QatarTravel

Review of Qatar Airways Flight Doha to London in Business

Authored by @wmx.the.flyer

Introduction

Welcome, everybody, to this new flight report! Today I will be taking you along with me to fly in Qatar Airways’ Qsuites on the B777-200LR from Doha to London.

This flight report will cover the airport experience in Doha, the onboard hard and soft products, as well as London Heathrow Airport.

For each aspect of the experience, I will rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. The final score for the full experience will be out of 100.

Departure Airport

Welcome to a very empty Doha’s Hamad International Airport! I just arrived on Qatar Airways’ A350-900 from Singapore, and I have some 3 hours to spare before this flight to London Heathrow. At this time of the day (early afternoon), Hamad Intl Airport is almost completely deserted, with very few flights coming in and out of the airport.

Transit Security

As I was on a Business Class ticket, I had access to fast-track security, though it wouldn’t have saved that much time anyways, since the normal lanes were empty as well. The security staff here in the fast-track lane were extremely friendly, they engaged in very whole-hearted conversations. I must say, this was one of the best airport security experiences I’ve ever had.
10/10 here. 

Lounge Experience

After security was done, I headed down the escalator into the transit area, in search of the prestigious Al Mourjan Business Lounge – South, which is Qatar Airways’ flagship lounge. I almost made my way towards the escalator leading to the Al Safwa Lounge (reserved for First class passengers), but I just managed to narrowly avert an awkward situation of being at the wrong lounge; signages could be clearer. After a few minutes of wandering around the area, I managed to locate the correct escalator, which would bring me straight into the prestigious Al Mourjan Lounge.

There was a friendly lounge attendant at the foot of the escalator who checked my boarding pass, before letting me on to the escalator. Once in the lounge, I immediately noticed how still and serene it was, given that it was completely empty at this time of the day. I immediately turned right towards the pool-like pond situated at the heart of the lounge. Note that this is not for swimming, by the way, it smelt very fishy (literally, and that’s because there are countless number of small fish living in there and jumping around). For those who like a swim, go to the transit hotel instead, it has a pool for swimming

Al Mourjan Lounge – Pond

There is also a multitude of seating areas, all with plush armchairs, alongside lamps and charging facilities. There are also multiple self-service bars scattered around the lounge, where you can get some drinks for yourself. The lounge also offers some pretty decent views of the apron through its massive floor-to-ceiling windows. 

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Al Mourjan Lounge – Seating area
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View of the apron – A7-BBI (77L, FIFA WC2022 special livery), A7-BBC (77L, will fly me to London later on)

There are also shower suites available in the lounge, which I made use of during my stay. Each shower suite is huge, they come with a large shower room (which has both overhead and hand-held showers) with bottles of Diptyque shampoo and body wash, a large separate toilet cubicle, a large sink, a large mirror, a wardrobe area with coat hangers, as well as space for luggage. I found this to be a very comfortable and refreshing shower experience, well needed during this long journey.

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Al Mourjan Lounge – Shower suite

After my refreshing shower, I headed up the spiral staircase over the pond onto the second floor (yes, this lounge is massive), which serves as the dining area. There are buffets, an appetiser bar, a sushi bar, as well as an a-la-carte restaurant (where you order from a menu and they prepare the food in the kitchen) up here. I opted to just get a light meal at the buffet since I wasn’t actually that hungry. The food was delicious. 

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Al Mourjan Lounge – Dining area + buffet
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Al Mourjan Lounge – Buffet food

Overall, the Al Mourjan Lounge scores an impressive 10/10

Exploring the Airport

After the lounge visit, I decided that it would be a good time to do a little bit of exploring the airport before I went to my gate since I’ve never been here when it was so empty before.

I tried the rubber-tyre people-mover service, which operates inside the airport between the main transfer area and the C gates area.

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People-mover
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People-mover – Interior

Soon, I arrived at the only other stop of the people-mover service, which is located near the C gates area. I walked past a few more duty-free shops and a juice bar and found the airport’s new recently opened extension area, known as The Orchard. It is an indoor garden-like plaza, with a huge glass ceiling with triangular window panes, a lot of trees, some shops at the side, a treetop walk sort of thing, some oddly shaped seating, and a water feature. Some may find this place eerily similar to another world-class Asian airport… 

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Hamad Intl. Airport – The Orchard
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THE water feature

Pre-boarding

Soon after, it was time for me to go to the gate for boarding, which was at gate C4. There was a quick passport and boarding pass check at the counter, and I was in the gate area, which had really nice views of our aircraft. Similar to Singapore, this confined seating area had no amenities (including toilets) at all. 6/10 

