Review: Qatar Airways Business Class A320 Yerevan To Doha

Nice report.

You always used to state whenever you mentioned Qatar that you found their FAs "cold". On this trip (so far) that doesn't seem to have been an issue for you. I confess, I've always found them delightful (though in general I prefer cooler western/northern European types of service, whereas I think you love more deferential south-east Asian service).

I'm absolutely with you that nobody is currently doing J better than Qatar, whether short or long haul.

Am looking forward to the final leg of your trip.

@Lucky, did you get the sense that the menu was the same as would have been served had your flight departed on time? I ask because QR typically offers breakfast on its flights leaving India and arriving in Doha at around the same times as your flight's original schedule.

Dude Hamad IS state of the art. Remote stand arrival does not negate that. That’s just logistics - sometimes remote stands need to be used. What other airport can you think of that is more state of the art than Hamad? None.

@ DT -- The point is that they built an airport for the future, and it's already using remote stands more often than not. In terms of passenger experience, that's not state of the art. There are plenty of outdated airports where you rarely have to use a remote stand.

lets agree to disagree on this. State of the art does not promise "no remote stands" - one where premium pax are ferried in transfer buses of a quality that is unheard of any other place. The airport is state of the art - from the structure, check in, arrivals, immigration, lounges (ok HK is better). QR and Hamad have got the model right - now if only the LAX- DOH flights were not full of people wanting to eat and drink all along the 16 hr flight. The model is right for leisure premium travelers , just as CX and HKG have the right model for premium business traveler.

@ DT -- Not saying it should promise "no remote stands," but you don't think three out of four flights using remote stands diminishes the experience a bit?

I agree with you on that for sure. And they cant claim rapid expansion either, as if anything their total number of flights may have reduced somewhat after the blockade. Poor planning and does diminish the experience .

Every time Ive flown into Doha from Australia it’s been to a remote stand I hate it - especially when you’re tired and it’s early morning , walking down steps and into a bus is the worst for me - Give me Singapore or Hong Kong anytime

I think DT's point is that using remote stands has nothing to do with "state of the art" as how an airport is defined. Maybe more astute to say "badly planned" or "mismanaged", since I do kind of see DT's POV. Remote stands isn't quite an example of the airport itself being "state of the art". You yourself Lucky say that there are outdated airports that hardly use remote stands, which still wouldn't make them state of the art.

@Ryan that original flight time does make it seem like breakfast would be served.

I transit DOH fairly frequently, at least 6 times a year, usually on the same flights each time. It is hit or miss whether Indian Subcontinent flights arrive on a remote stand - I even had a JFK flight arrive on a remote stand last year. As a J class passenger, I do not mind since there is a dedicated bus and it loads pretty quickly upon arrival. The benefit is that you are dropped-off right at transit security and close to immigration. From some contact gates, it can be quite a walk. Also, some remote stands are more remote than others. The ones directly across from the terminal are not too bad, but there are others much further away and those can be a long bus ride through several tunnels. Overall though, it works.

@Juno I expect the original flight was breakfast. Pretty impressive for QR to call an audible and re-cater with only a few hours notice. I suspect the meal was loaded in DOH with the flight being double catered.

@DT - stop being a douche.. please.

I don't know I remember my first flight into Washington Dulles and thought the remote stand was an interesting experience. But it could be because it was on one of the el-busses that pulled directly up to the plane side for you to board (No stairs, nor did you step outside). If you were on an L10-11 there would be a number of el's and they would call passenger rows for the different busses. They would then drop you off at a front or back cabin door. I always thought it was very convenient & efficient and a way to maximize the use of available space and not have to walk down concourse after concourse to reach your connecting flight. I find airport terminals are frequently inefficient with their use of space. Many of them have had terminals built only to have an airline merge and then have the space be vacant for years or decades.