I flew QR many times, back then in 2010-2015. I remember their B777 was configured 3-3-3 in Y Class, even equipped with footrest. Before serving meals, cabin crew laid a sheet of some kind of paper tablecloth, something that i've never met again nowadays. Recently, i prefer japanese airlines JAL or ANA for my flight to US or back to Indonesia via Tokyo. ANA with their 34" seat pitch in Economy is superb, their meal service can never go wrong with asian, and also very generous. Their cabin crew are also above and beyond....
I agree with you 100%. I was on 6 Qatar flights so far this year. Every time I booked ( and paid more) for a QSuite flight and EVERY single time was "downgraded" to their old inferior 2-2-2 config business product, which is so outdated, that you have to drink the entire flight to forget abot it. I have been on United flights 15 years ago, that seem now modern compared to Qatar's antiquated business product. I'll fly once more with them next week to ORD and back, but only because I need to be in Chicago at a certain time. Other than that Im done with their constant "due to operational reasons" changes. Yes, they give you the option to reebook your flight for free, but how does that help you if you have to be somewhere right the date you booked your flight? Let alone the hours ( and nerves) you have to invest, if you are calling their customer service center... because their chat is another really weak point...
Simply aviation continues to amaze me with the quality content of their vids! Felix u have been amazing with amount of vids lately! all of u guys! David, Felix, Simon, etc! great job guys and can't wait to see what the future holds! one thing Simply aviation, is it possible in the opening to tell which runway u will depart from and the arrival runway at that airport? thx guys u are amazing as always!!!
My son had a misconnect in Doha and was trapped in that blocked off area for SIX hours with no food or water. How is that legal? They were just going to send him to a cheap hotel and rebook him on the next day’s flight. I’m a retired airline employee (not Q) and was texting him possible flights that could get home sooner. The agent didn’t even try to do his job. All four flight segments were switched to middle seats right before boarding. I could go on… Q was the most miserable flying experience of his life. This just happened and I wanted to do a little research to see what their reputation is. Thank you for posting this video.
Wow their A330 cabin interior is seriously a shame. I just love the new brutally honest intro by the way!🙌 And also thanks for mentioning me as a "trustworthy source".😇✈️
Fly with them to DXB last March. To DXB via DOH with 787 and 350. Simply magic. Come back with 330 and it all went down. Luckily I am too tired and just want to sleep.
I completely agree with you when it comes to Doha Airport. When you're there the first time and don't know a lot of different airports, then it might be good. But when you travel more frequently, you realize pretty fast how annoying the airport basically is. Getting constantly sent from one side of the airport to the other side, and you at least had a jet bridge to board. On my route, currently it's almost 100% bus boarding
Wow... very impressed with your review David. Hamad International Airport is not up to standard, and has changed my mind about flying Qatar as well. Imagine not having any bathrooms in what looks like a holding pen before the flight. No, I will not fly them after seeing this review, even though their meals are good, there are simply too many letdowns in other areas.
Its crazy, when Qatar Airways introduced the new Qsuine, they took out the crackers, cheese, butter, godiva chocolate and if I am not mistaken, they also used to give another item, like a homous type thing or a diced salad etc thats also missing... i think its to bring costs down... when i asked what happened, they had a stock of goodies they brought out for me. They probably had that for a while if people ask about it, probably now, they don't even carry it. When Qatar did this, my appreciation for their economy product deteriorated significantly.... it felt like its a tiny step towards becoming a low cost airline.
I just flew into/out of Hamad and I agree. Even the business class lounge was overcrowded, 1/2hr wait for the showers and lines to get a table in the restaurant
Remember if you feed them well, they will walk away happy most of the time. Qatar seems to know how to accomplish that. Hamad airport is scary to me with the crowdedness and chaos.
Oh you're lucky that they still even give you a boarding bridge. My experience at Hamad international they always gave me the gate with bus taking you to the plane! It was always a horrible boarding experience.
16:30, Including me that I don't like the 3-4-3 configuration on the Boeing 777-300ER because it's too many passengers in the plane. I prefer the normal and standard 3-3-3 configuration because it's comfortable.
Having flown four legs with Qatar earlier this year I found that of the four main meals I was served only one was edible, IMO. I was vey disappointed. Also, the transit lounge I was directed to was so uncomfortable and crowded. It had a poor selection of food outlets and shops.
This almost convinces me that Skytrax was bribed both by Qatar airways and Hamad airport to have them both given the number 1 spot for best airline and best airport.
