#8 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
627 reviews
Welcome, everybody, to this new Flight-report! Today, I will be taking you along with me to fly with Qatar Airways in economy class on the A350-1000 from Doha to Singapore.
This review will cover the airport experiences in Doha and Singapore, as well as the onboard hard and soft products.
For each aspect of the experience, I will rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. The final score for the full experience will be out of 100.
Transit Security
I’ve just arrived at Doha’s Hamad Intl. Airport. Oddly enough, after leaving the jet-bridge, I was let directly into the departures area, instead of having to go to transit security like we usually have to. For the time this has saved me, I will award transit security a 10/10.
The Orchard
Since I was nearby, I made my way back to The Orchard, which is an indoor garden-like plaza that somewhat resembles another building at my later arrival airport. I sat by the water feature and relaxed for some time there. I eventually left when the airport started to crowd up. 9/10
Duty Free
On my way to my gate for my flight I stopped by the Explore Qatar duty free shop just outside The Orchard. It sells many different Hamad Intl. Airport and Qatar Airways merchandise. I could not resist getting a model, so I took one of the 1:200 scale World Cup 2022 livery 777-300ERs. I had originally wanted an A350 since I’m a big fan of it, but Qatar Airways has yet to reintroduce A350s in their marketing since their dispute back in 2021. The 77W model will do just fine for now.
^QR 77W model, pretty good quality, 9/10, only complaint would be that the gear does not tilt
People Mover
To make my way to the A gates which my upcoming flight would be departing from, I made use of the automatic people mover service to get to the South Plaza, which is essentially the main departures concourse. This is a quick and efficient way to move across the airport. 9/10
^People mover
Quiet Room
Since there was still some time until my flight boards, I stopped by at a ‘Quiet Room’ near the A gates to relax. In the Quiet Room were dozens of reclined armchairs, which puts one in a comfortable position. However, these chairs are quite hard, so after a prolonged period of time, users may start to feel back pains. A couple European tourists then came in, talking loudly and playing videos on their phones on full volume, which ruined the peaceful hideout this Quiet Room was. 7/10
Gate Area
Once my gate, A8, opened, I made my way there. There was a quick passport and boarding pass check before I was let into the confined and crowded space. Oddly, Hamad Intl. Airport implements millions, possibly billions of these tiny dots on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the terminal at gates A and B, presumably to reduce light and heat that enters the terminal, though these were not implemented at gates C, D, and E. These dots make it horribly difficult to get good shots of the aircraft parked outside, and I couldn’t even catch the registration before I boarded. 3/10
DEPARTURE AIRPORT SCORES: 8/10
Flight information
Flight date: 10/06/2023
Airline: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Operated by: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Flight number: QR944
Route: Doha (DOH) – Singapore (SIN)
Scheduled Departure Time: 08:25 (UTC+3)
Actual Departure Time: 09:03 (UTC+3)
Scheduled Arrival Time: 21:25 (UTC+8)
Actual Arrival Time: 21:34 (UTC+8)
Scheduled Flight Time: 8h00min
Actual Flight Time: 7h31min
Aircraft information
Aircraft Registration: A7-ANO
Aircraft Type: Airbus A350-1000
Engines: 2× RR Trent XWB-97
Line Number: 368
First Flight: 11/02/2020
Aircraft Age (as of flight): 3 years 4 months
Aircraft Delivered: 22/10/2020
Seating Configuration: J46Y281
Boarding
Business class passengers and OneWorld Alliance status holders were called to board first, followed by the economy passengers in groups. Since I was in Group 1, I was soon walking down the jet bridge into our A350-1000.
Welcome Onboard
Once onboard the aircraft, two flight attendants stationed at door L2 warmly welcomed me onboard. I walked through the galley and turned right, and walked through the rear Qsuite cabin. I then navigated through the forward economy cabin before finding my seat, 43A, in the rear economy cabin.
^Views of the cabin from Qverse (QR’s virtual reality site)
I got more and more excited as the area around me all filled up, but the two adjacent seats next to me continued to remain empty. I was almost celebrating getting the whole row to myself as the “boarding completed” announcement was made.
But then, the last two people to board the flight, THE VERY LAST TWO, a middle-aged Russian couple who had (presumably) just barely made their connection, slowly made their way down the aircraft. My worst fears came true; the plump blonde lady stopped at my row and settled in. And by ‘settled in’, I really mean it. She plopped herself down into the seat, took out some dusty old pillows to support her back, then took off her shoes and socks off while propping her feet up (though she did eventually put the socks back on). Inside me, I was less than delighted by my luck; was really looking forward to a nice, quiet, and peaceful flight in my own row.
We pushed back soon and the safety video was shown. After a 10-minute or so taxi, we lined up on Hamad Intl Airport’s runway 34R for our take-off towards the west into an unusually clear Qatari sky. We spooled up at 09:03, 38 minutes behind schedule.
