Review of Qatar Airways flight Doha Frankfurt in Economy

Airline Qatar Airways
Flight QR67
Class Economy
Seat 31A
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 06:35
Take-off 29 Aug 15, 08:00
Arrival at 29 Aug 15, 13:35
QR   #10 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 623 reviews
fernousdu972
Published on 6th September 2015
Good morning y'all !

This Flight Report wasn't supposed to be published, as this flight was probably the most disappointing of my entire aviation enthusiast life. You'll soon understand why.
I finally decided to make this one, in English, in order to share some content with the English-speaking community of Flight-Report.

Those who were brave enough to follow the previous FR in French (from ICN to DOH) remember that we ended our very good flight on a remote gate next to a Dreamliner 33 minutes in advance.
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For the others, welcome, this FR is the very last one of my summer Asian routing. I spent three unforgettable months in South Korea, which is a country I very sincerely recommend to anyone willing to make an Asia tour one day. I encourage you to see my tourism bonus.
Here is a summary of the mid-year's flights:

  1. SXB-ORY, Bombardier CRJ900, Economy, April 30th, Air France, AF7303. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10098.html.
  2. ORY-FDF, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy, April 30th, Air France, AF848. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10111.html
  3. FDF-ORY, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy, May 09th, Air France, AF841. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10318.html
  4. ORY-SXB, ATR 72, Economy, May 10th, Air France, AF7306. No FR
  5. CDG-DOH, Airbus A380-800, Economy, June 05th, Qatar Airways, QR40. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10514.html
  6. DOH-ICN, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy, June 06th, Qatar Airways, QR858. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10588.html
  7. ICN-HAN, Airbus A320-200, Economy, July 11th, Vietjet Air, VJ961. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10885.html
  8. HAN-ICN, Airbus A320-200, Economy, July 15th, Vietjet Air, VJ960. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10885.html
  9. ICN-DOH, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy, August 29th, Qatar Airways, QR859. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-11435.html
  10. DOH-FRA, Airbus A350-900, Economy, August 29th, Qatar Airways, QR67 Right here

photo map

FLIGHT-REPORT

Transfer

We reached the passenger terminal after about 10 minutes inside the Cobus 3000. This is with no doubt the noisiest bus I've ever been in. It is about 4:30 in Doha and it is already very… very hot. Welcome to the middle east!

Our flight to Frankfurt is scheduled on time:
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We will depart from the Concourse A, gate A7. My two French friends will board at gate A5 in their A380 to Paris. I will later deeply regret not having chosen Paris as my final destination. But at this time, I am the happiest Flight-Reporter in the world, as I will fly the lastest Airbus bird, the A350 XWB.

In Doha Hamad International airport, we have to pass the safety again. There are only 4 queues for safety at that moment, while there are two A380s that will leave soon to Europe, one to Paris and the other one to London, and my A350 to FRA. Which means many people at the safety step. It'll take 20 minutes to reach the machines. The good point is that it is not asked to open the bags, carry-on bagage etc… .
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I missed it on my last transfer in DOH, I finally got it. The famous giant Doha's plush, the well-known symbol of DOH for the travelers.
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DOH is a very modern and welcoming airport. Being welcoming is certainly mandatory, given Qatar Airways' global hub strategy. Even if there is not much animation at 5 am.
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I would love to bring this one in my carry-on bagage:
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We finally get close to our gates after a short 10 minutes walk.
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Spotting at DOH is very difficult, DOH is not spotter-friendly at all. The only photo shows that A320 with Sharklets:
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The A380 going to operate the DOH-CDG flight and bring my friends to France is the very first one delivered to QR, registration A7-APA.
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Closer:
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I let you imagine my face when I see a Boeing 777-300ER at the boarding gate. At that moment, I divided myself in two distinct parts. I am usually a very optimistic man. The first one thinks Don't worry, it just means paxbus boarding, there's no need to worry. Or the 777 will go to a remote stand and they'll bring the A350 instead. The other one, totally independently, takes my smartphone in order to see which airplanes operated the DOH-FRA QR67 flight in the past few days. It shows that the last 4 flights were operated by a 777. The last flight operated by an A350 was 5 days ago. Before, it was a mix of 777 and A330. That finding hurt very badly the other part of myself.

From this moment, every minute was one more bullet in my optimism.

Anyway, the boarding starts on time, at 7:00 am. In a final pulse of optimism, I ask to the staff Will today's flight be operated by an A350 ?, hoping a paxbus boarding. The answer is a drastic not today.

So… Today's bird is registered A7-BAH, MSN 37662. It's a 5.6 years baby, whose first flight was done on Feb 11th 2010.

The A380 to Paris:
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Aboard

The greeting aboard by the crew is exactly the same as the previous flight. Very courteous, but whithout smiling. We are welcomed by a soft pink mood lighting.

I won't describe the cabin in detail, it's exactly the same: a 9-abreast economy cabin. It's the old one, but the seats are very comfortable though, given the 3-3-3 configuration. The pitch is very enjoyable, about 33 and the Economy seats are 18.1 wide according to SeatGuru.

