The Travelling Dassie: Qatar Airlines - Economy Class Boeing 787-8 QR1364 27 September 2014

Route

QR1364 from Johannesburg to Doha 27 September 2014

Scheduled Duration

7 hours 40 minutes

On time departure and arrival

Departed a bit late but landed 20 min early

Ground Crew and check-in

I made my booking online and could pre-booked my seat.
This was the first leg of my journey and I could check in online 36 hours before departure. Take note that check in to and from the U.S only opens 24 hours prior to departure
There were dedicated online check-in counters.
My hand luggage (laptop bag) were weighed and tagged.
My check in luggage were booked through to my final destination, and I did not need to collect my luggage at Doha arrivals.
The ground crew were friendly and helpful.

Boarding procedure

Priority boarding for Business Class passengers, as well as certain loyalty members, families with small children and assisted passengers.

Luggage allowance

Hand luggage - One piece of carry-on luggage, not exceeding 7kg
Checked luggage - 30 kg. Max dimension (length + height + width) of 406cm
See more on baggage allowances and rules.

Before take-off

Moist wipes were provided to freshen up.

Seating

This flight had 2 classes, Business (22 flat bed seats) and Economy (232 standard seats)
Economy Seating:
Seat pitch - 78.74 cm (31")
Seat width - 43.68 cm (17.2")
The configuration is 3-3-3
Seat map can be viewed on Seatguru or on Qatar Boeing 787-8
I sat in row 19F It was a standard seat and had normal recline. It had ample overhead storage space.

Manual air vent and reading light above seats. Button to call the flight attendant.
The seat had a headrest that can be adjusted up and down

In flight Amenities

Pillow and blanket
Small bag with flight socks, toothbrush and -paste, eye mask
Stereo headset

Entertainment

See more on Oryx entertainment
On demand entertainment system with a wide selection of movies, TV programs and music.
You can also follow the progress of your flight.
The touch screen system is easy to use and movies can be started as soon as you are seated. A remote control is also provided.
Flight progress were displayed on screens against the bulkhead

In-flight communications

Mobile phones could be used. Roaming charger applied.
Wi-Fi available via On-air service provider. This is not a free service, you need to register and prov
The cheapest option to keep in touch is to send a text (sms)

Charging points for electronic devices

USB charging point.

Meals and refreshments

Dinner
A hot dinner was served shortly after takeoff.
There was a choice of chicken, lamb or vegetarian.
I had the lamb and it was quite good
On the tray - Salad, bread roll and spread. Small container with water. Desert.
Cutlery, serviette and small chocolate.

Specify any dietary requirements at time of booking e.g. vegetarian.

Late night snack
A chicken roll were served just before landing

Refreshments
Coffee/tea was served after meals. Drinks and wine were served before the meal. A small packet of pretzels and tomato dip were served with the drinks.

Toilets

The toilets were kept clean.
Soap, body lotion and fragrance were provided.
Wet wipes to clean toilet seat
Paper towels and tissues.
Basin to wash hands and brush teeth.
Baby changing facilities

In-flight shopping

In-flight shopping was available

Travelling with Children

Baby bassinets must be pre booked. Meal request for children must be made at time of reservation.
Milk and baby food can be warmed up by the cabin crew
The airline has activity packs for young children and special kit for parents travelling with infants (including diapers, baby food jars. a bottle and toys)
Read more on Qatar- Travelling with infants

Crew

The on board crew was friendly and helpful.

Disembarking

Business class disembarked first, then economy class. Economy class disembarked from the front of the plane.

Overall opinion

What I liked
Tasty and well presented meals.
Entertainment system
The seats are wide enough with a decent pitch.
Wet wipes to clean the toilet seat
On-Air mobile reception

Not so good
The headrest is comfortable when the seat is reclined. When you sit up straight it pushes your head a bit too much to the front. It was adjustable up and down but the "wings" could not be adjusted.
The armrest do not fold away completely, only about 3/4 of the way
The entertainment system box at the base of the some of the seats is a bit big and limits foot space - see photos