Bad Planes to BKK
 

On the way there my flight to BKK is a 788 in a 1-2-1 configuration, then on the return BKK-DOH it’s a A330 with a 2-2-2 configuration. Why are they operating old planes to BKK?

IMHO the 788 isn't bad by any measure.

I guess they are forced to use the older planes due to the A350's that they have grounded.
Thailand also only fully reopened to tourists under the test and go programme on 1 Feb with rather short notice so the schedule was probably based on demand pre opening.
My guess is that there are more plane swaps or increase in frequency on the cards as the flights are filling up fast.

True the 787 isn’t bad, but compared to the Qsuite it’s not great. So now that Thailand has opened again, do you think the flights will become Qsuite? With the world still shut down two years into this, I have to imagine they have spare Qsuite planes?

Seems harsh- the 787 seat is the same as the best product on many other airlines in J. There are actually fewer q suite planes with the A350 groundings thus the A330 are flying again. For most of the pandemic, the A330s were not flying but they are short on planes now. I dont think they are going to make a concerted effort to use qsuite aircraft on this route- mostly leisure traffic but Im sure there will be some here and there with the 777 most likely

Not sure what world you live in. Having flown 40+ QSuites legs in the past 12 months, the overwhelming majority were fully or nearly fully booked up. They currently have a significant QSuites shortage due in part to the Airbus A350 paint defects, and then to the massive travel rebound that started last year. DOH is and has been for over a year a freaking mad house.

The only thing shut down is the brains of government bureaucrats.

I don’t think that the BKK route was ever priority for the good planes. Immediately pre-pandemic I remember it being Q-Suites, but before that it was a mix of the A330s and A380s. If you were in J, at least your fellow drinkers at the bar on the way to BKK were guaranteed to be entertaining.

Flew QR BKK-DOH back in ‘19 and the off peak flights were on the A330 as well - albeit with several daily Q suite options, just priced higher.

Exactly the world I am living in, that’s the problem. I use to fly international every month, sometimes twice a month. Now I’m lucky if I can squeeze in one or two international flights a year that require more homework, and passes than a grade school field trip.

Fully agree with this, I can remember the lottery of frame swaps on the BKK route personally, even before the advent of the QSuite and the customer service gesture to swap you to a different flight if you got swapped away from QSuites.

Qatar put their less premium frames on this route because the passengers will put up with it slightly better than other routes such as SIN, KUL, etc. Also QR are not alone in this practice on flights to BKK, BA and AF are two examples who have form for doing exactly the same thing, I am sure there are others...

There is multiple things that have played a factor over the years on what gets to do the DOH-BKK routes. For some time this route was a regular stomping ground for the A380 and supplements of dial-a-plane swaps for the departures not joining up with the big transfer waves in Doha.
Once the Rumble With Riyad hit then DOH-BKK got quickly swapped over to as muhc 777 as they could, with the odd A330, as this gave a shift to more available payload to carry goods needed in Doha. The 2-2-2 on a 777 can hardly be called a bad product, in my eyes.
Once we got to covid this route went back to dial-a-plane, with little consistency.
But as many threads in here have lamented, the one thing QR does better than their onboard service in-flight, it is how to swap planes on routes on short notice. Until the world becomes more predictable I think DOH-BKK will continue to see a mix of types and be ready to see swaps on short notice.

-A

Things could be worse.

You could be on an Emirates 777, with 2-3-2 seating in J, and angle flat seats.

I had an A330 on my late evening flight back from HKT - Hated it, to a point that i’d avoid booking QR again on the route until they get some better aircraft operating it.

Anyone remember those QR mistaken fare $500ish from SGN to JFK RT in 2017 with free hotel layover in Doha? I flew once with A330. It was not that bad with $500 biz and it was not even half empty.

It’s certainly good value at $500 - But currently it’s about £3,000 return from Dublin for the dates i’m looking at. For an extra £1,000 I can fly First on Emirates, that’ll probably be my choice.

A shame, because I loved flying Qatar for the first time recently, but there are better hard products available on my route to Thailand.

£3k for DUB-HKT return on Qatar? Need to hop over to AMS, CDG, BRU or OSL etc for a fare at least half that!