It is already the third part for my review about my trip to Bangkok, Thailand with Qatar Airways.
After the journey from MUC to BKK and some bonus pictures from BKK, this time you will get some information about the return flight - more precisely - for the first leg between BKK and DOH.
So welcome everyone and enjoy!
Trip Overview
- Part 1: MUC > DOH | QR058 | B777-300ER => CLICK HERE!
- Part 2: DOH > BKK | QR834 | B777-300ER => CLICK HERE!
- Part 3: BKK > DOH | QR833 | A380-800 => YOU ARE HERE!
- Part 4: DOH > MUC | QR059 | B777-300ER => CLICK HERE!
Intro
As I already mentioned, my return journey from BKK will cover my 99th and 100th flight in my life so far … maybe not very special for other but as I love statistics in life, it is quite special for mel! There will only be one 99th and one 100th flight in a lifetime.
So I was super exited and super happy to be able to get - in my opinion - the two most impressive aircrafts for that journey.
My 99th flight was done by an Airbus A380 and my 100th flight, which you will see in part 4, by my favourite aircraft - Boeing 777-300ER.
So Ladies and Gentlemen … fasten your seatbelt and let's start!
I am very happy to share that with you. :)
Flight Data
General Info
Date: September 25th 2018
Flight No.: QR833
Equipment: A380-800
Registration: A7-APD (about 4.5 years old!)
Seat: 79A
Flight time
Boarding planned: 07:55 pm
Boarding actual: 08:20 pm
Push Back: 08:53 pm
Departure planned: 08:55 pm
Departure actual: 09:20 pm
Arrival planned: 11:40 pm
Arrival actual: 11:58 pm
Arrival Gate: 12:06 am
*Note: All times are local times!
Pre Flight @ BKK
I spend 5 days in BKK of sightseeing and I checked everything from my to-do list …. well of course there is a lot more to see in BKK, but not why check that from the to-do list at another trip to BKK later? ;)
Anyway, my flight on that very hot Tuesday, September 25th 2018, was in the evening … so I still had a full day to do something I wanted.
Unfortunately I had to check-out in my hotel in BKK at around 11am.
So first of all, I had to wake up my SQ Teddys from their rest … well they were not very happy with that! ;)
Then I made my way to Phaya Thai Station - which was just a stone throw away from my hotel in BKK.
As I know that I had to check-out early and no late check-out was available, I was looking for a day-room at the Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel.
Thankfully there was a room for an acceptable price available, so I booked it for a total of 6h which gave me quite some time to take a rest, a shower before check-in for my flight from BKK to DOH and a lot of time to check out Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.
If you wanna see some bonus from the Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel, you can find that in the bonus section next.
Pictures from Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel
It is very easy to get to the Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel from the Airport Express Train Station @ BKK.
Signs are at the exit, so its pretty easy to get to the hotel.
The first impression was quite good, the lobby looks great.
Check-in was super easy and my room was in one of the upper floors.
My room was HUGE, as was the bed!!
The bathroom was also quite big and was equipped with all necessary amenities, like shampoo, toothbrushes and so on.
A desk was also available.
Thankfully no work to do!! ;)
And of course a mini bar with a lot of drinks and snacks.
View from my hotel room into the backyard.
I felt a little bit hungry, so first of all I went to the hotel restaurant and got some Massaman Curry.
Well to be honest … if you love curry - like I do - Massaman Curry will flash you!
H… sh… the best curry I ever had! <3
Another tip … if you are in BKK and do some shopping, go and check-out one of these huge supermarkets in the shopping malls.
Look a litle bit around and when you find spicies, have a closer look as there are some curry paste packages available.
I bought quite a few and the great thing …. the curry paste is so easy to cook and it really tastes like in Thailand! :)
Some more pictures from the hotel lobby.
From the corridor it was possible to see across to the check-in hall @ BKK.
On the other side there were a lot of Thai beauties relaxing after their next flight to anywhere in the world. ;)
After an relaxing afternoon @ BKK, I left my room at about 6;30 pm and walked to the check-in counters.
BKK's check-in hall is quite huge and as Qatar Airways offers a lot of flights per day and two flights from BKK to DOH within an hour in the evening, there were a lot of counters availabe.
