For my latest trip, I decided to try something different, and chose to fly an airline I had heard alot of great things about - Qatar Airways.
Here we go......
Leg 1:-
Date: Wednesday - 4 October 2006
Departure Apt: MAN
Arrival Apt: DOH
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 (A7-AED)
Flight No: QR42
Seat: 33A
Sched Departure Time (Local): 10:20
Actual: 10:20
Arrival Time (Local): 19:20
Actual: 19:05
My first flight since June, was taken in the 1st week of October. I was invited by a few workmates to accompany them on their "annual jaunt" to the resort of Pattaya, on the "Eastern Seaboard" of Thailand for 2 weeks (I was promised fine food, beer, plenty of sun, sea and sand, and a few rounds of Golf...!), so I jumped at the chance, seeing as I had about 3 weeks vacation time to kill during October.
After a couple of hours searching fares, my friends managed to get us all tickets to fly from Manchester to Bangkok - via Doha, Qatar - on October 4th, returning on the 19th. A fare of £400 rtn (ish) including all taxes was quoted, so naturally I jumped at the chance
I arrived at MAN by train, at around 7am on the Wednesday morning, with my friends. After making our way from "The Station" to Terminal 2, we checked in for the flight, and I managed to get myself a window seat. I have never departed from Terminal 2 before, so this was quite an experience for me.
Here are some pics....
Manchester airport (MAN)
Breakfast
After breakfast, we went thru security to the gate - 214. Boarding commenced at 0920 and was completed by 10:00, ready for an on-time departure at 10:20.
My Seat
Views from my seat....
Taxi
Climbing from 24L
The AVOD System
After take-off, hot towels and the meal menu were handed out. At about 11:10, we levelled off at FL370 and were cruising at about 570mph, flying across the North Sea towards Holland.
Roughly 1 hour after take-off, lunch was served - Chicken Fricassee, peas, carrots, croquette potatoes. Cheese and crackers, chicken and potato salad. Chocolate roularde, brad rolls and coke for a drink. All finished off in no time at all, a truly nice meal.
The Meal.
Germany Below
After lunch, I watched the movie "Poseidon", followed by an episode of "CSI: NY", then I listened to a few music albums. Our flight then passed over Turkey, and into Iraq.
Progress.
After passing over Mosul, I saw a World Airways MD-11 which was climbing out of Mosul Airport, it rose up alongside us, then headed south towards Kuwait - what a sight
Pillow.
We were served a snack over the Persian Gulf, a small Coronation Chicken wrap, blueberry muffin and a drink.
Afternoon snack.
Progress
Landing in Doha, Qatar was good, and even though it was dark, I had a nice view on approach to the airport. After landing, I spotted a few aircraft while we taxied to our stand. The temperature when we landed was 30C, at 7pm
Doha Airport.
Disembarkation was by air stairs, using 2 doorways - L2 and L4. We boarded buses to the terminal, and had to pass thru security screening to get to the transfer area.
Off We Go.
Continued......
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Leg 2:-
Date: Wednesday - 4 October 2006
Departure Apt: DOH
Arrival Apt: BKK
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 (A7-AEF)
Flight No: QR612
Seat: 24D
Departure Time (Local): 20:25
Actual: 21:00
Arrival Time (Local): 07:15
Actual: 08:00
Transfer at Doha took 30 minutes, in total, from leaving the plane to entering security then to the next gate. I even had time to browse the shops
I like Doha Airport, it is very clean and looks new, even though it is a few years old I believe. Everything I saw on this visit gave me a great impression of the state of Qatar, and I have promised myself if I pass thru here again, I will stop in the city for a few days
The Airport.
Boarding for the next flight was delayed slightly, as the aircraft we were going to use arrived late from its previous flight. I was told the planes average only 2 hours ground time between flights, sometimes less than that. We boarded at 20:30, and after the formalities were completed, we departed from DOH at about 9pm.
Boarding.
Comfort Kit.
About 30 mins after takeoff, dinner was served. Lamb with rice and vegetables. Pasta Salas. Cake, bread roll and a choice of drink. Again like before, a good meal.
Yummy
For entertainment, I chose to watch "Mission Impossible 3", then "16 Blocks", followed by listening to a Keith Urban Album (Be Here)
My Friends watching the movies.
A short sleep followed, well at least I think so
and we landed in BKK at about 08:00. The new airport is very impressive, but in some places, you can see that they are still putting the finishing touches in, such as adding wall panels etc. 
We left the terminal at 0840, after passing thru immigration, then collecting our bags. We took a minivan to our resort on the eastern seaboard where we were due to spend 2 weeks, with some island hopping by boat thrown in as well
Continued......
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Leg 3:-
Date: Thursday - 19 October 2006
Departure Apt: BKK
Arrival Apt: DOH
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 (A7-AEG)
Flight No: QR613
Seat: 37D
Departure Time (Local): 08:15
Actual: 09:00
Arrival Time (Local): 11:15
Actual: 11:40
After leaving our hotel at 04:30, with some emotional goodbyes for some of us, we headed to the airport, arriving at around 6am. Checkin was done by Thai Airways staff, and we were given boarding cards for both our flights. We headed for passport control, after paying the "passenger service charge" of 500Baht. I was not impressed at having to wait in line for over 30 minutes to be checked by the immigration official
Check in area.
Shopping.
After a stop in the terminal for food, we headed to the gate (E10) and boarded the flight at about 0830. The flight had arrived late from DOH that morning, hence our late boarding.
Gate Area.
Before takeoff, the usual formalities were completed, and our F/O briefed us on the flightplan. He was British, and during the brief he made a point of telling us that the captain was from Australia
We pushed back at around 09:00, and we presumably took off shortly afterwards.Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the service for this flight, due to the fact that I went to sleep before we took off (so my friends say) and I only woke up while the flight was over the Arabian Sea, less that 2 hours from Doha. I had been awake from about noon on the 18th Oct, so needless to say I must have been tired
We landed in Doha at 1140 local time, from the south, and the view was great. One thing that I noticed was, the landing was the smootest I had ever experienced in all my years of flying
Disembarkation at Doha was the same as before, using 2 doors then boarding buses to the terminal.
We stayed in Doha for a couple of hours, then boarded our next flight to MAN. I was in for a surprise little did I know.....
Continued.....
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Leg 4:-
Date: Thursday - 19 October 2006
Departure Apt: DOH
Arrival Apt: MAN
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 (A7-AED)
Flight No: QR43
Seat: 26A
Departure Time (Local): 13:15
Actual: 13:50
Arrival Time (Local): 18:45
Actual: 19:00
After boarding the transfer bus, we headed to a remote stand only to find A7-AED, the aircraft we had flown from MAN to DOH on during our outbound trip
We boarded more or less on time, and took off not long afterwards, from the south. Strangely enough, the plane we had just arrived from BKK on, was parked next to us, so I took a pic.
View from my seat.
Goodbye Doha.
The meal service was good, but alas I did not take any more pics, instead choosing to sleep as I was very tired after all. We landed in Mancester at 1850, and after passing thru customs and immigration, we boarded the train home at about 8:20pm.
Overall, I had a fantastic experience on Qatar Airways, and look forward to flying with them again in the future. Pleasant crews, attentive service and nice food all included.
Hope you liked the report, and as usual comments are welcome......
Lee