Nice report and I hear your about the award; world best airport. Anyhow, the meals still look fantastic and are very consistent to your other footage or other review I have watched. Anyhow, out of curiosity, why didn't you pick the very front seat with extra leg room since you have priority status (not sure which level). Would be nice to hear if you didn't choose on purpose and why. Look forward for your very nice footage and very honest review. Cheers.
@SimplyAviation Well it depends on flights. I'm flying with Qatar only with 787s and a350s and the experience is great. Secondly, Qatar doesn't have delays. Just check the facts on any flight tracking app. Third, you can get quite easily the frequent flyer status, that gives you perks and benefits for all One World airlines including lounge access. Personally, I always avoid Lufthansa companies for their bad service and punctuality. Tell me when did you flew last time punctually with airlines of the Lufthansa Group, and how many thousands of dollars have you spend to reach the frequent flyer level (not speaking about senators and so on) that gives you access to a lounge where you can eat a brezel with Emmentaler as their biggest perk (see also the "high end" Lufthansa First Class lounge in Hamburg).
This is why im happier with Emirates. They put all the A380 in service and that plane is just pure perfection for passenger safety and comfort. Just love emirates
Yeah, but they don’t fly the A380 on all routes, so that’s not really a good argument, there are no problems with Qatar‘s planes. And some of the criticism towards Doha Airport I‘ve also experienced at Dubai. Too crowded? Check. Too little seating opportunities? Check. Chaotic boarding? Check. Only thing is that you could leave the gate area before boarding…
skytrax is basically a meme at this point like cmon- lufthansa is a 5 star airline? the same guys who’ve got such old IFE screens that they don’t work at all, only 1 meal on an 11 hour flight, and 2-3-2 business class seats? for sure 💀
Thanks for the honest video. I fully agree. Qatar is vastly overrated, at least in economy class. As a frequent traveler on routes to Asia, I try booking on Emirates every time I can or Etihad comes as a second choice. My experience with Qatar was below these, even when flying on newer planes (I've had the A380 and B777). Hamad airport is bad. Poorly lit at night, confusing signs, complex map, easy to get lost. Food court difficult to find. Almost no seating area with available plugs for charging phones, unattractive duty-free shops.
Lets not forget the female passengers pulled from a flight in doha and forced to give an invasive inspection of their privates by officials. This included a 60 year old woman. Forget this airline.
Actually Qatar airways isn't updating their seats on a330-300. I also had the same experience 3 times, there is no enough space just to relax, the entertainment screen brightness is very dim, and also the remote itself is very small to press. Likewise, qatar airways is likely to change their flight even if you took the boarding pass very early. Anyways i would consider qatar airways to update/remove a330 - 300
wow didn't realize hamad airport was that bad definatly something to avoid. glass cage with no washrooms like come on even the smallest airports with 1 gate have a toilet on the past secuirity airside area. not having enough seats is a big issue at plenty of airports in europe its very annoying but they just want you to go shop
I don't know what will be the reaction of Sam Chui since he also rides a lot on Qatar Airways too during his vlogs. Also, One World Flyer is also a trust worthy source too
Great video and thanks for the truthful review. Now I know their best airline award is not reflected in their ground and air services. While the food on board looks good, it’s really limited compared to other major airlines. I’m surprised the new airport is falling short of standard already and wonder how it performs during the World Cup period.
I’m a flight attendant for Emirates. The thing with Skytrax is that they rate airlines based on their newest products, aircrafts and the most premium destinations. I operated Dubai to Geneva once, we had the newest aircraft, newest economy and catering. It was even surprising to me. Deservingly the best economy class and catering. I’m sure the same goes for Qatar and other airlines.
Yes, I found that true on EK, QR, AF, and KL: premium routes get the best aircraft and kindest staff. Other routes are average. So while I'm free to spend my leisure dollar anywhere without loyalty, I tend to get treated best on premium routes to premium destinations, such as NY, Washington, Paris, Doha, and Dubai. My experience: 1 EK, 2 QR, 3 NH, 4 AF. Sadly, lately, KL has been disappointing.
You knows what’s love meant to be life’s. You will spending 10 days to trade for 10 years instead. Also, you do knows that am not the gossiping to spreading like. You feel I did lives so many but I’m still is myself; you worry about others said; but I writ the notes to you after you knows how much the peoples wring about me. I did what I had to but didn’t losses my dignity and prides from you thoughts. The cloud always on top of you; but did you knows that how far away that you betray me in France but you staying in France to waiting for my permission to come back again as my dearest husband’s still. ❤❤
I think this is an issue with youtube reviewers as well. Unless they fly multiple times at the same time with the same airline to different destinations, you're not getting a clear picture of the airline. This channel for example has a good review of Saudia Jeddah to New York trip and I guarantee you you're not getting that level flying Saudia Jeddah to Bangalore.
