Flight review: Qatar Airways, Melbourne to Doha

Flight review: Qatar Airways, Melbourne to Doha
By Anne Majumdar


We hop aboard Qatar Airways service from Melbourne to Doha to see what it’s all about…

Melbourne – Doha

23:55

Economy class

Seat 35A

Arrival:

Remember what it’s like to sit on a plane seat and bounce back up atop a cushion of goodies?

Neither did I. Until this flight. Qatar must be one of the last carrier’s that treats their economy class passengers to more than a blanket and pillow. There are pyjamas and a felt amenity kit. While I don’t actually see anyone wear the pyjamas, it’s nice to have the option.

The little touches are noticeable, such as quality toilet paper in the bathroom and neatly packaged tea and coffee sets.

Staff:

The main hostess is incredibly accommodating. In fact, the cabin crew as a whole don’t miss a beat – every task is pulled off with calm efficiency. At the end of the flight, I wait to use the bathroom and when the hostess sees that there is water on the floor, she insists on servicing it for me, despite being busy with closing up the cabin for landing. That’s going above and beyond.

Entertainment:

The screen is wide and the vision is great, not too pixelated like some other screens I’ve seen. They have a great variety of shows – I especially loved the BBC’s collation of concerts from this year’s Glastonbury festival.

Food:

The food isn’t the healthiest, but it’s tasty. Main course is either chicken nasi goreng or beef with cous cous. The nasi goreng is spicy enough to wake you up an hour in, which is 1am at the point of departure.

Breakfast is waffles or a vegetarian frittata or a chicken sausage hot meal. The attendants regularly come through the cabin with drinks and snacks,

Seat:

It’s comfortable with a pretty deep recline for economy class. In testament to the seat but also perhaps my lack of sleep prior to boarding, I manage to kip for the majority of the journey in the upright position, which has never happened before.

The one gripe I have with the seat is that the armrest doesn’t fully raise up. When you have a spare seat next to you it’s nice to pinch a little more space.

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