After departure wine and nuts:
Service began pretty quickly and I slipped into my QR pyjamas as David returned with nuts and wine. We talked a little more about my trip as my meal was served. I wasn’t massively hungry but decided to make the most of the gastronomic extravagance before inevitably returning to normal dietary activities at home.
I decided to have the lamb with rather giant couscous followed by the hazelnut & caramel tart. As great as usual!
Lamb:
Desert:
After the meal I decided to take a rest and managed a few hours of interrupted sleep before it was time to eat again.. breakfast time!
The day is dawning:
I asked David to bring it to me as late as possible, but he said he wanted to bring it to me in good time to “avoid indigestion” if I had to eat it quickly before landing!
Fruit plate:
To be honest, the beef was a bit tough and dry… it’s a first to have that for breakfast anyway!
Landing video:
On the ground:
On stand:
We didn’t have a long taxi to the stand, and with my BA boarding pass already in hand I made my way via flight connections to their lounge. I asked the receptionist to see if she could see my bag had made it onto the BA system, and all was good.
Goodbye, for now, QR:
Conclusion
Another four solid flights on Qatar Airways. Great service, great food and great value for money. Sales permitting, I will definitely be flying them in J again as soon as possible! My only criticism is the food menus are a bit samey.. and the shower attendants need to back off a bit!
This report focuses on the record breaking part of the trip… the Auckland to Doha flight which is, as of March 2017, the longest non-stop flight in the world. I have also written about my connecting flight.
Originally, I was due to fly Auckland to Doha, and Doha to Copenhagen. But as ever, the schedule change fairies were at work and the flight from Auckland was retimed a little earlier and my flight to Copenhagen was made later. I purposely booked a long connection so I would be eligible for the free layover hotel package (STRPC) which becomes available at a 8 hour layover, subject to some other conditions. Now facing a revised layover of 7hrs45, this automatically (in theory) cancels my layover package and meant I would have an extended visit to the lounge.. and as good as the Al Mourjan lounge is, I really had no desire to spend that long in there.
I decided to ring QR to discuss my options, and on the agent agreeing that the STRPC would probably be cancelled due to the reduced layover she helpfully suggested he could rebook me to an alternative QR destination within 500 miles of Copenhagen. Que a frantic check of Great Circle Mapper to see where I could get to within 500 miles of Copenhagen.. London or Birmingham was the obvious choice (living in the UK) but this was narrowly out of the question due to the mileage. Various other destinations also had long layover times so I eventually settled on Brussels in part due to the short layover time at DOH and it also being a B787 route.
I rebooked my connecting flight from CPH-LHR, to BRU-LHR instead.
Anyway, enough introductions.. fast forward to the day of the flight!
Qatar Airways Flight 921
Auckland, New Zealand to Doha, Qatar
Boeing B777-200LR
Seat: 05K (Business Class)
After twelve days of visiting Australia and New Zealand, it was sadly time to go home. I had a nice leisurely start from my lovely AirBNB rental in Browns Bay on the North Shore of Auckland, going to the airport via the car hire place to drop off my car.
In the hire car shuttle back to the airport:
I arrived at the airport around 13:30, a comfortable 90 minutes prior to departure. There was no queue at the business check-in desks, or any of the other check-in desks for that matter, so I was quickly seen to.
Departures:
I asked the agent if she could tag my bag directly through to LHR.. a decisively contentious issue within OneWorld as around half of the member airlines won’t interline baggage on separate tickets anymore. However, Qatar alongside other airlines such as CX have recently re-introduced this and advertise it on their site so I was hopeful it would happen here too. The agent either couldn’t or wouldn’t, and after a little bit of “it won’t let me” discussion she suggested I went to speak to the supervisor at the end who quickly did it upon getting my flight details with no further hassle.
Eat your heart out, BA:
With my bags happily checked through to LHR, I made my way through exit immigration and security and up to the Qantas lounge. I had heard a mix bag of reviews for the Qantas lounge at AKL so I had low expectations.. and indeed, it was maybe a little bit dated compared to the lounges at Brisbane, Sydney etc but the food was pretty good… a nice selection of hot and cold food. I helped myself to some wine, quiche and fruit crumble pie; before banishing myself from eating anything else until the plane!
Mini Dubai:
Up to the QF lounge:
Food spread:
Quiche and wine:
Crumble pie. Best lounge desert ever? Maybe.