I agree with Doha Hamad airport. There were just too many passengers and toilets are always full so you had to queue up almost every corner of the airport. Even as Economy passengers you cant use the facilities provided that makes Doha Airport great. In contrast with Singapore Changi, everyone can use the facilities like movie theaters, butterfly gardens, swimming pools, etc.
That airport feels more like a fancy bus terminal less than a world class airport. I actually have issues trying to remember major airports I've been in with a worse experience. I suppose sitting through a 12 hour delay doesn't help
Best airline reviewer hands down. Many might have been upset for being demanded to delete the clip but you saw deeper reasoning behind it. So much more respect for you ❤️
@@alejandrotatis6016 Bro, you wouldn't say that if you would've travelled around the globe with various airlines instead of flying only 1 or 2 and favouring your personal favourite on the internet. You're biased for Qatar Airways if you think they're the best despite all the proof you get on the internet. I've personally flown over 30 airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines on both economy and business. Singapore Airlines is so much better than Qatar Airways in both hard and soft products on all sorts of aircrafts. Emirates is excellent on a380s but 777s are mediocre. And Qatar just gets credits for Qsuites which is available only on few aircrafts. Not all passengers fly business and not every passengers with get a350s. Even their 777 economy are mediocre with 3-4-3 config. Singapore Airlines offer 3-3-3 config on their 777s.
I totally agree with the assessment of Qatar Airways treating its employees in a fear mode. I made few trips in the recent past, all in their Business class. While the service was good, but the fatigue on the in-flight staff were apparent. For example, the flight from SFO to Doha, apparently the crew flew in just the day before and they get less than 24 hours at SFO, before they are on board for work. That too after 15+ hours flying. That is a torture. I don't think the other airlines operate this way. For sure I know that SQ gives two days of rest before they are put back to work. The service was more mechanical than enthusiastic. I like their hard product, but the food was just "meh". I would fly them again, but as one of the lower in the list option. Thanks for a honest review.
You are a fearless crusader of truth and high-quality reviews without being muzzled by sponsors. Sensational narration with the honest and usual punchy review - as always, David. Well done, thanks
As a QR crew member, you are 1000% right about the fear motivator. Specially if you’re of a western culture, you’ll experience the shock of how things are run. One single picture, one single small comment and you’ll get a warning letter, they’ll even ask your explanation for things happening in business class 😒 Your review is incredibly accurate, specially with the airport and skytrax. You should hear the new Public Announcement after the “airline of the year” award. They’re clearly overcompensating for something there😂
I flew BOS-DOH-COK this past summer and it felt like 2 different airlines when flying on their A350 and A330; was not a fan of how the entertainment box took up half the leg space. I made sure to pick the right seat on the return leg to avoid it
Just my experience with Qatar in Economy. Their reputation is based on excellent business class. The economy is less than average. I experienced this awful in flight entertainment boxes on a 10 our flight from Bali to Doha. Locking guests up before boarding without being able to go to the restroom borders on torture.
The last time I flew Qatar Airways was January 2020 when covid started and the flights with an a380 and a350 were amazing and everything was great. Next month I'll be flying again for the first time since covid on 4, 777-300er with qatar, hopefully its good...
Never fly with Qatar tho , but based on this video & comments i red , any other airlines such as SIA , Emirates , Cathay , Eva , CSI are more than deserved to be number 1 or at least their rank should be higher than Qatar's
Having recently flown Sydney to Manchester on Qatar I have to agree with the entire review. The most irritating thing for me was the constant adverts on the entertainment system. Other issues were the lack of seating in Doha. Poor WiFi in airport and on plane so struggling to connect to see the menu. I think Qatar is going to be shown up next month when the world cup is on. Best airline I have flown is Singapore.
@@zachkoh3426 yesss 777 with the 333 is the way although the 4 in the middle worked well this time round with the family of 4. It is 10 years since I flew with Singapore but watching the reviews it still looks like they are top.
I just did Melb-Doha-Dublin a few weeks ago and had no issues transiting in Hamad. Its a bit of a coinflip, since my experience was fine but lots of others have issues sometimes. Service was very good on both flights and IFE was fine. The wifi was a bit hit or miss, like you mentioned, but I didnt have a problem like being locked out of toilets before boarding.
