(uninspired title... I know, sorry)

This is a 3-part amateur review.
The 1st part is nothing noteworthy since you have already read much better reviews about Qatar Airways by the masters of this forum. I really hope I can add something new on the 2nd/3rd part
Part 1: Qatar Airways Flights & Premium Terminal (J & F side)
Part 2: ANA Maintenance Facility Tour ,Haneda Airport, Tokyo
Part 3: Images from Japan

Part 1

If you are bored even thinking about reading my blabbing, please feel free to skip to the relevant flickr album.


We have done 2 short and 2 long segments on board QR's planes and my opinion is a little mixed. On contrary to what you would expect, I have absolutely no complaints and I am really happy remembering the … short (!) segments.
Let's take it one by one.

CAI-DOH (A320)
We had a big delay (and equipment swap) that forced us to wait in the awful CAI Lounge. I am in no way a needy person while waiting in an airport, I only ask basic internet and can happily wait 10h. Thankfully the lounge in T1 had internet… a whopping 200kbps top speed –sometimes-. Great!




My wife had no complaints either because she just found out that we will not fly economy and was trying to process the F/J boarding passes.
The time passed quickly while waiting for webpages to load and discussing about our missed Doha stroll. The A320 (swap from A332) arrived in CAI and after a very quick turnaround we boarded by bus using a small cramped gate.
While waiting for the plane to takeoff, we had our first lemon mint. I continued with a second kindly offered by the crew. Afterwards, a Saudi coffee with huge amounts of cardamon




And then…the food arrived…
Arabic mezzeh was divine (I had tabbouleh many times and this was close to perfect). They nailed everything.




The fish was very good, restaurant quality and the steak was –as expected- dry with tasty sauce.






Cheese plate for me please… –no, wait, don't bite it…we forgot the photo.




Desert for my wife… -no, wait, don't eat it… we forgot the photo (oh…those FT newbies are annoying).





Both were good, nothing spectacular. Overall a very nice meal that raised my expectations about the next flight's dine-on-demand extravaganza.

Service wise, everything was 1st class. Drinks were refilled immediately. Main dish served in different time for each one, after finishing our 1st course. BUT they asked me if I would prefer to wait for my wife to finish her first dish so we can dine together (did not expect that in a plane).
Then, we were offered coffee… espresso, cappuccino, blah blah… you name it.
-Do you have any more of the Arabic coffee maybe?
-We can make if you want.
- It would be great!
- And since nobody else (but you two spoiled brats) want, do you want to bring you a small cup (fenjan?) or a large mug? You can drink as much as you like.
-Bring it on!!!







The seat:
This narrowbody had the usual 2-2 recliners which I must say were very comfortable for this 3h flight. I am a huge guy (1.95) and after the gentleman in front reclined his chair, I had enough room to enjoy VOD/food/whatever without feeling restricted. If you are tall, don't choose row1 and avoid this configuration if you want to sleep. Apart from those two notes, the seats are very good.

After arrival we quickly boarded the F-class luxurious bus and after other passengers got off in arrivals terminal, we had our mini-photoshoot in our luxurious charriot




Premium terminal (J-side) was calm (~20:00) and without many people.




It remained as such up until 23:00 where many flights from all parts of the world (?) arrived in Doha. Even then though, I could see empty chairs and the food were renewed constantly.




In one side of the terminal, there are some sleeper chairs. We grabbed two and try to sleep for 30-40minutes to regain some strength. I don't know if this is the norm, but that day they played a looping sound with some birds chirping and a duck … ducking (???). I really like birds…but after 30 minutes I wanted to buy a shotgun and kill them all. Especially the duck. And then kill the sound editor for looping a 60s sample for eternity.
Do you find these sounds calming? Or maybe they were having them on purpose so you can't stay long in these chairs?
Anyway, after more food, coffee, sweets it was time to board our 77L for an on-time departure.










DOH-NRT (77L)
The usual procedure, two lemon mints (I drunk my wife's) but no refill offer. The crew was clearly overloaded (100% full J cabin).
A lovely Japanese flight attendant was in duty for us.
-What would you like to eat after take-off?
-hm... we would like to sleep immediately (trying to follow TYO hours) if that's ok.
-Of course, so… you don't want anything?
-Not after takeoff, can we order something of the menu afterwards?
-pause… Of course…but… can I reserve something for you so it would be definitely available when you want it?
(reserve? in an indulgence menu of only 5 items?... anyway… I am with you…better safe than sorry)
-please reserve the sushi and the turkey (IIRC) sandwich.
-certainly sir… call us when you want to eat.

