Review of Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Melbourne in Economy

This trip would include these flights
PC 2672 Istanbul-SAW to Ankara ( Economy ) Airbus A320neo, Codeshare: AZ 6089 ( click here )
[ Bonus: ibis Hotel Ankara Airport - Review ]
QR 314 Ankara to Doha ( Economy ) Airbus A321-200 ( click here )
QR 904 Doha to Melbourne ( Economy ) Airbus A380-800, Codeshare: BA 6374, IB 978, S7 4735 ( you are here )
QR 905 Melbourne to Doha ( Economy ) Airbus A380-800, Codeshare: BA 6375, IB 979, S7 4736 ( click here )
[ Bonus: Free Doha Stopover Hotel Review: Safir Hotel ]
QR 257 Doha to Ankara ( Economy ) Airbus A320-200 ( click here )

Route Overview ( DOH-MEL )

Pax for this flight
First Class: No idea
Business Class: No idea
Economy Class: %80-85
There were only middle seats (E-F) available on the main deck and some upper deck passengers were lucky to have a empty seat next to them.

DOHA HAMAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - DOH

After arriving from my previous flight, I headed to transfer security D which was fast than I expected as we were the only flight arriving at that concourse that time I was in airside within 5 minutes.

I had almost 4 hours for my next flight so I have walked through shops and boutiques for almost an hour and FIDS were indicating my gate at that time.

The Famous Teddy Bear

In DOH, the seating areas in the Duty Free areas are usually crowded , so I had went to the seating area between gate C13 and concourse E as it was empty that time. Also it was possible to spot the aircraft I would be shortly boarding.

The gate had opened 1 hours 30 minutes before scheduled departure time because of an additional security screening at the gate for flights to Australia. As it was my third time on this flight, it's unnecessary to pass this check early as there would be no queue 20-25 minutes after the gate has been opened.

As I wanted to have some refreshments at that time, I chose to have some nibbles the Illy Café which was close to my gate. I had an iced coffee, granola and a cookie for €16 which wasn't that cheap.

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The wood statue near my gate

Boarding Pass

GATE AREA & BOARDING

I had arrived to gate C13 55 minutes before scheduled departure time and by that time there was no queue in both lanes at the gate for the final liquid check. One lane is for economy class passengers and the other lane for Privilege Club Silver, Gold, Platinum & Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald passengers. As there was no queue at that time, the same employee checked passports for both lanes. Just a quick remark that Business Class & First Class passengers has a different boarding lounge at this gate.

After the final security check, the ground staff checked my boarding pass for the last time and I was asked to take a seat as boarding would start shortly.
There were signs indicating zones to expedite the boarding process. They expected passengers to board first to sit near to the boarding area.

45-50 minutes before takeoff, priority boarding for status passengers started and I was one of the first ones to board the aircraft. As I haven't received my BA Executive Club Bronze card at that moment they checked passengers eligible for priority boarding, I showed my mobile card which they recognized and I was all set.
DOH isn't a spotter friendly airport but I want to share a last picture of the aircraft before boarding.

QR 904 DOHA to MELBOURNE

I was asked to board from door 2L even though I was seated in the upper deck. I was the first passenger to board from this door. I was welcomed by the cabin supervisor by name and also by most of the cabin attendants as it was a long way back to the rear staircase.

The empty upper deck cabin

Seat:
The seat was really comfortable for an Economy seat and had plenty of legroom and storage space. As I was seated in the upper deck, I also had the opportunity to stow my belongings to the compartment next to my seat. Blankets and pillows were present at each seat.

Each seat was equipped with brand new Thales IFE screens and a touchscreen remote.

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The seat pocket contained a personal amenity kit and headsets for the flight.

The overhead panel

Before Takeoff:
The beautiful boarding music played as I boarded the aircraft.

A view from the aircraft before taxiing.

Our route today

Refreshment towels were distributed as boarding was complete.

After that, the safety video was played.

The A320 on the right side of this photo would serve QR1345 to NBO tonight.

This A321 ( A7-ADT ) is getting ready for his flight to Islamabad.

And this A350 would serve QR101 to Geneva tonight.

The VIP terminal

And, we had finally took of for a long flight.

As we took of, a video about a charity project was shown at PTV's.

After the seatbelt sign has been switched off, immigration cards and menus were distributed.

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Today's options for dinner

And the options for brunch which would be served just before landing.