I really prefer Emirates when I fly in Economy class with the availability of the different tariffs for the luggage (Saver 25kg, Flex 30kg, FlexPlus 35kg) from Germany via Dubai to Bangkok or Phuket. And now after Covid the nice A380 from Emirates is back at the different German Airports👍👍
At the back of a B777ER to Perth yesterday While I broadly agree the central area of Doha airport is a mess - in many ways I preferred the old terminal - TBF if you take walk or the train to the outer limits you'll find an oasis of peace, with working power sockets, ideal for a long stopover; the non-Qatar lounges, for which there were lengthy queues last night, to be avoided. As to the flight, much as you report - my pre-ordered sweet and sour tofu particularly tasty. So happens for my itinerary, somewhat cheaper than Emirates.
Flew Business class on Qatar from IAD to Washington DC back in 2022 in their QSuite...ground staff was HORRIBLE...in flight service was inconsistent wherein my wife didn't get some of the same amenities I got and we had to question why she didn't get it and later they were like they were too busy. Hamad airport was a mess...the flight from IAD was delayed by an hour and a gate agent at Doha refused us to board next flight even though we had 30 mins to make it to the gate post-security check. They put us on the next flight after 8 grueling hours in Qatar and I had to pay for my own lounge access. ..Never Again with this Trash airlines!
I always refused to fly Qatar because of the country's horrible human rights record and the airline's reported treatment of staff. Recently, a travel emergency caused me to have to fly from Germany to Australia asap. Berlin to Perth on Qatar was almost half the price of any competitor, so I shelved my orinciples and flew Qatar. As much as it pains me to say it, if you leave aside the political objections, Qatar on my two flights (787 and A380) were by far the best economy service I have experienced in 40+ years of regular flying. Legroom excellent, IFE excellent, service exceptional and food top top class. Food you actually enjoy rather than eat because you are hungry and have paid for it in your ticket. I'm not proud of this, but it was my honest experience.
14:10 Manila NAIA has the same issue, they ain’t closed spaces but they are annoying. You gotta handover your boarding pass to the ground staff if you need to leave the area to use the restrooms.
Damn bro. Was just thinking about that lol. That airport is just hilarious, you gotta deposit your boarding pass with the gate agent everytime you go to the loo. The Wi-Fi at NAIA sucks, just 1hr man. Makes zero sense. The security staff ain't any polite either, I was traveling with my friend and we were carrying about 4 huge bags and three cabin bags. We had to load them on our carts outside the terminal, this is one until you reach the gate from your taxi. Then you have to unload them again, put them through the scanner and then load them back lol. Have been to better airports in much bigger cities, this airport just doesn't make any sense to me.
@@Neiltj I agree, I've been there. Both arrivals and departures are out of control. Arrival at the T4 is smaller than most bus stops and the crowd there makes it difficult to get your bags out, find a taxi and load your bags. I prefer traveling to Cebu or Davao instead of Manila
Last summer I went with my family from Amsterdam to Seoul. It was horrible for my dad, because he is around 1m95. So we booked a seat with extra legroom (€85), but last minute they changed the aircraft. He was sitting on a normal chair for a round 9 hours... he got only some simple apologies...
@@alejandrotatis6016 Just say you're less of a man because you're short. Same thing happened here. You're literally not getting what you paid for. Qatar Airways suck ass, how about you cry about it?
There's one other airline that puts their frequent flyers traveling in economy class in an inferior lounge... Singapore Airlines. The Krisflyer lounge at Changi T3 was recently renovated. It now has more comfortable seating and shower facilities, but the food spread is nothing compared to the Silver Kris lounge that First and Business passengers are entitled to.
Definitely not.. their hard and soft products are subpar. For me Oman Air is low key my go to middle Eastern airlines, especially with their long haul business class products
I just took Qatar Airways from Copenhagen to Doha, then Doha to Manila (Yesterday). CPH to Doha was good (especially the dessert haha), but my gahd, Doha to Manila (QR 928) was horrendous. It was so old, the fuselage is yellowish already. Normally on long haul flights, I try to write on my notes and for some unlucky situation, my light was broken. Asked for the FA for help THRICE! and no follow ups. They seemed to just ignore it. And the USB was also not working. I expected too much and THEY DO NOT DESERVE that title.
