| Qatar Airways | Singapore (SIN) → Doha (DOH) | A350-900 | Business Class | 28/05/2023 | |
| Qatar Airways | Doha (DOH) → London (LHR) | 777-200 | Business Class | 28/05/2023 | Current review |
| Qatar Airways | London (LHR) → Doha (DOH) | 777-300 | Economy Class | 09/06/2023 | Short review - 4.6/5 |
| Qatar Airways | Doha (DOH) → Singapore (SIN) | A350-1000 | Economy Class | 10/06/2023 | Short review - 4.4/5 |
| Qatar Airways | Singapore (SIN) → Doha (DOH) | A350-900 | Business Class | 28/05/2023 | |
| Qatar Airways | Doha (DOH) → London (LHR) | 777-200 | Business Class | 28/05/2023 | Current review |
| Qatar Airways | London (LHR) → Doha (DOH) | 777-300 | Economy Class | 09/06/2023 | Short review - 4.6/5 |
| Qatar Airways | Doha (DOH) → Singapore (SIN) | A350-1000 | Economy Class | 10/06/2023 | Short review - 4.4/5 |
Welcome, everybody, to this new Flight review! Today, I will be taking you along with me to fly in Qatar Airways' Qsuites on the B777-200LR from Doha to London.
This Detailed review will cover the airport experience in Doha, the onboard hard and soft products, as well as London Heathrow Airport.
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.
Welcome to a very empty Doha's Hamad International Airport! I've just arrived from Singapore on Qatar's A350-900 in Qsuites, you can check out my Flight review of that flight as well.
Our aircraft is parked at the B gates, so it's just a short walk to the transit area. At this time of the day (early afternoon), Hamad Intl Airport is almost completely deserted, with very few flights coming in and out of the airport.
Let me introduce you to my previous aircraft!
As I was on a Business Class ticket, I had access to fast-track security, though it wouldn't have saved that much time anyways, since the normal lanes were empty as well. The security staff here in the fast-track lane were extremely friendly, they engaged in very whole-hearted conversations. I must say, this was one of the best airport security experiences I've ever had.
10/10 here.
After security was done, I headed down the escalator into the transit area, in search of the prestigious Al Mourjan Business Lounge – South, which is Qatar Airways' flagship lounge. I almost made my way towards the escalator leading to the Al Safwa Lounge (reserved for First class passengers), but I just managed to narrowly avert an awkward situation of being at the wrong lounge. Signages could be clearer. After a few minutes of wandering around the area (and passing by the humongous yellow lamp-impaled teddy bear statue), I managed to locate the correct escalator, which would bring me straight into the prestigious Al Mourjan Lounge.
There was a friendly lounge attendant at the foot of the escalator who checked my boarding pass, before letting me on to the escalator. Once in the lounge, I immediately noticed how still and serene it was, given that it was completely empty at this time of the day. I immediately turned right towards the pool-like pond situated at the heart of the lounge. Note that this is not for swimming, by the way, it smelt very fishy (literally, and that's because there are countless number of small fish living in there and jumping around). For those who like a swim, go to the transit hotel instead, it has a pool for swimming.
There is also a multitude of seating areas, all with plush blue armchairs, alongside lamps and charging facilities. There are also multiple self-service bars scattered around the lounge, where you can get some drinks for yourself. The lounge also offers some pretty decent views of the apron through its massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
Here is a view of the seating area.
As well as the views of the apron. A7-BBI (World Cup livery B777-200LR) and A7-BBC (also a B777-200LR; this one would be taking me to London Heathrow).
There are also shower suites available in the lounge, which I made use of during my stay. Each shower suite is huge, they come with a large shower room (which has both overhead and hand-held showers) with bottles of Diptyque shampoo and body wash, a large separate toilet cubicle, a large sink, a large mirror, a wardrobe area with coat hangers, as well as space for luggage. I found this to be a very comfortable and refreshing shower experience, well needed during this long journey.
After my refreshing shower, I headed up the spiral staircase over the pond onto the second floor (yes, this lounge is massive), which serves as the dining area. There are buffets, an appetizer bar, a sushi bar, as well as a whole restaurant (where you order from a menu and they prepare the food in the kitchen) up here. I opted to just get a light meal at the buffet since I wasn't actually that hungry. The food was delicious.
