I'm back with my second series of flight reports. This time it's from Colombo to Bahrain via Doha. My brother is residing in Bahrain and we wanted to pay a visit there. The weather is good there in the month of April and local (Sinhalese and Tamil) new year in Sri Lanka also falls in 13th-14th of April so that I can catch a break from work. I did a random search for prices last December and for my luck I could find an extremely good fare with QR for this period. There is only one airline operating direct service between CMB and BAH i.e. Mihin Lanka, the low cost subsidary of SriLankan Airlines but at a higher price with low amenities. Gulf Air had a service to CMB but withdrew few years ago. We didn't mind the two hour transit in DOH as we could explore the newly built airport a bit.
We reached the airport 3 hours prior to departure. Roads in Colombo were almost empty as it was the new year day but airport was busy as usual.
FIDS before entering Check-in area.
Departure Lobby.
At Check-in. There were two desks for economy class and both had queues less than ten people. Bit of delay occurred due to the shift change of the staff but check-in was completed in less than 15 minutes.
After filling the departure cards, handing them over to immigration guys and getting the exit stamp in our passports we headed to the viewing deck for some spotting.
SriLankan A300-200s… 4R-ALH with oneworld livery on the far left and ALA to the right.
The newbies… A330-300 4R-ALL and ALM.
The next in the line of A33s 4R-ALN with an EK 777.
AirAsia A320 9M-AHY with bigdutyfree livery.
4R-ALN reversing to join her sisters.
Our aircraft arrived but couldn't capture her as she was parked at gate on the other side of the concourse. We headed to the gate.
Duty free shops.
FIDS in airside.
Towards the gates with bridges.
We were welcomed to the boarding lounge with the usual "Ayubowan" by the SriLankan staff.
Another A333 at the neighbouring gate. This time its 4R-ALQ with UL503 for Heathrow.
Our bird A340-600 A7-AGD.
Last shot before entering the aircraft.
Some snaps of the cabin.
The safety video was bit "Messi".
That famous IFE box!
Seat pitch was perfectly fine for me.
Taxiing towards Runway 22.
Takeoff…
Behind the UL A332 is A320 9N-ALM, the first and only aircraft of Himalayan Airlines doing a charter flight to Colombo. This new Kathmandu based airline is yet to commence scheduled flights.
Ascending over the Negombo lagoon, can see the airport expressway.
Indian Ocean.
Headphones. Mine had some problem with right channel so used dad's as he was not using them.
Turned on some Hindi music and back to the map.
Entering India.
Meanwhile meal carts rolled out.
FA told me the options are vegetable or chicken fried rice and I opted for the chicken option.
Vegetable salad and the sago pudding for dessert.
They had orange and apple juice, wine, whiskey, vodka and gin. I asked for a Smirnoff vodka with orange juice.
Steel cutlery were provided.
There has been some mistake. The chicken option was not rice. The FAs have also realized this and immediately came to us and apologized for the misinformation. We were happy to continue with what we got.
The food tasted good and after finishing all I felt stuffed. That meal can beat the Y+ meal of some carriers.
By the time we are done with lunch we came across this beautiful sight of Lakshadweep islands.
Cruising over the Indian Ocean.
Back section of the Y cabin.
In-flight duty free sales has commenced.
Entering Oman.
Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi.
Cabin crew getting ready for landing.
Video of Doha Airport transfer and arrival procedures is shown.
Rain at 10000 ft.
Landed at Doha in a gloomy weather with a delay of 15 minutes.
We parked at gate C1.
We exited the aircraft and headed for the transfers. No security checks may be due to the number of tight connections. I saw many QR ground agents calling for passengers from our flight for onward connections to Moscow, Paris, Barcelona etc.
Checking FIDS to locate the gate for our next flight.
Gate C13, it's at the other end of the concourse.
See you soon with the flight report of DOH-BAH sector.
See more
Verdict
Qatar Airways
9.1/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering9.5
Colombo - CMB
8.1/10
Efficiency8.5
Access7.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness9.5
Doha - DOH
9.9/10
Efficiency9.5
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
It was a nice experience. The crews was both efficient and friendly. Cabin and IFE was good along with the impressive catering. QR service stood up to their Skytrax rating. I cannot do a relative comparison with other airlines with same rating as I never experienced them. Apart from the confusion at serving meals, malfunctioning headphones and small delay it was a pleasant and enjoyable flight. I would chose QR in the future if I travel to west from my country.
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Thanks. Yes it seems bit funny in one way :D but at the same time a bit tensed situation for both passengers and staff. Missing a connection and trapped in an airport is frustrating.
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4 Comments
There is only one airline operating direct service between CMB and DOH - Do you mean between CMB and BAH?
Great spotting shots from CMB!
The IFE box for your window seat doesn't seem to be as huge as in their older A330s.
The portion size of your entree looks small as usual with QR but I'm glad it tasted good!
Have a good one, see you!
Yes it should be BAH and it has been correct now.
Didn't know QR had even bigger IFE boxes in A330s. That must have suck!
This is my first time with them, so I couldn't compare but highly enjoyed their catering.
See ya!
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