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Views of our aircraft

DEPARTURE AIRPORT SCORES 9/10 

Flight and Aircraft Information

Flight information

Flight date: 28/05/2023
Airline: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Operated by: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Flight number: QR005
Route: Doha (DOH) – London (LHR)
Scheduled Departure Time: 16:40 (UTC+3)
Actual Departure Time: 16:58 (UTC+3)
Scheduled Arrival Time: 22:00 (UTC+1)
Actual Arrival Time: 21:29 (UTC+1)
Scheduled Flight Time: 7h20min
Actual Flight Time: 6h31min

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Registration: A7-BBC
Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-2DZLR
Engines: 2× GE90-110 B1
Line Number: 825
First Flight: 19/10/2009
Aircraft Age (as of flight): 13 years 7 months
Aircraft Delivered: 11/11/2009
Seating Configuration: J42Y217

Pre-Departure

Boarding

Business class passengers and Oneworld Alliance status holders were called to board first. Soon, I was walking down the jet bridge into the Qsuites-equipped B77L.

Welcome Onboard

Once onboard the aircraft, two flight attendants, as usual, warmly welcomed me onboard. I immediately turned right, walked through the first Qsuites cabin, and found my shiny seat in the second cabin quite quickly. Immediately, my flight attendant, a very friendly young lady from the Philippines, came over to my seat to introduce herself and tell me that she would be taking care of me on this flight. She then asked me for my choice of a welcome drink, and this time, I opted for a 100% concentrated Lime&Mint (no soda water this time).

Soon, my drink appeared at my seat, alongside a Diptyque refreshing towel and the menus.

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Lime&Mint + Diptyque refreshing towel


PRE-DEPARTURE SERVICE GETS A 9/10 

Taxi and Takeoff

We pushed back soon and the safety video was shown. Once again, this was QR’s new one, and if you’ve read my previous Qsuite review, you’ll know I find that this is far from a captivating safety video, and that the old football-themed one much better suited me.

As our engines started up, the flight attendant came around to take our meal orders.

We soon lined up on Hamad Intl’s runway 34L for our take-off towards the north, out of a very dusty Doha afternoon. The spool-up was at 16:58, 18 minutes behind schedule.  

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Taxiing to the runway
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Doha – city centre
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Doha – The pearl
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Doha – Lusail Stadium : This was where the FIFA WC2022 Final was played.

Flight Path

Now is a good time to take a look at our flight path. Our route out of Qatar was a less straightforward one than my previous flight, which took us over Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Germany, and Belgium before we started our descent into the United Kingdom. We would cruise at 36000 and 38000ft.  

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FlightRadar24

My QSuite

As we make our way towards our cruising altitude of 36000ft, this is a good time to take a good look at the QSuite.

Seat (Suite) Details:
Seat: 8A (Backwards-facing port-side window suite)
Seat Type: QSuite
Seat Manufacturer: Collins Aerospace
Class: Business (J)
Cabin: Rear business cabin (right after door 2)

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Qsuite 8A
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Lamp, High suite walls, Sliding door
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This is what the footwell looks like
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QSuite cabin – overview

Some thoughts about the seat:

Seat Comfort: The suite was very spacious, and the seat, along with the large leather headrest, was well padded, making it very comfortable. The seat also came with a massage function, which didn’t seem to work, yet again. There were also many set positions available via the seat controls, and I had some fun playing with them. 9/10
Seat Privacy: The high walls and sliding doors ensured absolute privacy for the entire flight. It’s as good as privacy gets in Business class. 9/10
Legroom: Is that even a question? My legs could stretch out in whatever way I liked throughout the flight! 10/10
Seat Storage:
There were many places where one could store their things, there was an ottoman-like raiseable armrest beside the seat that opened up to reveal some storage space. This came with a pair of headphones and a bottle of water before every flight. There was also some storage below the marble-like counter, conveniently right above some charging ports. The footwell could also be used to store the bedding if one wishes to. 9/10

On top of all that, the Qsuite on the 77L feels bigger. I do not know if this is actually the case, but the Qsuite here on the 77L felt quite a bit more spacious than on the 359.  

OVERALL FOR SEAT COMFORT: 10/10

Meal Service

Qatar Airways offers Dine-on-demand in Business Class, meaning passengers could have their meals whenever they wanted to. Yet again, I opted to have my meal as early as possible after take-off since I was getting quite hungry. Note that aside from the main meal, there were also light hot snack options available throughout the flight.