Overall, the Al Mourjan Lounge scores an impressive 10/10.
After the lounge visit, I decided that it would be a good time to do a little bit of exploring the airport before I went to my gate since I've never been here when it was so empty before.
I tried the monorail-like people-mover train transit thingy service, which operates inside the airport between the main transfer area and the C gates area.
Soon, I arrived at the only other stop of the people-mover service, which is located near the C gates area. I walked past a few more duty-free shops and a juice bar and found the airport's new recently opened extension area, known as The Orchard. It is an indoor garden-like plaza, with a huge glass ceiling with triangular window panes, a lot of trees, some shops at the side, a treetop walk sort of thing, some oddly shaped seating, and a water feature. Some may find this place eerily similar to another world-class Asian airport…
Soon after, it was time for me to go to the gate for boarding, which was at gate C4. There was a quick passport and boarding pass check at the counter, and I was in the gate area, which had really nice views of our aircraft. Similar to Singapore, this confined seating area had no amenities (including toilets) at all.
The overall rating for the Departure Airport Experience: 9/10
Flight date: 28/05/2023
Airline: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Operated by: Qatar Airways (QR/QTR)
Flight number: QR005
Route: Doha (DOH) - London (LHR)
Scheduled Departure Time: 16:40 (UTC+3)
Actual Departure Time: 16:58 (UTC+3)
Scheduled Arrival Time: 22:00 (UTC+1)
Actual Arrival Time: 21:29 (UTC+1)
Scheduled Flight Time: 7h20min
Actual Flight Time: 6h31min
Aircraft Registration: A7-BBC
Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-2DZLR
Engines: 2× GE90-110 B1
Line Number: 825
First Flight: 19/10/2009
Aircraft Age (as of flight): 13 years 7 months
Aircraft Delivered: 11/11/2009
Seating Configuration: J42M217
Business class passengers and Oneworld Alliance status holders were called to board first. Soon, I was walking down the jet bridge into the Qsuites-equipped B77L.
Once onboard the aircraft, two flight attendants, as usual, warmly welcomed me onboard. I immediately turned right, walked through the first Qsuites cabin, and found my shiny seat in the second cabin quite quickly. Immediately, my flight attendant, a very friendly young lady from the Philippines, came over to my seat to introduce herself and tell me that she would be taking care of me on this flight. She then asked me for my choice of a welcome drink, and this time, I opted for a 100% concentrated Lime&Mint (no soda water this time).
Soon, my drink appeared at my seat, alongside a Diptyque refreshing towel and the menus.
Pre-departure service gets a 9/10.
We pushed back soon and the safety video was shown. Once again, this was QR's new one, and if you've read my previous Qsuite review, you'll know I find that this is far from a captivating safety video, and that the old football-themed one much better suited me.
As our engines started up, the flight attendant came around to take our meal orders.
We soon lined up on Hamad Intl's runway 34L for our take-off towards the north, out of a very dusty Doha afternoon. The spool-up was at 16:58, 18 minutes behind schedule.
We then climb out of DOH with good views of Doha city center.
Now is a good time to take a look at our flight path. Our route out of Qatar was a less straightforward one than my previous flight, which took us over Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Germany, and Belgium before we started our descent into the United Kingdom. We would cruise at 36.000 and 38.000ft.
As we make our way towards our cruising altitude of 36.000ft, this is a good time to take a good look at the QSuite.
Seat: 8A (Backwards-facing window suite)
Seat Type: QSuite
Seat Manufacturer: Collins Aerospace
Class: Business (J)
Cabin: Rear business cabin (right after door 2)
Here is the Suite door, the high walls, and the (fake) marble side counter.
Seat Comfort: The suite was very spacious, and the seat, along with the large leather headrest, was well padded, making it very comfortable. The seat also came with a massage function, which didn't seem to work, yet again. There were also many set positions available via the seat controls, and I had some fun playing with them. 9/10
Seat Privacy: The high walls and sliding doors ensured absolute privacy for the entire flight. It's as good as privacy gets in Business class. 10/10
Legroom: Is that even a question? My legs could stretch out in whatever way I liked throughout the flight! 10/10
Seat Storage: There were many places where one could store their things, there was an ottoman-like raiseable armrest beside the seat that opened up to reveal some storage space. This came with a pair of headphones and a bottle of water before every flight. There was also some storage below the marble-like counter, conveniently right above some charging ports. The footwell could also be used to store the bedding if one wishes to. 9/10
On top of all that, the Qsuite on the 77L feels bigger. I do not know if this is actually the case, but the Qsuite here on the 77L felt quite a bit more spacious than on the 359.