Note: unfortunately I was waiting to photograph the menu at the end (daytime), but when I was in toilet minutes before descend started, the menu disappeared. I apologize for that newbie mistake.

I slept a little and after 2-3h I waked up. I was watching sitcoms for an hour until my wife waked up. For that hour (with my seat in lounge position), no one from the crew passing by offered anything. It would be nice if they have asked if I wanted a coffee or even my meal. The crew though, did make a robotic pass-by every 15-20min checking on passengers. Not sure why (maybe seatbelts check?).
After we called and asked for our meal, they served us individually, with exactly the same level of professionalism I have read here before. Minimal personal touch, but I was not there to make friends.
The food was bad. No, forget that I said that…the food was trash.
I can eat anything but I am very picky about what I would rate edible.
The don starter was ok. I wouldn't pay 1 euro for it, but was ok for airplane food.




That sushi was the worst food I have eaten in my life. They should have not served it in that condition to anybody anywhere. I really think it was better 3h ago, but at that time, they should have told me NOT to eat it and propose something else. Sushi rice had 100Yen fast-food quality and taste and the toppings were from tasteless to bad tasting.




The fruit selection was bad also. How can you go wrong with fruits you ask? By choosing not ripe melons, pineapple and strawberries. Success story .




Turkey sandwich was a dry joke…but I was expecting that.





Both of us left 90% of the food served and nobody bothered to ask why, or even if we would like something else. No refills (how hard is to refill a coke when you see an empty glass ???), no godiva, no coffee offering, nothing.

With my stomach a mess and my wife not having the mood, we skipped breakfast completely (I must say it looked good) and just drunk a very nice smoothie and an excellent orange juice before arriving to Terminal 2 of NRT. Their coffee also was very good.





The seat:
This 2-2-2 configuration is good for couples but they offer minimal privacy. A huge plus for me is that there is no hole for your feet. I could stretch easily. However, the flap at the end of the seat was too short for me and I had to fold it. But, when you fold it, it really hurts your feet unless you put a cloth/blanket/something there. Another problem is the fabric of the seat. It just clings to your clothes and if you want to turn, the pants do not turn with you (). Simplest solution is to put a blanket between you and the seat.
You can configure your seat in any possible position and this is very helpful. I personally liked it when I found out I could put my head 2-3 degrees upwards and not have the seat fully flat.











Overall, we left this flight unimpressed. The food was bad but after a very good selection at premium terminal and a late night departure, I didn't care much. The seat was excellent and the J cabin had an airy feeling. Mood lightning works miracles also. Cabin crew was 100% professional and responded always with a smile. But it was just that "responsive" approach that made a huge contrast with CAI-DOH flight.



fast forward…


NRT-DOH (77L)
copy/paste the above text and you have our experience again. No refills, no personal attention and I think they told me that mid-flight ordering is not available in this flight, but there are some snacks in the galley!
The flight left in a normal hour (22:00) and wanted to eat immediately after takeoff but this sounded strange. Or maybe there was a communication issue with our lovely flight attendant.
on to the food…
Again, no real choice for me, since Arabic mezze was not available (!) and I don't like teriyaki. I wouldn't try to touch the sushi even if you have tortured me, so …steak it is!
…which was a proper airplane dry steak with great sauce, exactly as expected.




Fruits were much better this time.
After the meal, I requested for something sweet and offered godiva chocolates (no other choice).
I really don't get it… 22:00 departure, no proper meal, 6 choices and 1 is missing, no cheese plate, no sweet. Good for our diet, bad for J-class experience. And don't forget that we were not in the amazing premium terminal before boarding but in average Sakura lounge in NRT.
Breakfast had good selection but I cannot eat proper salty food or omelet for breakfast. I need my sugar/milk/fruits dose. Muesli with milk were excellent and fruits were very good. Bread basket also was of high quality and very fresh.





Premium terminal on the F side was empty and everybody wanted to serve you, refill you, clean your table, etc. The service was definitely "F-class" in a point that I didn't feel comfortable.
After a shower and some light nibble (croissants and fruits were very good and fresh), fresh Arabic coffee was offered (yeyyy). Time passed quickly and it was time for boarding.





DOH-CAI (773)
Memorable experience in this 3h flight… everything was perfect. Excellent crew, amazing food, relaxed, more personal service. Even though it was a morning flight, full meal was offered.

Quiz: what coffee is this?




Arabic mezzeh for me.




Very tasty soup for my wife




Chicken for me, not dry at all.



Linguini for my wife, restaurant quality.




And a boring desert for both.





All in all, we traveled safe, slept fully stretched and ate well (?), so money well spent.
I will still remember the two short segments though with a huge smile in my face and will consider DOH-NRT (especially) a mishap.

More photos here