I booked this flight on ba.com using Avios. Since I had already checked in online and saved the boarding pass to my phone, I decided to stay airside rather than going landside.

Before heading through security, I stopped by the Qatar Airways desk to ask if they could print my boarding pass. In hindsight, that may not have been the best idea. I ended up with a confused agent struggling with an even more confused QR system. She looked at me, puzzled, and asked how I got there, clearly wondering how I got there. I pointed to the BA boarding pass in her hand and explained I had just landed.

Then came the questions:

• “Where are you going?” — Muscat.
• “Do you have a visa?” — No, I’ll get one on arrival.
• “Where are you staying?” — Crowne Plaza Hotel.
• “Do you have a UK residence card?” — Now I was confused. Why did that matter? I’m in Qatar, heading to Oman. But I answered.
• “Do you have a return ticket?” — Yes, I showed her the booking.

And then came what felt like a million other questions.

Judging by her helpless expression, I could tell this wasn’t going to be quick. Eventually, she called over a few colleagues for help. After battling the system for another five minutes or so, the QR team finally won and handed me my boarding pass. I couldn’t help but wonder if going landside might have been faster.


Platinum Lounge

I made a quick stop at the Platinum Lounge, but it was completely packed. No empty seats anywhere. Later, I realised many people just left their belongings to hold seats while they went to the dining area.



I saw this in Incheon and was sure I saw something similar in Doha.

Paradise City, Incheon

And indeed, it was there

Doha

I didn’t stay long. Instead, I took a walk to the Garden. I knew we had a bus gate, so I wasn’t in a hurry. I’ve had some unpleasant experiences with QR’s bus boarding before, and unfortunately, this time was no better. They kept us waiting in the bus for ages (thankfully with aircon on), then took the longest possible route to the aircraft.




According to Flightradar24, this route is operated by A320, B777, or A350. I had chosen my seat not knowing which aircraft we’d get, but as soon as I saw those sexy, curved wings, I knew it was the A350, 9 years old A7-ALG.


Business class cabin

The business class cabin looked spacious, with a small open bar/lounge area in the middle. No QSuites this time, just the older seats in 1-2-1 configuration. When I boarded, the cabin was completely empty.



Since it was only an hour-long flight, I opted for economy. The first row was 2-3-2, while the rest of the cabin had a 3-3-3 layout. I sat in 10K with plenty of leg room. Once boarding was complete, the captain welcomed us aboard our 1 hour and 6 minute flight.

Shortly after takeoff, the crew came around with refreshments, water or orange juice, and a sandwich. I skipped the food as I wasn’t hungry. As we began our descent into Muscat, the views were beautiful.




After landing, it took us around 10 minutes to reach the gate. We hadn’t even stopped fully when people started jumping up and opening overhead bins. Why do people do that?

Somewhere at the MCT airport

Baggage hall

The visa-on-arrival process was smooth and quick. I handed over my passport and was asked how long I’d be staying. Since it was less than two weeks, the visa was free. They just scanned all my fingertips and took a photo. I got a stamp and a friendly “Enjoy your time here.”



Next step: find my driver. As I entered the arrivals hall, I spotted a sign that said “Dr. Vorel” but no one standing next to it. I asked a few people nearby if it was theirs, but no. Looked like my driver had vanished.



One person offered to helped me and while he tried to contact him, I wandered around and took a few photos. Eventually, my driver showed up, apologising profusely. He hadn’t expected us to land so early. It was no problem. It was only noon, and I had three hours to kill before hotel check-in.