Overall for seat comfort: 10/10
Qatar Airways offers Dine-on-demand in Business Class, meaning passengers could have their meals whenever they wanted to. Yet again, I opted to have my meal as early as possible after take-off since I was getting quite hungry. Note that aside from the main meal, there were also light hot snack options available throughout the flight.
Meal service started off when my flight attendant came over to my suite to give me some warm nuts and a beverage of my choice. This time, I went with a glass of Pineapple Margarita, one of the mocktails on offer. It even came with salted rims. This was a very pleasant way to start a meal service and scores 10/10 from me.
The flight attendant then came back to my suite and set up my table for me. This, once again, included a massive white tablecloth, some delicious butter, a bottle of Monte Vibiano Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, QR-branded salt and pepper shakers, a bread basket containing some brilliant infused bread, an electric candle, and a glass of water. This is, once again, a brilliant presentation. 10/10
The Amuse Bouche trolley came by just as I was nibbling on some of the delicious infused bread from the bread basket. This time, it was a piece of beef, drenched in some sort of vinegar, topped off with a generous slice of truffle.
This Amuse Bouche was once again, delightful. 10/10 from me.
(I won't be able to provide the full names of some of the dishes on this flight, including this since I did not keep the menus with me)
This salad consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, courgette, cucumbers, olives, pine nuts, and a huge lump of mozzarella. The elements combined well.
Overall, there was nothing wrong with this appetizer, but it felt slightly underwhelming and boring for something served in Business Class.
Overall, the salad gets a 6/10 from me.
The main soon arrived at my table. This was some Char Grilled Kofta and Lamb Chop with Tomato Focaccia and Harissa Oil
The lamb kofta was perfect. It was juicy and had all the flavors I could've ever asked for. Easy 10/10
The lamb chop, on the other hand, was so well done it was almost excellent (and by this I mean it was overcooked and was very dry. It also happened to be critically under-seasoned. Good thing there were salt and pepper shakers) 3/10
The tomato focaccia was really just some soggy bread with tiny lumps of tomato mush on the surface. I'd happily swap this out for some more of those bread baskets any day. 4/10
I found the harissa oil to be quite extra and didn't appreciate the extra grease this brought to the focaccia. 3/10
The dish also came with some funny white sauce and chilies. Again, these were extra and were probably there just to make the dish look nicer. 2/10
Overall, most of the elements of this dish weren't the most satisfactory, but the kofta manages to salvage a 6/10 for the main course.
Kofta, Lamb Chop, and Focaccia
Dessert was served soon after. The friendly FA recommended to me this chocolate dessert, and I decided to go with it.
This was rich, creamy, and delightful. The strawberries and mango were also enjoyable. 9/10
Overall Rating for the Meal service: 8/10
A Diptyque branded leather pouch was waiting in every Qsuite during boarding. This, like on the previous flight, consisted of multiple Diptyque creams, lotions, and perfumes. There was also a pair of loose socks, an eye mask, and a pair of cheap plastic earplugs.
The amenity kit receives a 10/10 from me.
Here is a picture of what the Amenity Kit contained
On this flight, a full-size pillow, an accessory pillow, and a blanket were provided. These all worked quite well and were very comfortable.
However, as this was yet another daytime flight, many amenities were not available. This, once again, includes pajamas, mattress covers, and slippers.
The bedding gets 8/10.
The lavatories were kept clean throughout the flight. More Diptyque products, including hand-wash, can be found here. Lavs get an 8/10 from me.
The overall score for Amenities: 9/10
Each Qsuite comes equipped with a 21.5-inch IFE Touchscreen and is of High Definition quality. It features Qatar Airways' “Oryx One” system, which is advertised to have over 4000 entertainment options, including movies, TV shows, music, and games. Everyone gets loaned a pair of high-quality noise-canceling headphones for the duration of the flight. Each Qsuite in the B77L also comes equipped with a Panasonic remote control. However, the 777s in Qatar's fleet feature a joke of an in-flight map system, with absolutely no interactivity, and is always switching between some default views. I prefer just looking out the window in this situation.