Check-in was done within a few seconds … okay, let's say minutes and I was ready for flight #99!
Many peoples in the check-in area.
After check-in I proceeded to the security checks … I really like the figures which you can find almost everywhere @ BKK.
Security checks and immigration was very efficient and after 20 minutes I was in the duty free area.
Well - no surprise - BKK is huge! So I started my walk to the Gate for my flight …. both QR flights that evening back to DOH departed from neighbour Gates.
Let's check one more time … am I at the right flight to DOH? ;)
Flight QR833
Boarding started a little bit late and while I was queueing up, I tried to see my A380 for my 99th flight … but the building @ BKK is not very spotter friendly. :(
Really looking forward everytime when I can fly with an A380, the last time was back in June 2018 when I flew with Korean Air from ICN to CDG.
This time it was QR A380 - look at that huge wing!
To be honest … flying with an A380 is definitely more comfortable than with an B777 … but a B777 has the most powerfull engines in this world … for me as an Engineer, that's what counts!
For that power, that sounds … I give up any comfort! :D
My first impression of QR's A380 was very good … I tried to get an Economy seat in the upper deck, but unfortunately there was no seat empty.
Nevertheless … the seat in the A380 was good as usual…. a little bit wider and pitch was also good.
That days flight from BKK to DOH was quite full, I did not see any empty seat in the back and this time I was not that lucky and did not get a complete row for myself.
View from my seat.
Oh yes … camera on the A380 was available.
With a slight delay we were pushed back and taxied to the runway.
During taxiing a lot of Thai beauties were visible.
Thai B747
Thai B777
Thai A380
Sadly … as we lined up on the runway it was time to say Goodbye Bangkok and see you later once again!
Full thrust and away we go!
My 99th takeoff was stunning!!! We departed in a western direction but made a U turn to fly directly over BKK!
More pictures from BKK during departure!
After we reached cursing altitude everything settled down and I was looking for some music and a movie on the in-flight entertainment system.
When my first short movie was finished, we entered already the Gulf of Bengal!
And just a few minutes later, dinner was served.
Three options were offered:
- Stir-fried chicken with hot basil with Thai style fried egg and steamed jasmine rice
- Braised beef with potato puree and parmesan cheese
- Stir-fried noodles with tofu in sweet and spicy sauce
The complete tray with …
… noodle salad as starter.
Main course - Braised beef.
And some cake and KitKat for dessert.
Once again … some whiskey after dinner! ;)
When dinner was finished we were almost over India … and just a few minutes after we entered India - turbulences occurred - let's say "as usual over India". ;)
Cabin was dimmed and some passengers took a nap while others were watching some movies or series.
Time flew by quite fast and soon we passed India and left it behind us.
Because of the restrictions for QR, we were not able to fly directly over the UAE … instead we flew over Pakistan and Iran before we headed to Qatar.
1.5 hours before landing @ DOH a snack was served.
It was the usual QR snack box …
… some "bun with chicken filling" and a muffin.
Well to be honest … that QR snack is not too bad, I mean … you can get worse snacks on Economy class flights. ;)
We passed the UAE on the north side …
.. before turning south to DOH.
As we came closer to Qatar, the bright lights of Doha were visible …
… we passed DOH …
… before making another U-Turn to line up for ILS-landing @ DOH.
Final approach followed by a very smooth landing @ DOH on my 99th flight! :)
As we were delayed since departure in BKK, we also arrived about 15 minutes late in DOH.
Taxiing took a while but I had plenty of time until my next flight - my 100th flight!
Post flight @ DOH
Well post flight @ DOH was … unspectacular!
We arrived at the A-Gates and my next flight to MUC departed - if I remember right from the C or E Gates … anyway I took the train inside DOH Airport which was very convenient.
After that I took a break, did some duty free shopping … some more Whiskey for home and then walked to my Gate for my outbound flight back to MUC …. Flight #100 coming up.
Nice report! Seems like Qatar is cutting down their service a bit as you used to receive two proper meals on the Bangkok to Doha leg, but the landing snack is reduced to a small bun.
Thanks for this FR.
Classic satisfying service for à 6 hour flight.
What a shame that BKK is so spotter unfriendly...