As much as I was looking forward to try Qatar Airways 777-300ER economy class, the thought of any long flight in the bowels of a large airplane is hard to get psyched about. To make matters worse, just as we were pulling into the airport, my taxi driver asked “business class or economy sir?” *sigh*
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been feeling so negative. This is an excellent long haul economy class product with generous leg room, great video screens, and pretty good food. There are far worse ways to fly.
Qatar Airways 777-300/ER side view illustration by Norebbo.com.Our route from Doha to Amsterdam this morning
The video for this Qatar economy flight to Amsterdam was another one of those “oh crap I don’t think I have enough footage“ stress-fests that had me worried. I like to be fairly detailed in my videos, and browsing my footage of the flight as I was firing up Adobe Premier Pro had me squirming in my chair. I really didn’t think I had enough to pull it off.
My full review of Qatar Airways 777-300ER economy from Doha to Amsterdam
Similar to how my Emirates A380 economy class experience began in Dubai last year, arriving at the airport here in Doha was a near religious experience. Hamad International Airport is nothing short of stunning. It’s big, bold, and extremely beautiful from every angle (I was going to say “just like Ms Piggy!”, but I won’t).
Curbside, Doha Hamad International Airport. It’s very early, and I don’t even remember the things I did to get here, but…I’m here! I did remember to take this pic though, which is a reassuring sign that I wasn’t completely brain dead.Brain functions coming up to speed now as I stand here and admire the architecture of the main departures hall. And it wouldn’t have surprised me a bit if my brain was making the same noises a crusty old Packard Bell PC from 1997 made during the boot-up process.Considering how blurry my vision was, I’m shocked that I didn’t accidentally press the “yes” box when the kiosk asked if I was carrying fireworks and leaky batteries.
The Qatar Airways economy ground experience at DOH
Standing in the center of the terminal soaking up the ambiance that is DOH is a difficult experience to describe. It’s truly the crossroads of the world with connecting passengers from all parts of the globe roaming about, and it’s easily one of the most fascinating airports I’ve ever been to. This Qatar 777-300 economy experience was getting off to a really great start, thank you very much.
Speaking of feeling sleepy, looks like he was about to fall over and crush everyone (and everything) in a 50ft radius. Still pretty neat to see the world-famous Doha Lamp Bear though!Nothing will snap me back to full consciousness faster than the sight of Camden Food Co! I have no idea how I resisted the urge to run in there and hug everyone.
Once I was able to pry myself away from the culinary black hole that is Camden Food Co, it was easy to understand why this is one of the best airports in the world. It’s a stunningly beautiful place to roam, and it wasn’t difficult to find vacant nooks and crannies to hide and get away from the masses. Not that I’m antisocial or anything…
That’s it. I’m putting hardwood flooring on my ceiling when I get home! No moving walkways between rooms though, because that would be overkill…Not only is that my ride to Amsterdam this morning, those are the exact same chairs found at my home airport of SAN! Nobody in this pic seems as amused as I am.You know how it’s all but impossible to gently touch the nose of a baby (or a dog) and go “ooooh so cute!” when you see it up close? If there wasn’t a thick pane of glass between me and this airplane, I totally would’ve done it to this 777.
The boarding process for flight number 273 to Amsterdam
The boarding process started just a few minutes late, but overall it was fairly efficient. Except for the part about the gate agent walking away with my passport after scanning it.
She had a very concerned look on her face, then told me to “please wait one moment sir…” as she walked away (with my passport and boarding pass in hand). As far as I know, I’m not on any “lists”, so…I had no idea what to think as I stood there holding up the line for a minute and a half. Yeah, I was THAT guy.
Thankfully she returned all smiles and I was fee to go. From there, it was down the jet bridge and onto the plane.