IFE System gets an 8/10.
Here's what the interactive map looked like.
Here is the view I had from my seat.
Qatar's B77L aircraft 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. Privileged Club members get one hour of free Wi-Fi, and a full flight pass only costs US$ 10. However, for most of the flight, the Wi-Fi didn't quite seem to work, though while it did, it performed well.
Wi-Fi gets 4/10.
There was a Universal Power Outlet as well as some other charging options on the side console. However, unlike on the A359, all power options on the B77L are concentrated on the side counter. If you have a lot of wires, it might get quite messy. 9/10
The overall score for IFE: 8/10
After watching a couple of movies on the IFE, I decided to take a nap. I simply pushed the bed button on the seat controls to convert the seat into a bed. Remember how I said the bed doesn't go entirely flat?
Here is the bed of the QSuite. Note that the bed surface is very slightly angled; the armrests are perfectly level with the horizon.
Bed comfort: As I said before, the bed is very comfortable. This made for a very nice time laying down. 10/10
Bed length and width: The bed measures 200cm long and 55cm wide, enough for the average traveler. 9/10
Foot space: The footwell was pretty big, and my feet had plenty of space to move around. 9/10
Sleep quality: Once again, the Qsuite ensured a comfortable time laying down. However, every time we climbed, my door slid open, which was rather annoying. The GE90s on the B77L were also very loud when compared to the A359's Trent XWBs. 8/10
The overall rating for the bed: 9/10
I woke up just as we started our descent into England. As usual, our FA soon came by every suite to hand over a box of Laderach Swiss chocolates and a rose-scented hot towel to every passenger, as well as thank everyone for choosing Qatar Airways.
Again, a very thoughtful gesture, which makes the experience so much more personalized. 10/10.
This flight attendant I had, was extremely friendly. She was constantly checking on her passengers, and often went out of her way to personalize her passengers' experiences (she seemed to have a lot of fun playing around with the family of 4 sitting in the Quad across the aisle). However, in an awkward exchange, she mistook for a stranger sitting in the suite behind for someone I was traveling with, even though I was traveling alone. Nonetheless, she scores full marks. 10/10
Meal service overall was quite fast, with little delays in between courses. 9/10
All the Flight Attendants were very friendly and professional. General service attitude gets a 10/10.
Overall, the cabin crew on board will get a score of 10/10.
We descended westwards over London just as the sunset.
We flew next to the Wembley Stadium in London, the stadium of the England National Football Team.
We were soon on final approach into London Heathrow's Runway 09L, and we touched down (extremely hard landing by the way, all unsecured items throughout the cabin flew to the ground in a loud simultaneous crash) at 21:29 local time, 31 minutes ahead of schedule.
London-Heathrow Airport appeared during the approach.
We landed on runway 09L. Here is a view of the final.
During the taxi to the gate, we saw the Concorde G-BOAB in the distance.
Soon, we were walking up the jet bridge at Heathrow's Terminal 4, which felt rather dark and dingy. There weren't any moveable walkways in operation, so it was a long walk to immigration through the narrow hallways. Once there, though, it was a speedy trek through the E-gates (thanks to my Singapore passport being eligible), and I was soon at the baggage reclaim. Here, however, was more than an hour's wait for the first bags to arrive. Maybe most of Heathrow's ground staff went home early and it was just one poor guy handling all the baggage (?).
Manoeuvrability in LHR T4 gets 5/10.
Immigration gets 7/10.
Baggage reclaim gets 3/10 for the wait. At least the bag wasn't destroyed.
Arrival Airport Experience gets 5/10.
Hamad Intl Airport: 9/10
London Heathrow: 5/10
Seat Comfort: 10/10
Sleep Comfort: 9/10
In-flight Entertainment: 8/10
Aircraft (Comfort and Cleanliness): 8/10
Meal Service: 8/10
Amenities: 8/10
Other Service: 10/10
Cabin Crew: 10/10
Overall rating: 85/100
So, that was a very deep dive into my Qsuites experience on Qatar Airways' B777-200LR from Doha to London Heathrow!
If you made it so far down yet again, thank you so much! I really hope this review, as well as all my future reviews, can help you decide how you want to travel in the future.
Travel safe, and goodbye for now!
