We arrived in IAD and went to the Qatar gate. The GA let us know he needed to see our passports and that he was going to reissue our tickets from QR vs. UA. We waited for another 20 minutes or so and boarded away.
This was my first time on QR and I was a mixture of excited and worried from the often intense and always mixed emotion stories from QR. We had row 17, which only has 2 seats on the outside, and was great for a couple.
View from row 17.
And my personal version of hell-like legroom.
So after boarding they passed out hand wipes and some sort of citrus candy. Not much but a very nice touch for Y. Dinner was served sometime around 1am and consisted of a chicken and veggie dish with roll and cheesecake. We both went with the white wine option which was quite tasty as well. After dinner, it was another glass of white and 6 hours of sleep for me.
The inflight entertainment system is top notch. I watched Argo and a view other films that really passed the time on the 12.5 hour flight. The proximity to the lav at row 17 was really not that bad. If anything it provided a large space to stand up and stretch without bugging any of my neighbors.
Breakfast was served somewhere over Iraq and was also pretty good. QR loves its bread though as several pieces were served with each meal.
Long leg and Breakfast location.
The final approach into Doha was scenic for those who have never seen the middle east in real life. After landing, we boarded shuttle buses to take us to the appropriate terminal. Although we had a yellow pass for transit pax, we got off at the first stop for Doha Arrivals (thanks FT) I kept the yellow pass in my pocket to avoid any confusion with staff as they might think we got off at the wrong stop. A 30-day visa upon arrival is available for 30+ countries (the US being one of them) and we paid our 100 QAR fee per person (roughly 30 USD) and entered Qatar.
Now to the hotel that makes US Hilton properties look like motels...