Nuts and the Margarita

Meal service started off when my flight attendant came over to my suite to serve me some warm nuts and a beverage of my choice. This time, I went with a glass of Pineapple Margarita, one of the mocktails on offer. It even came with salted rims. This was a very classy way to start a meal service and scores 10/10 from me.

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Warm nuts + Pineapple Margarita

Table Set-up
The flight attendant then came back to my suite and set up my table for me. This, once again, included a massive white tablecloth, some delicious butter, a bottle of Monte Vibiano Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, QR-branded salt and pepper shakers, a bread basket containing some brilliant infused bread, an electric candle, and a glass of water. This is, once again, a brilliant presentation. 10/10 

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Table set-up

Amuse Bouche: Beef
The Amuse Bouche trolley came by just as I was nibbling on some of the delicious infused bread from the bread basket. This time, it was a piece of beef, drenched in some sort of vinegar, topped off with a generous slice of truffle.
This Amuse Bouche was once again, delightful. 10/10 from me. 

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Amuse Bouche – Beef

Appetiser: Burrata tomato carpaccio 
This was a salad that consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, courgette, cucumbers, olives, pine nuts, and a huge lump of burrata cheese. The elements combined well. Overall, there was nothing wrong with this appetiser, but it felt slightly underwhelming and boring for something served in Business Class.
Overall, this appetiser item gets a 7/10 from me.  

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Appetiser – Burrata tomato carpaccio

Main: Char Grilled Kofta and Lamb Chop with Tomato Focaccia and Harissa Oil

The main dish soon arrived at my table. This was some Char Grilled Kofta and Lamb Chop with Tomato Focaccia and Harissa Oil.The lamb kofta was perfect. It was juicy and had all the flavors I could’ve ever asked for. Easy 10/10

The lamb chop, on the other hand, was very well done (not a compliment; by this I mean it was overcooked and was very dry. It also happened to be critically under-seasoned. Good thing there were salt and pepper shakers) 3/10

The tomato focaccia was really just some soggy bread with tiny lumps of tomato mush on the surface. I’d happily swap this out for some more of those bread baskets any day. 4/10

I found the harissa oil to be quite extra and didn’t appreciate the extra grease this brought to the focaccia. 3/10

The dish also came with some funny white sauce and chilies. Again, these were extra and were probably there just to make the dish look nicer. 2/10

Overall, most of the elements of this dish weren’t quite satisfactory, but the kofta manages to salvage a 6/10 for the main course. 

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Main dish – Char grilled kofta and lamb chop with tomato focaccia and harissa oil

Dessert: Double chocolate tart with strawberries and mango
Dessert was served soon after. The friendly FA recommended to me this chocolate tart, and I decided to go with it

This was rich, creamy, and delightful. The strawberries and mango were also fresh, juicy, and very enjoyable. 9/10 

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Dessert – Double chocolate tart

THE MEAL SERVICE SCORES 8/10 

AMENITIES

Amenity Kit
A Diptyque branded leather pouch was waiting in every Qsuite during boarding. This, like on the previous flight, consisted of multiple Diptyque creams, lotions, and perfumes. There was also a pair of loose socks, an eye mask, and a pair of cheap plastic earplugs.
The amenity kit receives a 10/10 from me.

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Amenity kit

Bedding

On this flight, a full-size pillow, an accessory pillow, and a blanket were provided. These all worked quite well and were very comfortable. However, as this was yet another daytime flight, many amenities were not available. This, once again, includes pajamas, mattress covers, and slippers. The bedding gets 8/10

Lavatories 

The decently sized lavatories were kept clean throughout the flight. More Diptyque products, including hand-wash, can be found here. Lavs get a 9/10 from me.

THE OVERALL SCORE FOR AMENITIES IS 9/10

In-Flight Entertainment

IFE System

Each Qsuite comes equipped with a 21.5-inch IFE Touchscreen and is of High Definition quality. It features Qatar Airways’ “Oryx One” system, which is advertised to have over 4000 entertainment options, including movies, TV shows, music, and games. Everyone gets loaned a pair of high-quality noise-canceling headphones for the duration of the flight. Each Qsuite in the B77L also comes equipped with a Panasonic remote control. However, the 777s in Qatar’s fleet feature a joke of an in-flight map system, with absolutely no interactivity, and is always switching between some default views. I prefer just looking out the window in this situation.

IFE System gets an 8/10.