The IFE is also the same, from Panasonic. Very reactive, with a very good resolution and image quality. The Oryx One enterainment system offers a very large choice of music and movies: Hollywood, of course, with many of the unmissable blockbusters, but also Bollywood, as well as Asian and Arab movies.

The belt, with Qatar Airways' signature:
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The horatius test: positive result.
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The A380 to Paris is about to being pushed back. The seat (31A) gives a nice wing view.
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The headphones are awful. The ones offers by Air France, for example, are far better in terms of sound quality. And the ones I had last summer on an Etihad flight were from another planet. Or even another galaxy.

In addition, they're not really really clean:
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Here is the connectivity. It's very classic: a USB and an ethernet outlet, as well as the two headphones outlets. But the armrest is not the most comfortable and the most convenient place for it.
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Also, it's not possible to use your own headphones.

The A380 to Paris has been pushed back:
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The boarding is rapidly completed, and we are ready for departure 20 minutes before schedule. Shortly after, our captain annouces a 10 min delay in order to meet the Frankfurt airport constraints.

We push back at 8:10 am exactly, and we take off after a very short 5 min taxi, in a very thick mist.
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As always, here is the engine start up and take off video:

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We rapidly reach the top of the mist layer:
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Even if the mist is very thick, the natural IFE does it job very well, with some really beautiful landscapes over the Persian Gulf:
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The region proudly shows its gorgeous desert landscapes:
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The first meal, which will be the last meal of the flight, is served about one hour after departure. No paper menu this time. The choice is oral: Pancakes or Chicken sausages. As I already chose the Pancakes on the previous flight, I choose the sausages for my second breakfast.
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At this time I was trying to watch the very first Jurassic Park movie. I'm probably going to hurt some of you, but it's barely watchable.
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A closer view of the main course:
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The fruit salad is good. The croissant is good-looking, this time, and has a very good taste. The Orange juice is chemical.
The main course is excellent. The sausage is really tasty, the potatoes are excellent.

All is made of metal, this time. Signed by QR
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The rest of the flight is rythmed by the beautiful desert landscapes over Iran, Iraq and Turkey. In video:




The 9-abreast Economy cabin:
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Probably one of the most comfortable and most spacious Economy cabins in the world. Not the most moderne, compared with the new cabin that equips the recent A380s and A350s. QR's ranking is well deserved, before the whole fleet is converted in the 3-4-3 configuration.

The toilets are much less glamour and modern this time. They are also very tight. At least, they are clean.
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The landscapes get greener as we get closer to Europe:
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Without the famous snack I was waiting for, we start our descent to Frankfurt, with some nice contrails:
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After some circles, we touch the ground at around 1:20 pm. We landed on the newest runway, 25R. The approach gave a nice general view on FRA airport.


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An AeroLogic B777F closely followed us:
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A Lufthansa A330-343X:
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One of the 19 Boeing 747-8I Lufthansa has in the fleet:
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Another A330-343X:
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A Condor Boeing 757-300, and a 767-300ER(WL) from the same airline:
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A Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 and its big little brother:
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Another Queen Of The Skies:
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We arrive at the gate on time, near Fatty, a Thai Airways A380-842:
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The last view of our bird, A7-BAH:
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And to finish, a Condor B767-300ER(WL) with a special livery:
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See more

Verdict

Qatar Airways

7.5/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering6.5

Doha - DOH

5.5/10
Efficiency1.0
Access5.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness9.0

Frankfurt - FRA

7.0/10
Efficiency7.0
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

To conclude, the main feeling is a deep disappointment, as the flight was to be operated by an A350 and as I chose this final destination especially to try this brand new airplane. But anyway, it was a good flight with Qatar Airways once again. It could have been a VERY good flight with at least a snack before arrival, and a more cheerful crew.

CABIN:
Rated as one of the very best Economy cabins in the world. I understand why, thanks to a 33 pitch, 18.1 wide seats and a 9-abreast configuration that'll soon get rare in QR's 777 fleet.

CREW:
Very professionnal, and available. But once again, not really smiling and giving the feeling not to be close enough to the passengers.

CATERING:
Except the last minute aircraft change, it's the main disappointment. The first meal was excellent in quality. But even a little snack before arrival would have been welcomed. And QR knows how to make good snacks...

ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM:
The Panasonic PTVs are with no doubt the most common ones in the world's fleet. Large, reactive and with a very good resolution, they were very satisfactory. The Oryx One system offers a wide variety of movies, music and games, for everyone, all tastes and all cultures.

ON-TIME PERFORMANCE:
We arrived on time...

DOHA HAMAD INT'L AIRPORT:
Very modern, clean and welcoming terminal. But I don't understand how a global hub airport can have a safety filter that slow, with only 4 queues open when so many flights to Europe are about to depart.

FRANKFURT:
I don't think I can really give objective marks, but I don't have a really good memory of that airport, or at least the terminal in which we arrived. Not much better than Orly, for example...

Thank you for having read me,
Gilles

Information on the route Doha (DOH) Frankfurt (FRA)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Doha (DOH) → Frankfurt (FRA).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Qatar Airways avec 8.3/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 6 heures et 46 minutes.

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