We took the 10 pm flight from Melbourne to Doha. We arrived in Doha at 5:30am for our 8am flight to Rome. This arrives in Rome at midday which is good for minimising jet lag. We slept most of the 12 hour 1st leg.
Doha a new airport (2016), big and a bit disorganised.
They carry me onto the plane at Melbourne using the stupid tiny aisle seat. Why are there always wimpy clueless guys lifting?
The seats in Qatar business are too short for me (I am 6’1″ or 184cm). Thus my head hits the end of the seat.
I sit on my Roho air cushion, which raises my height. This makes the fold-down table is too low, and on an annoying angle. This is not a problem in most airlines in business. The food is pretty good
The temporary chair at Doha is not too bad.
It is miles to business lounge, where the food is average but with a reasonable range
We had a strange Disabled toilet issue in the terminal.
First we had to take a lift down from the business lounge, which meant lugging our luggage. To use the loo, one must first check in your baggage in a locker. The disabled loo is only in the men’s or the women’s. There is no separate disabled loo as in all other terminals I have seen. Since I need my partner’s help, this causes a problem in a country which is terrified by the sexes mingling.
They say my “wife” can’t come in men’s to help and I can’t go in the women’s. A standoff! They suggest I get the clueless attendant guy to help. No way! Finally I barge into the men’s and Jill runs the man gauntlet.
The loos are clean. The attendant, who says he is Nepalese, sees to that.
We use the ridiculous toy seat again at the plane.
The Doha to Rome leg is OK. We have new business seat pods but they are hard to get into. The men struggle and help. The foot clearance is an issue for me.
Again, the food is pretty good.
On balance, I couldn’t recommend Qatar airlines for a wheelie, especially if you are tall or a quad.