^Pushing back; Stadium 974 and the Doha city skyline in background
^Taxiing to 34L
^Caught this Qatar Cargo 747-8
^Climbing out of DOH – views of Doha City Centre
^Climbing out of DOH – views of The Pearl, Doha
Now is a good time to take a look at our flight path. Our route out of Qatar took us over the Arabian Gulf, the UAE, Oman, the Arabian Sea, India, the Bay of Bengal, Indonesia, the Malacca Strait, and Malaysia before we arrived in Singapore. We cruised at 37000ft and 39000ft.
We were soon on our way towards our cruising altitude of 37000ft, let’s take a look at the seat.
Seat Details:
Seat: 43A (Port-side window seat)
Seat Type: Slimline
Seat Model: CL3710
Seat Manufacturer: Recaro
Seat Pitch: 31”
Seat Width: 17.1”
Recline: 5”
Class: Economy (Y)
Cabin: Rear economy cabin (between doors 3 and 4)
Seat Features:
4-way adjustable headrest
Retractable bi-folding table
10.6” HD touchscreen IFE display
Universal Power Outlets
USB Sockets
^Seat-back & IFE screen
Some thoughts about the seat:
Seat Comfort: The seat was generally well padded and was comfortable. Headrest provides a lot of support. 9/10
Legroom: The 31” seat pitch was good enough, but when the seat in front reclines, legs get a lot more restricted. 7/10
Seat Storage: Seat-back pocket with extra smaller pockets, more storage underneath IFE screen. 9/10
Recline: Same as on QR12, the recline was exceptionally generous, but when the person in front reclines, my space gets very limited, and my face is almost pressed into my IFE screen. Moreover, my tray table could not even latch back in place when the guy in front reclined all the way, and I had to wake him up midway during the flight so that he could slightly reduce his recline to help my tray table get back in place. 5/10
OVERALL FOR THE SEAT: 8/10
Approximately an hour after takeoff, the brunch service started. The cabin crew members pushed two trolleys up each aisle, one for the food, the other for beverages.
The service started off with some light rice cracker snacks and a drink for everyone. I didn’t get a picture of this, but you know what it looks like from my earlier QR12 review.
Then came the main meals. Each Economy Class meal is served on one tray, featuring an appetiser, a packaged bread item, and a dessert item, all served in a reusable clear plastic dish, as well as the main dish served in a single-use plastic tray. A bottle of water is also featured on the tray.
Again, I shall emphasise that this presentation is simply gorgeous and very elegant.
Starter: Melons and grape
The fruits were juicy, crisp and fresh. 7/10
Main: Penne pasta in Mushroom Alfredo sauce
You can never go wrong with the pasta option on board Qatar Airways. This one, like all the other pasta dishes I’ve had on QR, was delicious. 10/10. The seat mates didn’t quite seem to like their choice of beef meatballs, though.
Side: Packaged bread
Once again, I don’t understand why Qatar Airways doesn’t offer fresher bread rolls on board. The packaged ones are often disappointing, and this one was no exception. It was tough and dry, not enjoyable. 3/10
Dessert: Orange mousse
This dessert was rich, thick, and creamy. Very enjoyable. 9/10
Beverage: Mango juice
There were multiple choices for beverages available. I went with a lovely cup of mango juice, which was sweet and smooth. 8/10
BRUNCH SERVICE SCORES: 9/10
Amenity Kit
Once again, Qatar Airways offers amenity kits on these longer flights, even in economy class. This paper pouch (exactly the same as on my previous flight) included a pair of socks, eye mask, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a pair of ear plugs. So well thought of by QR here.
The amenity kit receives a 10/10 from me.
^Amenity kit
Bedding
On this flight, a blanket and a small pillow was available at every seat. These were pretty standard, but did the job. 8/10.
Lavatories
Lavatories were clean and well stocked with toiletries. 8/10
OVERALL SCORE FOR AMENITIES: 9/10
IFE System
Each economy seat comes equipped with a 10.6-inch IFE Touchscreen and is of a pretty good quality. It features Qatar Airways’ “Oryx One” system provided by Thales, which is advertised to have over 4000 entertainment options, including movies, TV shows, music, and games. On this flight, the full selection of entertainment options was available.
IFE System scores 9/10.
Onboard Wi-Fi
Qatar’s A350 aircrafts are equipped with what they call “Super Wi-Fi”. The connection speeds of this are relatively fast and have absolutely no problems with text messaging. Privilege Club members get one hour of free Wi-Fi, and a full flight pass only costs US$ 10. Do note that the Wi-Fi doesn’t work over certain areas.
Wi-Fi gets 9/10.
Onboard charging
There were two Universal Power Outlets at every 3 seats. USB sockets can also be found at each seat. 9/10
OVERALL SCORE FOR IFE: 9/10
After watching a couple movies, I decided to catch some sleep, since I did not sleep too well on my previous flight. Luckily, my Russian seat mate did not smash her elbows into my hip like my previous Filipino seat mate had done while I slept, so I got quite a bit of uninterrupted sleep. One shortcoming though, was that the A350-1000 does get quite noisy when at the back.
