February 28th, 2016
Qatar Airways 740 Los Angeles (LAX) - Doha (DOH) Departure: 1525 Arrival: 1749 (+1) Duration: 15:24 Aircraft: Boeing 777-2DZ(LR) (77L/L)
Registration: A7-BBD Seat: 21E (Economy Class)
Qatar Airways was the first Middle Eastern carrier that I have flown. I always wanted to fly with the top 3 middle easten carriers: Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, but this time, Qatar Airways was chosen. My friend, a Qatar Airways cabin crew, influenced me to try the world's 5 star airliner. Initially, I was planning to use Korean Air directly to South Korea, but I took the longer way. It was almost 16 hours flight from LA to Doha, a 7 hours layover and another 8 hours to reach Hong Kong. Then I have transfered to Korean air arriving back in Seoul/Incheon.
Qatar Airways has currently 9 Boeing 777-200s operating to various long-haul destinations. All nine fleets are configured in two classes: Business and Economy class. There are total of 259 seats in which 42 of the are flat bed seats and the rest 215 seats are typical economy seats.
As I board the economy class, I was surprised the seats were quite wide. Compared to other airliners, Qatar's economy class is configured in 3-3-3 configuration with each seats having 33 inches of pitch and 18.9 inches of width. Besides the nine abreast seating on B777-200s, the rest of B777s (777-300ERs), has a 10 abreast seating (3-4-3 configuration) in the economy class with same pitch and width for each seat similar to -200s. I guess the aisles are more narrower on the -300ERs.
I was relieved that there were 110V AC power ports in all seats to charge my electronics on this ultra long-haul flight. Later I found out that all Boeing fleets have personal power ports regardless of the cabin, but limited number on Airbus fleets.
On this 16 hours flight, I was able to use all three middle seats as nobody was sitting on my row 21 D,E and F. Except for the dinner and snacks, I raised all three armrests, made my own flat economy bed and slept.
Qatar Airways check-in counter is located in Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport. Since, majority of international flights (including Emirates and Etihad) arrive and depart through Tom Bradley Interntaional Terminal, Qatar Airways is left alone.
View of check-in counters. There is this comfy carpet laid which was different to TBIT's check in desks. The desks were still closed as I arrived at the airport really early.
My seat at 21E. Maroon colored economy class seats are ergonomically designed maximizing your comfort throughout the entire flight. Before flight, simple amenity pouch, blanked and a pillow is provided on each seat. Different from some of the economy seats, there is a problem in the seat's armrest. It could not be raised all the way up to 90 degrees but it will be stuck in 45 degress angle.
*Passengers who travel with children should be aware of this as it will be really uncomfortable if parents wish to lean with their children or make them lay down on your lap to sleep.
This is the first section of the economy class. I was seated right in front of the bulkhead which was the last row of the first section.
Well designed amenity pouch supplied by Zibo. It contains eyeshades, soft socks, earplugs and dental care items.
As you can see, there is a bulkhead behind the seat where reclining is limited and proximity to the lavatories on both sides can be bothering. I've noticed that passengers use the lavatories by row 21 instead of the one beside the aft galley.
Safety instruction cards are located in the seat pockets.
In-Flight Meals:
Five star airliner had five star meal even on economy class. There were two meals served: Dinner and lunch. Dinner was deliciously looking chicken, bread, salads and a chocolate desserts. I did not have my lunch because I wanted to sleep so I told the cabin crew to skip me when lunch was ready.
My only meal for the next 13 hours of fligt. There is a menu on the seat pocket so you can decide what to have before meals are served.
In-Flight Entertainment:
Qatar Airways' impresssive in-flight entertainment is called ORYX ONE. Their AVOD service allows you to choose up to 3,000 movies, TV shows, songs, games and plenty more. The 9 inch monitor screen is quite small but but still you can enjoy flight with it. One of the impressive ORYX ONE features personal in-seat telephone with SMS and e-mail functions. But this feature is limited to fleets with wi-fi on board.
In-flight entertainment similar to other airliners. Touch screen monitor and a button-type remote controller all attached into the seat in front of me. It is much faster to touch navigate the menus directly on the screen rather than pressing on the controller.
All three row 21 seats with personal entertainment system. One important thing is, seats A, D and K has a IFE box underneath which may reduce the leg room. So I encourage you to avoid these seats on Boeing 777s.
Many Hollywood hits are ready for you to watch through the ORXY ONE IFEs.
Real time flight tracker and informations.
Real-time flight instrument datas. From heading indicator to turn coordinator, it was pretty exciting for me as a pilot.
Currently, over the skies of Greenland. Unfortunately, there was no auroras (Northern lights) dancing out in the window this time.
After long 16 hours of flight, I have finally landed in Doha with a thank you message to all passengers through the monitors.
Summary:
Being the first time on board Qatar Airways, from the seats to the IFEs, everything were flawless. The meals were set to my taste even though it was served with plastic dihses and flatware. Experiencing different kinds of in-flight services, I have learnt why this airliner is one of the top in the world. Similar to all other companies, flight attendants are well trained and passionate on their duties. I have exchanged few conversations with them and they were really kind and awesome. Unless you have tried it, you would not understand why this company is 5 star airline. I strongly encourage you to fly with it! It'll make you smile.
I am looking forward to two more upcoming trip with Qatar Airways: This time with the latest Boeing 787 to Doha and 777-300ER to Amsterdam.