Qatar Airways – QR812 – April 7th 2017
Doha Hamad Intl DOH – 07.00
Tokyo Haneda Intl HND – 22.40
Boeing 787-800 – A7-BCV – Business class, seat 02K, window, independant seat.
As soon as I entered the aircraft I got greeted by the purser and the female FA in charge of this section showed me my seat and offered to take my jacket, she also introduced herself.
The impression upon entering the dreamliner cabin is much better than on the 773. The pillow and blanket were already on the seat and the FA immediately offered the amenity kit, a pyjama and a welcome drink of my choice with a hot or cold towel.
She also brought me few minutes later the beverage and food menu for today.
Boarding slowly continued and doors got closed around 7.30.
We were airborned 10 minutes later and made a 180 degree turn towards Dubai and the east.
Shorty after takeoff, the FA came to take my breakfast order. And this is what I like with QR : As I was not hungry at that time, I just mentioned what I wanted as a first meal and she reserved it for me until I was hungry enough, which eventually happened a couple hours later. I selected this time the traditional arabic breakfast with some fresh fruit and the mint/apple/cucumber energizer drink. It came with a nice presentation and the table set experienced on my previous flight to Doha.
The fruits were ok and the arabic breakfast good. The usual bread basket was present on the table with some butter, salt, white pepper and jam.
Another thing I liked a lot about the QR meal service is that you can order whatever you want on the list at anytime you want. You are just not bound to respect some schedules like on other airlines. As long as the item is still available, the crew prepares it for you and brings it to your seat, with all the proper table set… Good - and strong point - for QR !
The purser also came shorty after take off to provide the immigration documentation for Japan and also introduce hisself and chat a bit about travels etc… It appears he was from Sri Lanka and we talked a bit about his country.
The seat is perfectly suited for individual travellers as me. It contains some storage to place your laptop or ipad, the usual USB and 110V plugs and 2 small tables to put your glass and your amenity kit for instance during the flight. An individual reading light is available on the seat and a specific storage for the water bottle and headphones is present inside the arm rest. The remote control features a touch screen and controls a responsive IFE. Note that as on the previous flight, everybody can see what is displayed on your individual screen and that the screen cannot be moved, unlike on CX for instance. The seat controls were working fine and are easy to operate, and as all Boeing 787, the windows can be dimmed electrically, which I find quite cool !
Another thing to note, and which I appreciated also on the previous flight is the fact that an air nozzle is available above your seat in business class. This is not the case for every airline on wide body aircrafts.
I managed to get a good 2 hours of sleep with the seat in full recline mode. Qatar airways : Give us a proper pillow and a duvet blanket and this would be the perfect seat ! I would have slept half of the flight with that seat and the LATAM duvet ! I am not even asking for a pillow top mattress…
On the dreamliner, 2 lavatories are available at the rear of the cabin next to the 2R and 2L doors. The both have, as on the previous flight, toothbrush and razor sets available. I however have to comment about the condition of the lavatory during the flight as every single time I went in there (and this includes also the previous flight), the toilet was never flushed… I would be good to post a sign indicating people to respect the basic rules of courtesy towards others…
Connectivity wise, it is worth mentioning that WiFi is available on the dreamliner, but the system becomes automatically unavailable when entering into airspaces which do not allow such technology to operate on board, such as in my particular case, India. The good news is that the first 15 min (or first 10MB) whatever comes first are free of charge, provided you have a valid email address. If you have multiple devices, you can get one session for free everytime. The connection quality was very reasonable considering the complex, satellite based technology, and is suited for emails, what’s app, basic websites and uploading a few pics on facebook… Do not expect to do video streaming with this ! Also, you have the possibility to send SMS but I did not try this feature. The seat table is large enough to put an ipad and a macbook and still be very comfortable to work.
As we were reaching the Chinese south border, I decided to order a mocktail (the list of cocktails and mocktails they can prepare is quite nice) and stretch my legs in the galley.
Being a BA frequent flyer, I like the possibility to interact with the crew during a long flight, spend half an hour discussing and then going back to my seat. On BA, and most of the European airlines, this is fine and some of the crews are very nice and accessible to interact with (let’s say BA Mixed fleet as an example). On most of the American carriers, they will just send you back to your seat as they consider that you are a safety hazard for the flight if you stay in the galley. On QR, I just have the feeling they feel unconfortable having your in the galley. They propose to you to bring your order directly to your seat, but they also accept having you staying in the galley. But do not expect additional interaction… So I went back to my seat and got my pineapple punch with some warm nuts… Soon after I ordered some sushi with a glass of chardonnay and I received my order 10 min later. Sushis were all right, such as the miso soup. Nothing exceptional in comparison with what I will perhaps be eating in Japan… I finished my dinner over China with a lemon tartelette served with a glass of Sauternes (sweet wine). This was pretty good.
As we were above Osaka, the crew started to prepare the cabin for landing.
We landed an hour late and taxied for ever (20 minutes) to the gate.
To conclude, I would rate this flight as following :
Cabin Crew : A
Seat : A (As a solo traveller, I would indeed recommend a window seat. However, the central seats are fine too as a quite high separation is installed. I would avoid seats in row 6 was you will be between 2 lavatories, with the first economy row being behind you).
On time performance :
Meal and beverages : A- (Food was good for a business class, table set up was elegant, and I really like the option to eat whatever you want on the menu at any time !)
Overall experience : A-. Bring me a comfy duvet and pillow and you get A+ !