A wide variety of drink would be served at this flight.

Route map just after takeoff

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MAIN MEAL/DINNER - QR 904 DOHA to MELBOURNE

There were three selections available for dinner today and all of them were available at that time as the trolley started servicing from the front. I had opted for the pasta with cheese and spinach sauce which also had some red pepper on top of the dish. A salad, a caramel cheesecake, bread, butter, Babybel cheese, a small Godiva chocolate and a bottle of water was present at that time.

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After the meal, tea/coffee service had begun and I chose to have a cup of coffee with milk.

When tea/coffee cups were collected, a bottle of water was distributed to each passenger.

The route map at that time

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The IFE was still advertising 2017 destinations at this time. For example, QR started flights to Adana last year.

A lavatory break as it was clean midflight.

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IFE - QR 904 DOHA to MELBOURNE

There was more content than my previous flight on this aircraft. As the PTV's were brand new and had a remote touchscreen, the remote was very useful to open the route map when watching a movie.
Movie selections for the day.

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Also I was surprised when I have seen a Turkish classical music group ( a famous one but not known by most of Turkish people ) on the IFE and I would advise you to listen them (Borusan Quartet) as make really good music and the music makes you feel relaxed.

Power supply which was under the seat

The Oryx Magazine - It was interesting that even though it was the 7th of August, the seat pocket contained the July edition of this magazine.

A news article about new QR flights which started to LGW last month.

Technical information about our aircraft

QR Route Map

QR Oceania Route Map

Upcoming new Routes that QR plans

The duty free catalogue was not present in my seat pocket this flight and I don't know if this service was available during this flight.
Safety card

Donation envelope

Onboard wi-fi was available on this flight.

8MB's of data was free to all passengers onboard.

The price tariff was like this for who wished to connect more ;
5 USD - 30 MB ( 1 hour )
10 USD - 100 MB ( 3 hours )
20 USD - 200 MB ( whole flight )
I had used this service mid flight and the internet wasn't that fast and it took long to sync mails as I had consumed 8 MB of data in 8 minutes.

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MIDFLIGHT SERVICES - QR 904 DOHA to MELBOURNE

Movie refreshments, chips and a chocolate bar, was provided 2 hours after the last coffee service.

Another service was made midway, 7 hours before arrival. This time there was an option of a chicken sandwich or a vegetable sandwich. I went for the chicken sandwich.

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The box also contained a lemon sponge.

Route map at that time

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Water, orange juice and rubbish runs were made during the flight as well.
Crew:
Both of the crew serving upper deck economy was amazing and they were doing their job perfectly. One of them offered me drinks at the galley when I was waiting at the line for the lavatory and the other one asked me to call him if the elderly women who sits next to me wakes up, the passenger was sleeping at the meal service, so she can have her meal as well.

BRUNCH - QR 904 DOHA to MELBOURNE

There was three options for this service. This time the crew started to serve passengers from the rear so my first choice ( waffles with apple compote ) wasn't available. So I opted for the braised chicken option.

The tray contained the main meal, a strawberry yoghurt, pink apples slices, a small orange juice, bread, butter, Babybel cheese and a small Godiva chocolate.

All the meals, including this one was fantastic and above expectations for an Economy Class service.
The route map as I had my meal.

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Tea&coffee service after the brunch service.

Before Landing:
A video concerning Australian Immigration and things to declare were shown.

The cabin crew asked to open my window blind.

Some flight information at that time

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Some photos before landing

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Air camera views as well

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Some photos of Melbourne from the air

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Just before landing

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We had successfully landed at MEL

A JetStar A320 appeared there

Terminal 3 from the runway

Terminal 2

EK aircrafts in sight as well as one CA 330.

Some cargo containers

We had parked to gate 16 at Terminal 2.

All 3 jet bridges were connected to the aircraft. I had exited the aircraft from the upper deck door this time.

MELBOURNE TULLAMARINE AIRPORT - MEL

Gate 16 had a SQ ad.

After a 5 minute walk to immigration, there was no queue at that time and I was in the baggage claim area 10 minutes after we had approached to the gate.
Bags arrived at Carousel 1, 15 minutes after I arrived to the belt. As OWR status doesn't allow to have priority bag tag, I had to wait another 10 minutes for my baggage to arrive. After I claimed my luggage this flight experience had came to an end.

Thanks for reading.