The Five Yen of Happiness! QR067 Hamad International Airport Doha to Frankfurt Am Main

The Five Yen of Happiness! Qatar Airways Flight QR067 Doha to Frankfurt

QR067 Hamad International Airport Doha to Frankfurt Airport
Qatar Airways Airbus A350, Economy Class, Seat 32A
2853 Miles Flow, 712 Avios Earned, 20 Tier Points Earned

With me almost happy to leave Doha, I headed down the jetway to the waiting Airbus A350.

Down the jetway we go!

Entranceway

I was welcomed aboard, and headed to my seat in Economy Class in 32A, being greeted by the crew as I went.

Business Class

Economy Class… still greys and maroons.

I made it to 32A – my home for this trip – and was greeted again by another flight attendant. I noticed it was quiet, and said it the flight attendant. I got the numbers expected on this flight.

Have a guess people. Go on… answer is below this image…

And in answer to the above – 107 people on QR067 between Doha and Frankfurt.

It’s honestly debatable to keep a second service running to Doha and Frankfurt a day with loads like that (and they are pretty much at that level according the cabin crew).

Anyway. Back to the seat. This time, I’m in a normal row, so I have screen in-front of me, with a Thales IFE system.

32″ seat pitch in Economy seats… not bad at all.

With 107 people aboard – boarding was completed quickly. And with 107 people aboard, I got three seats to myself.

BONUS ROUND!

Soon the safety video played. And we’re back to things that confuse me about Qatar Airways. Namely what is male flight attendants hair trying to do in this safety video.

If anyone has a clue what is going on with the parting in the male flight attendants hair (including how much product is in there to keep the hair down, please let Qatar Airways know… that much hair product isn’t healthy…)

With that complete, our A350 begin its taxi around Hamad International Airport.

Pushback approved…

Oh. More mood lighting….

One of the things I like about the new Airbus’s – TailCam!

Qatar Airways A330

A special edition Qatar Airways A320.

And of course… Airbus A380s.

Soon enough our Airbus A350-900 lined up on the runway, and powered up for the 6 hour flight to Frankfurt.

As the plane continued it accent, we passed down-town Doha in its morning sunlight.

Doha I presume.

Looking downwards.

And through the tail cam. Because. Tail cam.

With the plane ascending into the sky, I decided to explore the IFE system again. It’s same IFE system that was in the previous A350 flight – so it was a fluid user experience. Makes using an IFE system a pleasure. Add that with content too, and it’s a good combination.

The welcome screen.

At least it’s multilingual – important for Qatar Airways routes.

Content!

A350 Advert? Check.

Who says I watch serious things? I like fun things.

Annoying twin-port headset port, USB and eXconnect port.

As I’ve stated in the past, you can have an IFE system with all the bells and whistles installed, but if it had little relevant content to the passenger, it’s a waste of space.

Looking towards connectivity, again – a full in-flight connectivity option was offered by OnAir. Prices were slightly different for a handheld device compared to a laptop:

Welcome screen.

It seems for handheld devices, there is a 3 hour option compared to the full flight option ($22).

Meanwhile, my phone came online to see how much my mobile provider would charge for text messages (with the voice service is disabled on Qatar Airways)

Ouch. £6 a megabyte, 50p a text message.

Meanwhile outside..

The overhead signs switched over. I still love these LCD signs.

Breakfast was being prepared to be given out, and a menu was sent to the screens.

Well – it saves on a bit of paper – even if it interrupts the video programming.

More of the Arabian Gulf…

Before the trolleys rattled by, I was asked for my preference of meal. To be honest, I felt for something simple, so I went for the omelette and chicken sausage option.

Why chicken sausage? It’s non-offensive to anyone. Pork sausages (especially on where I departed from) wouldn’t be Halal in the least. At least with a Chicken Sausage, no one is offended.

The Tray

Croissant. Not too bad, but still a bit plastic. Yoghurt… do we need to go into this subject?

Fruit. It was fresh. And not all melon. So bonus points there.

Full fat cola.

The main: So we have (L-R), Potato croquets, Chicken sausage, Omelette and Mushrooms

We’ve even got metal flat-wear.

The meal itself was pretty filling. The fruit was fresh (and amazingly – not all melon), the croissant was… to be expected, and the main was well-balanced for an economy class meal. One of the better Economy Class breakfasts I’ve had in my flying times.

Outside – mother nature was giving her wonderful displays.

Eventually, I needed to explore the small room of the A350. So lets take the camera phone.

Oh.

Yes, when the toilet flushes, the flush ring glows blue. No scary in-flight Japanese toilets here that make me yelp at 35,000ft.

Wow. There’s more than soap in the passenger amenities section. Rare these days.

However, with a row to myself, I made myself comfortable, and made myself a GhettoFlatBed. And yes, hogged all three pillows for myself. No one else was going to use them….

GhettoFlatBed. You can’t beat a 3-across bed.

With the lights down, I pulled down my blind and got comfy…. and got a good three hours or so. When I did get up, I needed liquid. So obviously, I headed to the galley to get a drink.

I’d say the rear galley isn’t as big as a Boeing 787, but it seemed organised enough.

And yes, there’s a digital trash compactor too.

As time went on, the lights came back up as the plane begun its decent for Frankfurt-am-main.

More mood lighting to wake everyone up.

You can never go wrong with blue it seems for Mood Colouring.

As the crew collected blankets and headphones, I grabbed another shot of that wingtip… because it does look the bees-knees..

Our plane begun its decent into the murk and through the cloud levels and into German territory.

With the plane continuing its decent, the mood lighting changed again.

Very soon, the speed-brakes deployed, marking our slowdown and final approach.

Nearly there…

Soon, the German countryside was unfolding outside, as the A350 lined up for the runway at Frankfurt.

With a thump, the Qatar Airways Airbus A350 made a landing on the “new” landing runway at Frankfurt airport.

With a landing like that, our plane had to do the taxi of shame all the way back to the terminal area.

Even this little Fokker was preparing to do the taxi of shame.

It took a good 10 minutes, but soon our plane was entering the Terminal 1 area, and lining up for Gate B34 – where I departed from 8 days earlier.

Willkommen in Frankfurt!

The Queen of the Sky – her reign threatened by efficient twins like the 777 and the A350.

With the plane parked up, the bongs went off and it was time to depart the Airbus A350, ending my Qatar Airways adventure.

Why yes, I did hog ALL the pillows!

I thanked the crew, and headed off the plane to go and find if my luggage would be delivered…

Overall: Again, a very reasonable performance by Qatar Airways on this segment. I’m fast warming to the A350 as a plane – but the equipment in terms of soft and hard products need to match up to the expectation.

Qatar Airways did a good job in Economy Class, with a comfortable product, and giving passengers space, food and amusement.

I do worry for the loads though – with 107 passengers aboard (and every plane I was aboard, I had an empty seat with me), you have to wonder if they’re running the services for pride or profit?

The Qatar Airways A350 resting post-flight.

Next: We’re back in Frankfurt. Nearly home. Time to pick up my baggage and explore Frankfurt Airport again.

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to European readers!

Related

Comments