I didn’t have long in the lounge before boarding was due to begin, so I took a short walk to the gate via a quick browse of the duty free store which wasn’t that appealing to be honest. Most of the stuff in AKL at least can be cheaper at UK supermarkets.
To the gate:
After arriving at the gate, I took a few photos of our aircraft… A7-BBH. I took a few moments to appreciate the engineering and design that went into to producing an aircraft capable of flying such extreme distances. After being lost in that somewhat distant thought, boarding began and I joined the already short queue of gatelice waiting to board through gate 8.
Boarding:
Onboard:
My view for the next 19 hours or so:
Quick glimpse in economy:
Upon boarding I was greeted by the purser, and on arriving at my seat I was immediately introduced by the flight attendant serving my section of the plane.. she offered me a drink (alcoholic choices available too) and a hot or cold towel. She really set the standard straight away for the quality of the whole flight and a “thank you” has been sent to QR. I am quite found on the QR signature “lime and mint” so that was my choice today.. I find it really refreshing.
Boarding was wrapped up pretty quickly and in the meantime menus, pyjamas and amenity kits were distributed. My FA took the time to introduce the service concept to me and reminded me that I could eat anything from the menu whenever I wanted.. yeah, don’t mind if I do! She also said that if I get bored, I am welcome to come chat to them… a really positive impression.
Pyjamas and amenity kit... now since on eBay:
Menu:
The most annoying safety video ever:
The (possibly Spanish or Italian) Captain came on the PA shortly before pushback to introduce himself and announce a slightly longer flight time that usual.. we were looking at 17hrs30 or so in the air. His announcement was very thorough.. he’s clearly been to the announcement school of brand marketing! As we taxied to the runway, my FA came back to take my food order for dinner.
I decided to take the soup to start followed by the goats cheese salad for my appetiser and then the fish for my main course, followed by the cheesecake and fruit for dessert. I am not a fussy eater and would eat anything from the menu, but the QR menus do seem to get a bit “samey” after a while.
After what felt like a surprisingly short take-off, we began our long journey to Doha. We had some great views of the west coast as we left New Zealand behind.
On the way:
As the crew were released and service began, I had a look through the choices on the IFE system which QR name OryxOne. Fortunately, the selections have been refreshed since my flight to Sydney last month. I started with some episodes of "Bob’s Burgers" that I have yet to watch, followed by “Fresh off the Boat”.
As I was viewing those, the gastronomic avalanche began.. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
The unadvertised amousé bouche:
Tomato and red pepper soup:
Pumpkin and goat’s cheese salad:
Fillet of snapper:
White chocolate and ginger cheesecake:
Fruit plate:
Watching more TV:
No need to say.. but I was well and truly stuffed after all that food.. the quality and taste was great and the service was possibly the best I’ve received on QR so far. My FA was frequently checking to make sure I didn’t need anything, to check the meal was okay and to offer me top-ups on the drinks.
Bed mode:
After finishing everything up, I needed to sleep off my meal and must’ve managed a good 2-3 hour nap before I woke up geographically north of somewhere between Adelaide and Perth due to bladder requirements.
I took the opportunity to get another cup of tea from the galley and had a short chat to the FA who was serving me. We both discussed how disappointing the weather was in Auckland for our visits. It was her visit first to Auckland as crew and her plans to visit Waiheke Island were scuppered due to the rain. We discussed travelling a bit more, and where we both came from.. I made the sin of asking if she was Chinese.. no, turns out she’s from Korea. Oops - profuse apologies were offered! After a short while, she had to get back to work so I made by way back to my seat to work on this trip report. As we were starting to approach the west coast of Australia, it started to get a little dusky which provided some great sunset style views over the desert below.
I decided to watch the new Star Wars film.. I’ve seen it before but I rather liked it and it was just as good the second time. I ordered the cheese selection and a hot chocolate to go with it!
After the movie finished I put myself to bed.. I must’ve managed another 4 hours of sleep and woke up with 2 hours to go.
This was quickly noticed by the crew and I was offered a coffee and whether I wanted breakfast. Of course.. I had already reserved the salt beef potato cake. It tasted okay… it wasn’t to my taste but it was improved with the sauce!
After breakfast I decided to take another short nap, and not long after that it was time to prepare for landing and hot or cold towels were passed around. The FA who had served me came around to say goodbye and thanks.. although it was really only me that could say thank you to her!
Pretty quiet onboard today:
Descending:
After what felt like a rather extended hold by Doha standards we touched down after 17hr26 minutes in the sky. Considering the flight time, I’ve had 3 hour flights in economy that have felt longer.. but as ever the near perfect QR service meant it went quickly.
