Qatar Airways
Business Class (J)
Discounted Business Class Fare
QR578: DOH-DEL (Doha to Delhi)
2 September 2018
Airbus A350-900 (Two Class Configuration)
A7-ALV
Seat 5K
Departure: 07:45PM
Arrival: 01:55AM +1
Unfortunately, my time in Doha had come to an end and I decided to leave for the airport around 4PM. It's a bit earlier than I needed to be there, but I wanted to check that my ticket was squared away with AA before going onward to India. I figured that the agents at Doha would be best able to assist if there was any issue that needed to be resolved. I definitely made the right choice.
DOH Super VIP Terminal
QR J Class Check-in Area
QR J Class Check-in Area
QR J Class Check-in Area
I breezed through the dedicated QR J class check-in area. There was zero line at the dedicated immigration and security checkpoints. I was airside within 5 minutes tops. Extremely efficient operation that's very similar to what SQ operates for their F pax in SIN.
Another Obligatory Bronze Bear Shot
First stop was the Al Mourjan Lounge so I could place a call to the AA EXP Desk back home. After a short chat, it appeared that my ticket was indeed messed up. I was still checked-in for the DOH-KTM and KTM-DEL segments, even though I had a new BP for the DOH-DEL segment. In the event that I no-showed for the KTM-DEL flight the next day (which I most certainly would), the rest of the ticket would be cancelled. Naturally, AA could not fix it. Great.
So, I spoke to the lounge agent and he directed me to the transfer desk, which is landside of course. He escorted me through security and I went to the QR ticketing/transfer desk directly below the Al Mourjan Lounge. It took a few minutes to explain the issue, but eventually the supervisor at the transfer desk was able to exchange my DOH-KTM and KTM-DEL segments for a single DOH-DEL segment. All without having to get AA to reissue the ticket. I called AA to confirm and the ticket was fixed and good to go.
The whole process took nearly an hour. So I went back through security (a breeze without any baggage) and to the lounge. Had a few nibbles and before long it was time to board my flight. My flight was departing from the C gates which is a 10-15 minute walk from the lounge.
Snack
Snack
Sad Mickey Mouse?
Golden Funnel Cake
Boarding began a few minutes after I turned up. Unfortunately, QR doesn't operate the Qsuite to DEL, so I had the older J product instead. This would be the second different plane type of J seat on QR metal I'd fly on this trip. Once the trip concluded, I will have flown almost every type of QR J seat (excluding the 77L, which I'll fly this Nov to AKL). As for their widebodies, the only ones I haven't flown are the QR A380 and the QR A340.
The Old J Class Seat
Still a great seat, if a bit lacking in privacy.
The Old J Class Seat
Lime Mint Welcome Drink
Menu
Menu
Water and Nuts
Bread
Soup
Arabic Mezze
No tabbouleh this time unfortunately.
Chicken
Never got those accompaniments, though...
Dessert
As usual, the meal was excellent and the service impeccable. The only hiccup was the landing. On the first attempt, the main gear touched down (roughly) and the captain then gunned it and took off again. He came of the PA and told us that there had been an obstruction on the runway and he needed to go around for a second attempt. We never found out what it was, but it could've been a vehicle, another plane or a cow (this is India, after all).
In any event, the second attempt was successful and we were at the gate after a long taxi. I hopped off the plane and hoofed it to immigration, which was a fairly long distance from the gate. The immigration area is a bit confusing, but I finally found the correct lane. Unfortunately, as always, I chose the wrong line and got stuck behind a family from MEM that was taking forever. Once I got my visa issued, I was through and went to find an ATM and my ride to the hotel.