SLEEPING EXPERIENCE GETS: 8/10
However, I woke up a couple hours later, horrified, to find the lady absent from her seat – she was ON her husband who was sitting on the aisle seat, in an oddly sensual position, in the middle of a 20-second-long mouth-to-mouth kiss. Sigh, where was the spatial awareness? … Or maybe I shouldn’t complain too much, and instead be more grateful for them not having physically disturbed me too much during the flight?
^Daylight beginning to fade over the Bay of Bengal
Another movie’s duration later, the crew came around once again, this time to serve us our pre-landing snacks. I missed this on my previous flight as I had been asleep, so I was quite looking forward to this one.
^Pre-landing snack
The snack itself was a hot chicken curry-filled pastry, and the aroma spread throughout the cabin. The pastry was delicious, just slightly dry, which was helped by a cup of cranberry juice.
PRE-LANDING SERVICE SCORES: 9/10
While we descent into Doha, this is a great time for me to share some of my thoughts on the cabin crew of this flight.
Service speed
Dinner service was slow as the flight was once again almost, if not, completely full. Can’t blame the crew, but service speed gets 5/10
Service attitude
All the flight attendants were very friendly, professional, and respectful. 10/10
CABIN CREW SCORE: 8/10
We were soon on final approach into Singapore Changi’s runway 20R, and we touched down at 21:39 local time, 14 minutes behind schedule.
^Lining up with 20R (apologies for the poor image quality)
^Touchdown
As we lined up on the aisle to de-board, I caught a glimpse of an IFE screen of the seat of another older Russian lady (yes there were quite a few Russians seated around me on board this flight). Turns out, Qatar Airways doesn’t know how to translate ‘Pair Device (using Bluetooth)’ into Russian.
I made my way off the aircraft into the jet-bridge, before once again setting foot in the beautiful Changi Airport, with the luscious carpets, cool jazz playing from the overhead speakers, and a sparkling clean atmosphere.
Immigration
It was a very quick 5-minute walk before I found the escalators that led to the Arrivals hall. Here, I queued for around 10 minutes before my turn to go through the electronic gates and entering Singapore.
Immigration scores 7/10.
No baggage ;)
As I did not check in any luggage at LHR, I did not have to wait at the luggage belts. Instead, I walked right past the few dozens of other passengers (im)patiently waiting for their baggage to arrive, and went straight to the taxi pick-up stands, where there was an abundance of taxis. The airport is also connected to the city via bus or metro (MRT).
ARRIVAL AIRPORT SCORES: 9/10
Airports
Airport Experiences: 9/10
Hard Product
Seat Comfort: 8/10
Sleep Comfort: 8/10
In-flight Entertainment: 9/10
Aircraft Comfort: 9/10
Aircraft Cleanliness: 8/10
Soft Product
Brunch Service: 9/10
Amenities: 9/10
Other Service: 9/10
Cabin Crew: 8/10
Less-than-ideal seat-mates: -2
OVERALL RATING: 84/100
So, that was a look into my economy class experience on Qatar Airways’ A350-1000 from London to Doha!
Qatar Airways does offer a very solid product in economy class, with many special amenities and arrangements that are rare elsewhere.
If you've made it so far down, thank you so much! I really hope this review, as well as all my past and future reviews, can help you decide how you want to travel in the future.
Travel safe, and goodbye for now!
Qatar Airways does offer a very solid product in economy class, with many special amenities and arrangements that are rare elsewhere.
Do feel free to drop a comment if you also have any questions or, well, comments, and leave a like as well if possible. That would be appreciated.
Travel safe, and goodbye for now!
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 13 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Doha (DOH) → Singapore (SIN).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Qatar Airways avec 8.3/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 7 heures et 48 minutes.
More information
3 Comments
Doha Hamad Intl. is quite a large airport, especially when considering it has only one terminal! There are plenty of places to explore there, so don’t worry about not being able to keep yourself occupied.
If you don’t plan on leaving the airport during your transit, you can start by admiring the Lamp Bear statue in the South Plaza. This is essentially the centerpiece of the entire airport, and carries some historical and cultural value as well. There are also many other structures found throughout the airport that are worth checking out as well.
You could also take the indoor People Mover service to the north of the airport, where the new ‘The Orchard’ plaza is. Here, there is a massive glass dome that covers a galore of plants, and also features a tree-top walkway, and surrounded by luxury duty-free shops where you can splurge on. The Orchard does bear similarity to Singapore Changi’s ‘The Jewel’, so you may not be so impressed with this if you’re familiar with that.
If you are looking for somewhere to relax, I suggest you find one of the many lounges in the airport. With the right credit card, you could enter one or more of those for free, and have access to food, beverages, and showers. My personal recommendation would be the Al Mourjan Lounge - South, which mainly serves as a business class lounge, though you could also pay to enter as a passenger in other classes as well.
If you have enough time during your transit (6+ hours), I would also recommend leaving the airport to explore the city of Doha, which is a beautiful city with rich and vibrant culture. The airport is connected to the city by the metro, but you can take a taxi as well.
Thanks for reading, and have a nice trip!
Login to post a comment.