Qatar Airways
ouOn our way back from Alexandria, Egypt we got the chance to fly Qatar Airways for the first time. We found them to be a top-notch airline, and it isn’t surprising they are rated the World’s Best Airline by groups such as Skytrax. We found the service and food to be great and Qatar’s hub airport Hamad International Airport to be one of the best airports I have been in the world. It’s rated as well as the second-best airport in the world right behind Singapore’s legendary airport. Qatar services over 170 destinations worldwide to every continent outside of Antartica and to many destinations in the US including my home airport of Houston. They offer a great program of stopovers and layover tours that give you a chance to explore Qatar on your way to other destinations. You can stopover for up to four days or if you have a layover for over 6 hours you can take a variety of Discover Qatar tours. We had a seven-and-a-half-hour layover and that gave us time to take a Doha city tour at night for 3 hours. There are longer tours for longer layovers as well. We had great experiences on Qatar Airways on both the short-haul and long-haul flights we took. Here is what our experiences were like flying with Qatar Airways!
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Alexandria, Egypt (HBE) to Doha, Qatar (DOH)
After an amazing Viking River cruise, we headed to the El Borg El Arab International airport to head home. The airport had normal Egyptian security with security when you enter the airport and when you go to the gate. They did check for Egyptian Antiquities as it’s illegal to take them from Egypt and rightfully so. The check in counter was well staffed and we had our only issue on the trip there. We had two carry-on bags (a backpack and a smaller bag). Donna and I had three checked bags. We did not check the baggage allowance carefully and we were thinking about US airline rules, so it was our fault around this. They asked us all including my parents to consolidate our bags and check extra bags. Our allowance was two checked bags each and one carryon. We used the airport bag wrapping service and checked our backpacks. The check in counter staff were kind and understanding and just following the rules. They did make a medical exception for my small CPAP machine and let me carry it on as well. Inside the airport was very nice as well. We boarded by zones and we were in zone 1 for the flight. The jetway was well airconditioned and boarding was quick. We were greeted by the crew on entry to the plane. We usually hand the crew a thank you card as they work hard for us and we did the same. The seat width and pitch were similar to a normal short-haul flight in the US seat wise and the seats were nice and plush. There was a very nice and large TV screen at each seat in economy and business class. The cabin was very clean, and they gave us a sanitizing wipe when everyone was seated. We were given a blanket and other items just like a long-haul flight at our seats. We find a lot of aircraft in hot areas are very warm, but this flight was cooled nicely. We were flying on an Airbus A320 similar to Delta and other US airlines that seat 132 to 144 seats depending on the version.
In Flight Experience - Short-Haul
Our flight from Alexandria to Doha was only around 3 hours long so it was a similar experience in length to flying from Texas to Arizona or Southern California. We flew over Cairo where I could see the Pyramids of Giza and Saqqara, The Red Sea, Wadi Rum in Jordan, the Arabian desert of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. We watched a movie, and the biggest surprise was the fact that we got a full meal on a short haul flight. I am used to in the US where on flights of 3 hours the best you will get is a small bag of pretzels and a glass of drink and if you want a snack pack you have to buy it at pretty expensive prices. For our meal with had chicken, chickpeas, a salad, fresh roll, a good cake with a special Eid Al Ahda message. We had metal silver wear like the old days in US aviation. They also gave another special gourmet chocolate for the holiday. We got ginger ale and water but could have gotten wine or beer included. When we landed at Hamad International Airport we went to a remote stand, so we went down the stairs and were bused to the terminal.
Hamad International Airport and Doha
Hamad International Airport is rated as the #2 best airport in the world by SkyTrax and my experiences reflected that as well. Like in London Heathrow, the transit and final destination routes were well defined and there were plenty of staff to ask questions of. We took the transit route and went through a normal security process and made it into the airport. There is a great hall as you enter with the famous huge lamp teddy bear. There is plenty of shopping and restaurant options. We headed to the Discover Qatar booth that is near the bear and also run by Qatar Airways to take a layover tour. The staff escorted us to Passport Control and customs and then we checked in at the post entry into Qatar booth. When we came back they brought us to security, and we headed back into the airport with plenty of time. We ate a light dinner at a very nice Lebanese restaurant and then headed to our gate by the very nice train that cuts out walking withing the main terminal. There is also a lot of great art and huge sculptures to look at all around. For our US flight there was a second security check at the gate with an X-Ray and metal detector. No water/drinks was allowed on the plane.
Doha, Qatar (DOH) to Dallas, Texas (DFW) - Long Haul Flight
One we got through the gate security check they had the waiting area very well organized with seating by zone. We were zone 3 on this flight and sat in that area. While like at most airports as it got close to boarding time over eager flyers started heading to the gate, but they did announce by zone to make things more organized and asked people to stay seated in their zone area. As we boarded the jetway was well air conditioned compared to some that are brutally hot as you are waiting to board. The crew cheerfully greeted us and gave us sanitizer wipes. In Economy where we sat, we had a blanket, over ear headphones, and a travel kit with eye cover, toothbrush and toothpaste and more. That is usually reserved for Economy+ at the bare minimum for most airlines. We flew on a brand-new Airbus A350 on this 16-hour flight to Dallas. We left around 2am and we were offered dinner. We skipped dinner being so late but did get the water and the very good chocolate brownie. We were offered different juices and water throughout the flight. We were also given a mid-flight snack that was similar to a hot pocket stuffed pastry that was pretty good. We were also served breakfast that was a nice omelet, hashbrown, fresh croissant, yogurt and fruit. It was a pretty good meal. The restrooms had a little more room on the flight and were nice as well. The entertainment was very good with plenty of new and old movies, TV series and music. A very unique aspect is that the A350 has video cameras on the tail, the front of the plane and under the plane looking down. So it gave unique views of Greenland when we flew well above the Artic Circle and gave amazing views on landing. Deplaning was easy and overall is was a great flight considering it was over 16 hours long!
Overall Thoughts
Qatar Airways gives it’s travelers an exceptional experience and they service cities far and wide. For flights from the West heading into Asia, Africa or Australia they are a top choice. The service was excellent on all our flights and we were able to see a bit of Qatar on their great stopover/layover program. I would absolutely fly them again when given the chance and would like to explore Qatar and the other Gulf States in the future!
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