Review of Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Cairo in Economy

QTR

QR - Qatar Airways

Flight taken on 16 June 2024
QR1301
14:32 03h 22m 17:54
Class Economy
Seat 11A
YGeorgeW
419 · 53 · 0 · 16

First Time in the Middle East


This is the second leg of my trip to Cairo via Qatar Airways.  I never found saver award availability in either economy or "first" for this flight, so I just booked it with cash.


photo first-time-middle-east

Flight routing

  • 1
  • 2
    QR1301 - Economy - Doha → Cairo - Airbus A330-300
  • 3
    EK928 - First - Cairo → Dubai - Airbus A380-800
  • 4
    EK15 - First - Dubai → London - Airbus A380-800
  • 5
    BA115 - Business - London → New York - Boeing 777-300ER
  • 6
    DL5785 - Economy - New York → Washington - Embraer E-175

Doha International Airport (DOH)


It was smooth passage through security at DOH despite being mid-day on a holiday weekend.  After security, you descend into the concourse facing the (in)famous bear.


photo 20240616_112641

Head towards the A Gates and you'll soon come across the Platinum Lounge South on your right–can't miss it.


photo 20240616_113540

Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge (South)


The lounge is split into an upper and lower level–as far as I can tell.  I believe the lower level is for OW Sapphire and the upper level is for OW Emerald.  I found out about this lounge online when reading that, compared to the Platinum/Gold Lounge North, the South lounge actually separates Sapphires and Emeralds by level.


photo 20240616_113551-55795


After checking in, you can take the elevator upstairs.  Immediately to your right after walking in is the dining area.


photo 20240616_114013

Then the lounge is one large sitting area, with a small drink station in the middle.  On the left is an elevated seating area with a bar.





There were 3 coffee machines in the lounge, but all of them except for the one in the dining area seemed inoperable.  I asked an attendant about making a cup of coffee and he just pointed me to the one in the dining area.  I think his manager must have overheard this because later I saw the manager berating him and telling him to fix this central coffee machine (or at least get the coffee for the guest).


photo 20240616_113919

Behind the coffee machine is a small self-serve station for other beverages.


photo 20240616_113926

The lunch buffet wasn't bad, actually.  There were an assortment of hot and cold options.







What you might not realize, however, was that there is an a la carte option that you can order from the QR codes. Here is the menu from when my visit.





I took the risk of ordering the sushi at an airport because I was so curious what the California roll would be like.  All things considered, it was better than grocery store sushi.


photo 20240616_115646

For my "main," I had the smoked salmon tartare on toast.  It was fine.


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Finally, I polished it off with the molten lava cake, which is served with a scoop of ice cream on top.


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Enter text here…


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Showers were available on a first-come, first-serve basis.


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Do you think they have enough rolled hand towels?


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I forgot to check the WiFi speeds of this lounge, unfortunately, so no report there.


QR1301


Gate C8 was a leisurely 7-minute walk from the Platinum Lounge - South, not even using the moving walkways.  Boarding was a confusing mess and first I moved through the document checkers before waiting in an area as passengers were slowly called.  "Boarding" was called at 1:16pm, but no one actually got on the plane until more than 30 minutes later.


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Because of the chaos of the situation, no cabin pictures unfortunately, or pictures of the plane for that matter.  Qatar's A330 economy cabin is arranged in a 2-4-2 layout.  I was lucky enough to snag one of the pair seats in 11A.  It was still a tight fit and the IFE box underneath 10A meant you had no space for a bag underneath the seat in front either.  Luckily, there was enough space in the overhead for both my backpack and carryon.

My ride to Cairo was on A7-AEG, an 18-years old A330-300.


photo 20240616_141339

The seat itself was a bit dated, but still had a very blurry IFE, a remote control in the armrest, and even a little cup holder that folds down.





Also waiting at the seat as a blanket–not bad for a regional flight in economy.


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Headphones were available as well.


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The Captain came on at 2:18pm to apologize for the delay and promised to make up a little time in the air.


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While we waited, the FAs came by with little water cups for everyone.


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We ended up pushing back at 2:32pm–17 minutes behind schedule, and took off at 2:49pm.

There was no WiFi onboard, so I couldn't communicate with my friend waiting for me in Cairo.


photo 20240616_144128

First the FAs came by to pass out immigration cards, then about 35 minutes after takeoff the FAs came by to take orders in economy. At the time I had status matched to get OW Emerald, so my order was taken first. As far as I can tell, not everyone had their orders taken (maybe only OW elites?). The options were lamb kofta, beef, or a vegetarian pasta.


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I opted for the lamb kofta, which honestly wasn't too bad.  The rest of the plate, not so much.  These trays were served just an hour after takeoff.


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I dozed off for a while and woke up a bit later as we were passing by somewhere around Ha'il, Saudi Arabia.


photo 20240616_161607

That point I asked for a cup of coffee to wake myself up.  It came with a Biscoff cookie.


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Soon we were approaching Egypt.  The Captain announced that we will begin our descent with about 50 minutes left in flight.


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As we were crossing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, the senior FA Ana Maria stopped by to thank me and hoped that I had a good flight–she said she didn't want to wake me on takeoff and so didn't introduce herself then.  This was a very nice touch.  I don't fly economy in international flights much, so not used to this in the back.


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Soon any sleepiness was gone as adrenaline began to take over.  I could see the Nile!  Even though it was a smoggy sky, the majestic Nile powering through the dessert landscape was a sight to behold.


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Then on our approach we passed by what I believe was the Saqqarah Necropolis.


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Finally, as we turned for our final approach, you could see the famous Giza complex.


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Here's another view that's not zoomed in.


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And another . . . (last one, I promise).


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We landed at 5:47pm local time and reached our gate 7 minutes later.


photo 20240616_175335

I hired a meet-and-greet service and was through customs very quickly.  If you're actually entering Cairo, this is the way to do it.

Display all

Product ratings

Airline

Qatar Airways 6.0

  • Cabin5.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew8.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi6.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering5.0 / 10
Lounge

The Platinum Lounge - South7.1

  • Comfort7.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi7.5 / 10
  • Services7.0 / 10
Departure airport

Doha - DOH8.8

  • Efficiency7.5 / 10
  • Access9.0 / 10
  • Services9.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness9.5 / 10
Arrival Airport

Cairo - CAI5.6

  • Efficiency7.5 / 10
  • Access5.0 / 10
  • Services5.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness5.0 / 10

Conclusion

Lounge: The Platinum Lounge - South wasn't bad, but it is hardly on par with OW Emerald flyers are used to in hubs like Hong Kong, Tokyo, or even London. That said, because there is a separation between business/first class passengers, it was actually a quiet and peaceful lounge.

Cabin & Seat: It was a cramped economy seat, but 2-4-2 on an A330 is at least better than 3-3-3 (does anyone actually squeeze that into an A330?). It's an older seat, so the IFE is very limited, but at least it's functional.

Service: Service was great, with FAs making multiple rounds with the beverage cart and OW status being proactively recognized.

Meal & Catering: As mentioned before, I rarely fly economy on these regional international flights, so I don't really know what the standard is. It seemed pretty decent. I'd take this tray over most of the stuff they serve in domestic first class on US airlines.

Bottom Line: I'm sad I never found award availability for this flight, but Qatar provides a reasonable economy product for regional flights.

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