It’s gonna be gate C8 today, and I still want wood flooring on my ceiling at home.No, this is not a pic of my passport and boarding pass. It’s a pic of all the people queuing up even though the boarding process hasn’t even started yet. Of course I jumped in line too, because #herdmentality.I wonder how many other travel bloggers have taken a pic of me just like this as I walked down a jet bridge somewhere in the past? Probably never, because I look like such a dork.When you’re just seconds away from boarding a Qatar Airways aircraft, any delays caused by congestion can seem like an eternity. Yeah, we may have only been standing here for three seconds (tops), but I swear I could feel gray hair sprouting all over my head. Let’s goooo!She looks friendly. Easily friendly enough to agree to be a regular reader of the blog if I would have asked!
Seat overview
As far as long haul economy class seats go, the ones here on the Qatar 777-300ER are pretty nice. Leg room is excellent (though not as good as what you’ll find an ANA 777-300ER economy), and the seat cushions are squishy enough to put a smile on your face.
Qatar Airways 777-300/ER economy seats. Dare I say…sexy? This is a color combination I like!I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “sexy” to describe an economy class seat before, but if it had to happen, letting it slip in a Qatar Airways review seems to be the most logical place to do it.Ain’t nothin’ sexy about SANspotter’s knees though. As my bird legs demonstrate, seat pitch is really good back here in economy class.These aren’t the exact same seats I experienced in Emirates A380 economy from DXB to LAX last year, but they’re very similar. I survived 16 hours in those, so 7 today in these should be a piece of cake!Looks as if the guy up there in the bulkhead row found a baby in his seat. Neat!“Property of Qatar Airways”. After experiencing how strict security was in and around Doha over the past two days, I had no desire to find out what the consequences would be for getting caught snagging one of these as a souvenir.The first of two times I looked at the safety card during this flight. The second time was when we were getting rocked by extremely high winds on the approach into AMS, and I needed to determine where exactly the aircraft was likely to split open when we hit the ground belly first in a monstrous downdraft. Flying is fun, isn’t it?One of the nice things about sitting all the way at the back is that it gives me extra time to stuff my AirPods into my ears if I see an overly talkative person coming down the aisle with his/her eyes on the open seat next to me.
Overall, Qatar Airways economy seemed nice in those initial few minutes, and I was very much looking forward to the 7 hour ride up to Amsterdam this morning. Even better was the fact that the seat next to me remained vacant. Yet again! And I certainly wasn’t complaining.
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The first meal service
This was a seven hour flight, so there were two meal services. The first was breakfast, followed five hours later by a light snack. Neither were anything I’d call “spectacular”, but both were decent and tasty enough.
In the air now headed towards Amsterdam. I’m muttering Top Gun quotes to myself here in 47F while I wait for the food. “Sorry Goose, but it’s time to buzz the tower…”I’m only three rows from the back of this airplane (a really long 777-300ER no less). I *really* don’t want the pancakes, but I’m preparing myself for the inevitable situation of nothing being left but the pancakes.They started the meal service 40 minutes ago and there’s still no sign of the flight attendants. Mmmm, paaaancaaakes.
Being seated all the way in the back gave me all the reason in the world to believe that there’s no way they’d still have my primary choice (eggs) available by the time they got to me. Miraculously, they did. And you know what? I worked so hard to psych myself up for the pancakes that I almost chose that instead. lol
Everyone in the first half of the airplane finished their meals 30 minutes ago, but I took solace in the fact that they will be hungry again 30 minutes before I will. It all evens out in the end!Wanna know how culturally ignorant I am? I just Googled “Qatar chicken farm” wondering what the chances were of this meal being prepared locally or not. Turns out there ARE chicken farms in Qatar and I’m dumber than I thought I was.Hold on a sec while I Google “do apples grow in Qatar” lol
For comparisons sake, I’m going on the record as saying that the Emirates economy class breakfast I was served last year from DXB to LAX was slightly better. Not that I’m knocking Qatar economy or anything, but EK is a direct competitor and I’d be foolish not to mention it.
The lavatory (and overall cabin comfort)
One of the nice things about being seated so far back in the economy cabin was being so close to the loo. Not close enough to have to put up with smells, but the walk to it was quick and easy.
Not that I was expecting fresh flowers and gold fixtures or anything, but something a little nicer than “Southwest 737 with pee drops on the floor” would have been nice.You know you’ve got a sucky seat when you can basically stand up from it and get a shot like this.
