Review of Qatar Airways flight Kigali → Doha in Economy

Hi all,

After almost two weeks spent there, time came to hit the sky. I was very keen to try out Gulf Air but some troubles early last year forced them to axe the 2 months old Ugandan route.
Thanks God with the arrival of the Oryx, a one way ticket cost only USD 480 to London and USD 550 to Paris. A no brainer!

My friend dropped me off rather in advance because i confused the QR536 arrival time with the QR537 departure time. The best local football team was going to play an African Champion League game in Tunisia.

With no on-line check-in available, i've made my way to one of the two counters opened, but it took ages due to some players lined up on both lanes. After a 10 minutes wait a QR agent opened a third counter specifically for them. Afterwards an issue on printing out the BP happened. The check in agent, holding my credit card, mentioned a computer failure.


Check-in desks, with the intriguing C-9 (= Ethiopian Cloud Nine)


A bit chaotic!



Time to go upstairs (no lift is available for passenger with disability) to the emigration and then to the lounge.

Since I don't have any top tier status with QR, a friend told me about a nice promotion at the Pearl Lounge. It's operated by National Aviation Services (NAS) a renowned provider of ground handling services company based in Kuwait. Apparently they own or operate some lounges in Egypt, UAE too along with having agreements at few European airports like LGW, LHR and AMS too.

Usd 10 was the entry fee (now it costs usd25), 12h45 represented the theoretical time of check in as showed on the receipt, the strict receptionnist lacked of understanding for the reason of the late at 13h35, instead of the aforementioned time. He finally waived me in after a fierce negotiation.


A not so private area with departure lounge behind the panes


Cold snack offering


Beverages and fruits


The best seats in the house


Watching comfortably Rwandair and Ethiopian birds








Boarding was called few minutes after the ET flight to the same destination – Entebbe – and while the first group of passengers got a ride in a Cobus 2000 or 3000, the second group (where i was) had to walk to the aircraft. No complain since it was not raining.








We were welcomed onboard by an Asian crew and given the seat direction, I was sad to do not see any local hostess though. Loads were light and one could choose any upfront seat, what me and two business men did.


B737 Ethiopian backtracking runway 10


The attractive business cabin…


… remained vacant


Moving upfront to the bulkhead seats


Preflight service




TAKE OFF VIDEO AT KIGALI:



Once the wheels up, the snack service enhanced the quantity tried on KLM and ET flights on the same leg consisting on a juice or water. Here a starchy cake could sponge the drink.


The Free Trade Zone


Kigali airport overview


Route map


Decent pitch




IFE system activated and basic F&B service for the 55 minutes short hop


More less 35 travellers bound to Doha or beyond


The dazzling Lake Victoria on approach


Downtown Kampala, 30 miles away



LANDING VIDEO AT ENTEBBE/KAMPALA:



The winglet




The Entebbe-based airline



No passenger left the aircraft to Uganda. ( J cabin was empty)







After moving backwards to the assigned seat, Y cabin got almost full mainly by Westerners and Asians. The middle seat remained unoccupied so we both enjoyed extra space.



TAKE OFF VIDEO AT ENTEBBE/KAMPALA:
.







The befitting legroom


Nalubaale Power Station and the city of Jinja


Sunset over the Ethiopian desert



Once the service began, an unhygienic discovery partially ruined my appetite, the tray was filthy and greasy with some evidences of lack of cleaning. The hostess was shown this but she did not really care nor apologize !

Choices were either beef or fish, and i opted for the latter, The food tasted okay, and the content of the tray was filled generously.

After the coffee service, i've requested an Amarula liquor or similar but she answered that gin vodka or whisky only were available… that's really poor (no rum or brandy neither what a shame!!). So i finally sticked with water.



Can you guess the previous snack service?


Menu visible in the IFE




Cabin almost full





The rest of the flight was uneventful, i've tried to watch a movie in the super rich IFE, the screen was not really sensitive, and had to hit hard to activate the features.

We flew quiet early over Doha, like 1h in advance, but the captain said the congestion would force us to circle around, and indeed after 30 min we landed ahead of schedule.


A cool option


Bathroom somewhat clean


On final





LANDING VIDEO AT DOHA:



Deplaning and embarking in DOH always mean pax bus (not for long though). Also according to many travellers, DOH is not photo friendly, so I tried to be discrete for taking fuzzy pictures.


A stolen picture of AHH










DOH was rather crowded at this time of the night. Of course the mega shopping centre called for great bargains thus avoiding the temptation for a shopping spree represented the biggest challenge here!

Thanks to my Premier Mastercard, i was granted a free access to the Oryx lounge ( one among the few allowing a free guest entry too), also used by AF/KL, BA, LH Elite members and J class.

Located at the mezzanine the three receptionists were extermily busy at this peak time of the night. The f&b offering was correct, and the lounge provides computer stations, a resting area and showers. Also smokers can find their area within.


Public departure lounge


Foreign airlines & other card memberships admitted here


Main seating area


The couch surfer style?


One of the buffets


Wines, spirits and more can be obtained upon request


The quietest place out there (first door on the left after reception) + corporate photo



I was pretty exhausted on the flight to London so like a big lazy cat i ate and slept only;-)