#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
Sorry for the delay with these 2 trip reports! I've been really busy with schoolwork and school exams.
After my 6 day conference in Nairobi, it was time to head back to HKG and continue with school. On our return flight, we are also flying on Qatar Airways & the same plane types, so I won't go into the seat in too much detail.
Entering JKIA, I see this interesting sign, citing that the airport is a "Corruption Free Zone". Are they admitting corruption outside of the airport area? Interesting…
We got dropped off by the organisation more than 3 hours early at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Qatar uses T1C for departures out of JKIA (Terminal 1E, the terminal we used when arriving is only for handling arrival flights) and there was pre-departure screening at the entrance to the terminal.
After passing pre-departure security, we found the QR check-in counters which had already been opened, despite the time at that time being earlier than 3 hours before departure. A decent number of flights leaving this afternoon, most to the Middle East & Africa.
Known for being the nicest & newest terminal, T1C does give off good vibes, being well-lit and clean. Security was also very efficient.
Our aircraft was already waiting at Gate 9. The plane sits on the ground at NBO for 11 hours after landing as QR1335. While some may deem it to be an inefficient use of aircraft, QR does this to align its arrivals and departures into large "banks" of flights to minimise the length of connections.
Nearby Emirates has already pushed back. Would definitely try it some day!
In no time we were allowed to board, with boarding commercing by zones. Passengers at the back boarded first.
We had a gate without any jetbridges, which was a bit weird considering all the other gates at this terminal had jetbridges except this one. A7-AEE, the 2nd oldest A333 at around 17 years old will be taking us to Doha today. It's worth noting that QR has finally stopped using these dreadful planes on the NBO route, replacing them with 777-200LRs (!) - probably due to the lower demand on this route.
Since we were boarding from the back, there was a long way to go until I reach my seat 22J.
Legroom is fine, at around 31 inches.
Of course, this dreadful non-touch TV which has a smaller screen than my phone!
The moving map, which of course is not interactive.
Safety card. Certainly not in a good shape, just like the actual condition of our aircraft!
I was trying to show that the tray table is tilted…these planes should really have been retired long ago! Shame on Al-Bakar's policy of not refurbishing aircraft since "they'll be retired by the time they need to be refurbished!" Cathay is really a lot better in this regard, having refurbished their old 777s twice in their 20 year lifespan.
The mood lighting was switched on for our evening departure back to DOH. The flight is completely full (most likely because lots of participants in the conference are flying QR back home!)
Not long after departure, the same bag of snack was served, alongside with a beverage of your choice. I went with apple juice again!
And soon later the main meal. We only had 2 options (even though there were 3 on the real menu - there was also an African option, though that appeared to be missing) - A chicken dish and this vegetarian cheese pasta (doesn't make sense right?). Not in the mood for meat, I went with the penne pasta, which proved to be the right choice. My neighbours and travelling companions said it tasted so dry and was a horrible meal overall.
My meal was served with a salad and strawberry mousse. I went with cranberry juice for my drink, which honestly tastes like cough syrup…
Anyways, the meal was fine but won't win any awards for sure. The salad is fresh but the mousse is as sweet as one would expect. Eating the salad turned out to be a horrible idea, stay tuned for my next report on QR818 to find out why!
The bread's a bit charred isn't it…?
Took a clearer shot of the seat while my neighbour was using the toilet. They're really thin for 2006 standards eh?
I also visited the toilet later on. The crew kept it fairly clean during the flight (or they would really be fired just like what happened with Josh Cahill!)
Of course this cupboard wouldn't close properly no matter how I tried. Not a big issue compared with the worn out seats and IFE of the plane though!
Have I not mentioned how much I like people from Kenya? They're super friendly and welcoming. The woman next to me was a local and was fabulous - we exchanged views on different airlines that fly into Kenya, the religion and political situation of Kenya & the lifestyle there.
Anyways, I utilised the latter half of the flight to get some rest to try to adjust my internal clock back to HK time, which is 5 hours ahead of HKG. When I woke up, we were already landing into DOH.
Got an actual jetbridge gate this time! I apologise for the lack of photos as I wasn't very awake when we deplaned.
Overall, it was again not a great flight on QR's A333s - I really hope that they'll be gone sooner than later. The crew on this flight were also not that proactive in offering drinks to passengers, though they still did their job nicely.
JKIA was honestly a surprise as the terminal was modern and clean - miles ahead of T1E I used a week ago!
2 Comments
Thanks for sharing!
Even though the 333 should theoretically have wider seats, I've found the seat width on the A330s to be nearly identical to the 17 inches on the 77W (consistent with what's published on QR's website!) so it didn't really help...
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