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In-flight map
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View from my seat

Onboard Wi-Fi

Qatar’s B77L aircraft are equipped with what they call “Super Wi-Fi”. The connection speeds of this are relatively fast and have absolutely no problems with text messaging. Privileged Club members get one hour of free Wi-Fi, and a full flight pass only costs US$ 10. However, for most of the flight, the Wi-Fi didn’t quite seem to work, though while it did, it performed well.
Wi-Fi gets 4/10.

Onboard charging

There was a Universal Power Outlet as well as some other charging options on the side console. However, unlike on the A359, all power options on the B77L are concentrated on the side counter. If you have a lot of wires, it might get quite messy. 9/10 

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SCORES 8/10 OVERALL 

Bed and Sleep

After watching a couple of movies on the IFE, I decided to take a nap. I simply pushed the bed button on the seat controls to convert the seat into a bed. Remember how I said the bed doesn’t go entirely flat?  

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QSuite bed – Note that the bed surface is very slightly angled; the armrests are perfectly level with the horizon.


Some thoughts about the sleeping surface:
Bed comfort: As I said before, the bed is very comfortable. This made for a very nice time laying down. 10/10
Bed length and width: The bed measures 200cm long and 55cm wide, enough for the average traveller. 9/10
Foot space: The footwell was pretty big, and my feet had plenty of space to move around. 9/10
Sleep quality: Once again, the Qsuite ensured a comfortable time laying down. However, every time we climbed, my door slid open, which was rather annoying. The GE90s on the B77L were also very loud when compared to the A359’s Trent XWBs. There also happened to be a family, including two noisy children, sitting in the Quad suite directly across the aisle. 4/10  

SLEEPING EXPERIENCE SCORES 7/10 OVERALL

Pre-Landing

I woke up just as we started our descent into England. As usual, our FA soon came by every suite to hand over a box of Laderach Swiss chocolates and a rose-scented hot towel to every passenger, as well as thank everyone for choosing Qatar Airways.
Again, a very thoughtful gesture, which makes the experience so much more personalized. 10/10.  

Cabin Crew

My Flight Attendant
This flight attendant I had, was extremely friendly. She was constantly checking on her passengers, and often went out of her way to personalize her passengers’ experiences (she seemed to have a lot of fun playing around with the family of 4 sitting in the Quad across the aisle, though the attention given to me wasn’t compromised). However, in an awkward exchange, she mistook for a stranger sitting in the suite behind for someone I was traveling with, even though I was traveling alone. Nonetheless, she scores full marks. 10/10

Service speed (general)
Meal service overall was quite fast, with little delays in between courses. 9/10

Service attitude (general)
All the Flight Attendants were very friendly and professional. General service attitude gets a 10/10.  

THE CABIN CREW ON THIS FLIGHT SCORE 10/10 

Approach + Landing

We descended westwards over London just as the sun was setting.

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Wembley Stadium – Home of the England national football team

We were soon on final approach into London Heathrow’s Runway 09L, and we touched down (extremely hard landing by the way, all unsecured items throughout the cabin flew to the ground in a loud simultaneous crash) at 21:29 local time, 31 minutes ahead of schedule. 

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LHR – seen during descent
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Final approach – Runway 09L
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Concorde G-BOAB – seen on ground at LHR during taxi to gate

Arrival Airport

Soon, we were walking up the jet bridge at Heathrow’s Terminal 4, which felt rather dark and dingy. There weren’t any moveable walkways in operation, so it was a long walk to immigration through the narrow hallways. Once there, though, it was a speedy trek through the E-gates (thanks to my passport being eligible), and I was soon at the baggage reclaim. Here, however, was more than an hour’s wait for the first bags to arrive. Maybe most of Heathrow’s ground staff went home early and it was just one poor guy handling all the baggage.
Manoeuvrability in LHR T4 gets 5/10.
Immigration gets 7/10.
Baggage reclaim gets 3/10 for the wait. At least the bag wasn’t destroyed.  
ARRIVAL AIRPORT SCORES 5/10 OVERALL

MY FINAL RATINGS

Airports Experience
Airports: 7/10

Hard Product
Seat Comfort: 10/10  
Sleep Comfort: 8/10
In-flight Entertainment: 8/10
Aircraft Comfort: 7/10
Aircraft Cleanliness: 10/10

Soft Product
Meal Service: 8/10
Amenities: 8/10
Other Service: 10/10
Cabin Crew: 10/10

OVERALL RATING: 86/100  

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