The second meal service
Five hours later (just as my stomach was yelling “ok, send more!”), the flight attendants came by with snack boxes. These steaming-hot boxes consisted of a “hot pocket” type of thing (curried pizza is the best way to describe it), which was…ok. The guy across the aisle at three of them, thanks to a generous flight attendant who had extras she was trying to get rid of.
“Coconut chicken Arabic pastry”. I mean, how can this NOT be delicious?Anything shaped like a log with meat stuffed inside is cool with me. So far so good…The first bite, confirming solidly once again that I really like Arabic food.I need to savor this moment, because it’s back to Cheerios and water for me when I get home (the food of starving full time airline bloggers).
Final thoughts on this Qatar Airways economy experience to Amsterdam
I know it’s not really fair to compare this Qatar economy experience with my Emirates economy experience from last year (since that EK flight was a 16-hour ultra long haul), but I’m going to do it anyway.
Screaming over top of Slovakia, still licking the crumbs off my fingers from that delicious snack, and I can’t help but to think of how this Qatar economy experience compares to Emirates economy…
Everything about that Emirates experience was slightly better. Not by much, but indeed slightly better. The food seemed a bit more fresh, the cabin crew seemed more eager to please, and the video entertainment system was more diverse with a better selection of movies to watch. Again, I’m not at all complaining about Qatar economy class – I’m just making an observation based on the things I’ve experienced.
On the descent into AMS now, and it looks as if those people in the bulkhead row *still* don’t know what to do with that baby they found on their seat.Fast forward 25 minutes, and we’re on the ground in Amsterdam after what was quite possibly the scariest landing of my entire life. Now, Ive been terrible at any flight simulator I’ve ever tried, but even I’ve managed to pull of a landing or two better than this one! I’m not blaming the pilots though – the wind was brutal and all I could think the entire way in was “Delta 191 Delta 191 Delta 191” over and over again (with tightly clenched butt cheeks).Reunited once again with my trusty backpack. I’m so focused on getting footage for these trip reports sometimes that I swear to God that I’m going to forget and walk off the plane without it one of these days. I’ve done far stupider things in my life.
It’s worth noting that while the overhead bins on the 777 are large, they are also quite deep compared to similar aircraft (something I talked about in my 777 vs A330 comparison). You might have a problem retrieving your carryon bag from the overhead bin on a 777 if you’re vertically challenged!
The final moments of my Qatar economy experience were marred by this guy aggressively pushing past me as I was stepping out into the aisle. I know a SANspotter hater when I see one!
I guess the best way to sum up my thoughts on Qatar economy is to say that I’d have absolutely no problem at all doing it again on an ultra long haul flight such as LAX-DOH (even as tempting as Qatar Airways A380 business class would be). As a matter of fact I’m sort of tempted to try it just to give it a proper comparison against Emirates. My back hurts just thinking about it…
Nice review!! The 777 is beautiful, you heard about the incident between a family and a American Airlines worker? That was crazy!! Go follow me on Instagram @bruinsfan_28 my pfp is a car. If you could bring back any airline which one would it be and why?
Are you granting wishes? Because I really wanna see Pan Am reborn the proper way (with big planes and a huge international network). That would be amazing!
Bruinsfan28
Nice review!! The 777 is beautiful, you heard about the incident between a family and a American Airlines worker? That was crazy!! Go follow me on Instagram @bruinsfan_28 my pfp is a car. If you could bring back any airline which one would it be and why?
SANspotter
Are you granting wishes? Because I really wanna see Pan Am reborn the proper way (with big planes and a huge international network). That would be amazing!
BruinsFan28
True!! For me it would be Northwest, because I want to see their aircraft fly!!
James B.
I would bring back Air Tran. They were good.
RK Aviation
They really should update their economy class on their 777-300ER with their A350-1000 Economy Class. No doubt!
Scott (SANspotter)
I like the sound of that. I’ve yet to try the Qatar A350, but from what I’ve heard, it’s really good.