Bus stand:
Unfortunately we parked at a bus gate which meant an extended bus ride and no chance of bypassing transfer security.. but at least there are buses just for business class which means minimal waiting around… and a opportunity to marvel at the technology that managed to fly us here.
Another benefit arriving via bus is that it dispenses you straight by the transfer security and as there was no queue at the priority lane it was was straight through. Although based on my previous experiences security seems a lot more formal these days.. they wanted liquids and laptops out whereas before no one really seemed so bothered or the staff monitoring the x-ray machine sat around on their phones.
Token photo of the yellow bear:
I made a beeline for the Al Mourjan lounge, and arrived at around 00:30 which gave me ample time to grab a shower and freshen up… this is one lounge where I seldom seem to eat anything - you can usually guarantee to get stuffed on the plane. There was no queue for the showers either, quite unusually… I was expecting a long wait. My only criticism of the lounge is finding the shower attendants a little “over bearing”. I am not sure if they’re after tips or just being really nice… but the guy who showed me to my shower was just stood there inside the shower room as if he was waiting for something, and then moved to the doorway as I closed the door and did the same. A little bit creepy.
Shower time:
Lounge:
After an extended shower and a further awkward encounter with the shower attendants in the corridor as they stood to collect their tip they weren't getting I made my way to gate D24 for my flight to Brussels.
Qatar Airways Flight 195
Doha, Qatar to Brussels, Belgium
Boeing B787-8
Seat: 04K (Business Class)
As before, business class passengers had their own bus although this was the last one to arrive which meant those of us in business all arrived at once at the aircraft.. at this point all the economy passengers were onboard. This made things a bit hectic for the crew.. they tried their best to get everyone PDBs but some had to have theirs after takeoff.
Lime and mint:
Amazingly, as I was taking my seat I looked up to the FA who was welcoming passengers ahead of me.. it was a guy called David who had manned the bar aboard the A380 I was flying from Bangkok to Doha in January. We spent a good few hours that day chatting whilst he was making me various cocktails for me to try. He recognised me too and instantly recalled our conversations about this trip and remembered I was flying from Auckland. He said the chance of us meeting twice on a QR flight in less than 2 months (and especially after we speculated if he would be on my flight again) was pretty rare… I agree!
Menus and amenity kits were handed out before takeoff, and I made mental decisions as we were taxiing out. Here’s a menu to be excited by…. considerably better than what you’d get on a equivalent BA “sleeper service”.
Menu:
Okay...
After departure wine and nuts:
Service began pretty quickly and I slipped into my QR pyjamas as David returned with nuts and wine. We talked a little more about my trip as my meal was served. I wasn’t massively hungry but decided to make the most of the gastronomic extravagance before inevitably returning to normal dietary activities at home.
I decided to have the lamb with rather giant couscous followed by the hazelnut & caramel tart. As great as usual!
Lamb:
Desert:
After the meal I decided to take a rest and managed a few hours of interrupted sleep before it was time to eat again.. breakfast time!
The day is dawning:
I asked David to bring it to me as late as possible, but he said he wanted to bring it to me in good time to “avoid indigestion” if I had to eat it quickly before landing!
Fruit plate:
To be honest, the beef was a bit tough and dry… it’s a first to have that for breakfast anyway!
Landing video:
On the ground:
On stand:
We didn’t have a long taxi to the stand, and with my BA boarding pass already in hand I made my way via flight connections to their lounge. I asked the receptionist to see if she could see my bag had made it onto the BA system, and all was good.
Goodbye, for now, QR:
Conclusion
Another four solid flights on Qatar Airways. Great service, great food and great value for money. Sales permitting, I will definitely be flying them in J again as soon as possible! My only criticism is the food menus are a bit samey.. and the shower attendants need to back off a bit!
Last edited by Schwann; Apr 21, 2017 at 8:29 am
Apr 20, 2017, 7:40 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 204
Great TR and pics! My 17 hour flight in Feb also flew by and I almost didn't want it to end!
I agree with the food comment - a bit repetitive judging from the flights I've experienced and from the menus posted on FT but always well presented with great service from the crew. Let's hope the ex-Europe deals keep coming!
I agree with the food comment - a bit repetitive judging from the flights I've experienced and from the menus posted on FT but always well presented with great service from the crew. Let's hope the ex-Europe deals keep coming!
.