I‘ve never flown with Qatar, but your criticism seems valid. What I don’t understand though, is all the praise for Emirates, not only on your side. Dubai is an extremely crowded airport even in the middle of the night, and I didn’t find the wifi to be of much use either. Seating options were there, they were just mostly occupied, and try to sit together as a family of 4 - good luck. The problem with the gates is not a thing there, luckily, but the boarding was just as messy and uncoordinated as on your trip in Doha. The Emirates crew was friendly, probably much more so than in this video, but there are some things like not collecting empty trays and garbage for hours except 5 minutes after you’ve been amongst the last ones to receive your meal, that just shouldn’t happen in the "best economy class" if other airlines like the much hated Lufthansa manage to do that without question. Over all, Emirates is clearly a good option for flying, and I would be inclined to say that Qatar is, too. However, I don’t think it’s fair to say that Emirates is so much of a better option. Staff treatment aside (remember that Emirates is a state-owned company from Dubai), there’s enough criticism for Emirates and Qatar to argue that none is the clearly better one. Very nice video, btw
I experienced EVA Air Vienna-BKK several times and consider that at least better than Qatar or Emirates. Also TG is better. And alone above all stands Singapore Air. Many seem to forget about Gulf Air as well. What Etihad concerns, that is a bit same same as Qatar or Emirates.
I flew Qatar 4 times and i will never fly with them again....i got a hacker attack to my tickets..that guy added to it like special services,changed seats and more.....Qatar just chilling and didnt help...I got yesterday their message of something...nice react with 1 year delay :) Scamtrax should give first place to the SQ,EK or ANA
The same boarding like in Doha is in Singapore also security check ! But the airport in Singapore is absolutely amazing! And very easy to use ! Dubai airport is fine sometimes also can be confusing also the block some of internet and also is slow ! I fly Emirates from Dubai to Warsaw and the aircraft was also old ! I did not like my business class but the service and food was fantastic!
Really nice video. I just don't get the hype over Qatar, I'd much rather fly with Emirates and transit through DXB! Very well documented, thanks for this.
I think they operate more flight after covid that y airport it's crowded and economy ticket price is cheaper and for longer flights economy is not comfortable food is good not very good emirates are more better but have to pay more
When Changi lost its crown to Hamad, I suspect that Skytrax is full of fallacy. Shame that it takes till now, your video for me to be convinced. How clueless I've been. Sigh.
14:50 - Also noticed a similar gate area at Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) yesterday for my Ethiopian flight to Stockholm Arlanda (ARN). Was also the case for Norse 789 to JFK. The reason was a passport check.
Just flew Qatar Airways yesterday. Aside from what you mentioned, what also sucked was their website! To be brutally honest, booking my flight online wasn't that user-friendly.
I don’t understand how Qatar can have gotten such high reviews. I’ve been flying with them many many times for years, but I would go as far as to say they are one of the worst airlines I have ever flown with. The food is mediocre, the seats are terrible and gives me a back ache, my knees are always touching the seat in front of me (I’m just 6’2), they are overpriced, but the worst part is the service you get from the flight attendants. The attendants tend to be misogynistic and rude; unless you are flying business, you will be treated as trash/an inconvenience to them.
I've used Qatar airways for many times flying their business and economy class, similarly, I've flown and used Dubai international airport for a number of times bu truth be told you review is so biased as ND uncalled for, may be you're just paid to make an advert for Emirates
IfE is better, normally only 2 choices of main meals compared to qatar 3 and the seats on qatar at least on my flights were better. So I have to disagree but will also be opinion based
I always fly economy and Emirates has always been a class above Qatar IMHO. I've lived in Qatar my whole life and still have to give it to Emirates as the better airline.
A big problem with Qatar is Doha airport. It is a disaster. No facilities! Not enough toilets or places to eat or sit down. Just acres of pointless shops selling jewellery, fashion etc that are invariably almost empty.
I agree with you about skytrax. Nice to see you once again offering post pandemic interesting, intelligent and realistic reviews. Pandemic reviews are something I want to pretend never existed.
2:31 There actually have been other airlines that have validated Qatar's claims, but did not seek action. Singapore, Lufthansa, and Scandinavian all reported the same paint damages at a faster rate then usual, but did not wish to seek action.
I had the worst experience on Qatar too from Boston to Delhi via Doha the seats weren’t reclining, bathrooms weren’t clean and the air stewardess wasn’t a bit helpful when complained regarding the seat had better experience on a older aircraft of British airways
Just be thankful you didn't have to fly in a window seat on one of their B787s ... ankle bruising entertainment boxes, narrow and hard seats, and sculpted cabin side panels reducing the shoulder width in some seats even further.
We had a return trip via Qatar Air, Manila - Frankfurt - Manila. The onsite tv is not functioning. Seats are not spacious. The foods are delicious but repetitive. Doha airport, tho modern in appearance, a lot is lacking.
Thank you. I appreciate the economy reviews as well as the business class products. When traveling long haul to BKK from East Coast US. It’s good to know if your 24hrs+ of traveling is going to be pleasant or misery.
Vicarious Voyager is the prime example of quality over quantity. Not saying any other reviewer's quality is bad, but the production of Bu is just woah.
