Review: Qatar Airways economy class Dubai to Istanbul

Our flight from Dubai to Doha was only an hour long. There, we would have a 1-hour stop-over and then continue on a 4 1/2 hour flight to Istanbul.

I had high expectations for Qatar, being an award-winning airline and all. The seats were some of the most comfortable coach seats I’ve ever sat on. They had lots of legroom, recline, and they were nice and wide. They were pretty much like Premium Economy seats.

What impressed me was that even though the flight to Doha was just an hour long, the flight crew hustled up and down the aisles, passing out candy, serving drinks, and eventually this wrap. I believe it was filled with marinara and cheese. Not bad for an hour flight.

Flying over Doha was not what I expected. It looked more dry and deserted than Afghanistan – and that’s saying something. The view from above certainly wasn’t as impressive as views of Dubai. Where were all those bustling construction sites and the shiny shopping malls?

When we landed in Doha, I was underwhelmed to say the least. I anticipated a large terminal with high ceilings, palm trees, and all the fancy stuff at Dubai Airport. This was more in line with Frankfurt Airport. Small, short ceilings, and although everything glittered, it wasn’t as extravagant as I expected for a middle eastern country.

Despite having a little over an hour until the flight to Istanbul, the crew kept making announcements that we needed to board within 20 minutes. Constantly. It gave me a lot of anxiety, especially when my parents had gone off to explore the shops and I had no way of reaching them. I kept verifying with different crew members when the flight would leave and when the last call for boarding was. There was this constant rush on the part of the crew and it only ended when we boarded our flight. The crew was some of the laziest I’d ever encountered. Was this airline seriously voted number one for all these years?

We sat in the back of the plane, which was bad enough, but the food was ice cold and inedible. The crew took forever to collect our trays. Thankfully the flight passed quickly. While I usually don’t enjoy sitting in the back of the plane, they opened up the cabin doors in the back and we were among the first to deplane.

Overall, Qatar Airways gets a thumbs down from me. The crew was making passengers antsy, the food was subpar, and the service on the second leg was seriously lagging.

I was happy to land in Istanbul, though. If the scenery from the plane was any indication, this promised to be a beautiful city.

Other stories from my 2012 trip to Afghanistan

• Introduction
• Admiral’s Club Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris
• British Airways Business Class Lounge Heathrow Airport
• British Airways Business Class London – Dubai
• Safi Airways Dubai – Kabul
• Kabul Airport arrival
• Kabul, Afghanistan
• Northern Afghanistan
• Kabul Airport
• Hyatt Regency Dubai
• Warlords at Dubai Airport