Qatar Airways review by Mike 2014-01-14

DOH-HKG A330-200 BUSINESS CLASS JAN 6 2014 I've been flying 60-80 segments on Qatar Airways a year for the last year and more 90% are in Business/First class. Usually I start in my home airport, connect in Doha, and then to cities in the Far East. QR has very good connections throughout Asia and Europe. This flight I took last week tells the story about what's good and whats bad about QR. On this segment or similar ones (DOH-HKG, DOH-PVG, DOH-CAN), the quality of your flight is really dependent on the aircraft type they decide to fly that day, if its one of the newer A330s with an almost flat bed, or the superb B777, then its worth every penny. However, if its the older A330-200 with the "ski'slope" business class seat, then you are looking at a expensive 8 hour nightmare. The seats are awful, bathrooms are small and smelly, screens usually don't work. I can get over the long layovers in Doha, using a bus from and to the lounge (since the NEW AIRPORT is 5 years late), but to suffer a red-eye flight in a terrible dated seat, is not acceptable. For us heavy business travelers in the Mid East with a connection, we are spoiled for choice, with Emirates, QR, Itihad, and at time Gulf Airways offering good connections. I don't hesitate to switch over from QR to Emirates for the same flight if its the dreaded A330-200, OneWorld points or not. I value my back more than a few extra points. Lastly, QR, please change your source for bread and nuts, they let you down.