Qatar Airways A350: SIN-DOH in Economy, Inaugural A350 Service DOH-DXB

[yflyer]

I did not expect to see fire engines at the gate after my flight, Qatar Airways QR1008, landed in DXB after the short, one hour flight from DOH...



I had spent most of today on a plane. Sunday began with SIN-DOH on Qatar Airways, departing at 10.40am on the A350. Almost 7 hours later, after a very pleasant flight, I landed in Doha. After a couple of hours in transit, I boarded another A350 (The same plane, it turned out) for the short hop from Doha to Dubai.

I didn't realize that today, 2nd August, was the first scheduled A350 service on the Doha-Dubai sector until I saw the two fire engines, and a whole lot of ground staff lined up at the gate as we taxi'ed to the terminal after arriving in Dubai.

The fire engines began the water salute right on cue, with two perfectly symmetrical arcs of water splashing evenly down onto the aircraft...



This was the first time I had experienced this, and it was a real treat!





I'm not sure how many people onboard realized the special nature of this flight. They certainly did not mention it prior to boarding, or on the flight itself.



The effect was not unlike going through a car wash...









As we deplaned, I glanced back at the cockpit, noticing for the first time how spacious the cockpit looked, and how large the cockpit windows were. The pilot's view must be spectacular.

[yflyer]

An hour or so before that, I was at Hamad International Airport in Qatar, on my way to board QR1008 from Doha to Dubai.

This is a new and very sleek and modern airport, and of course Qatar Airways' main hub.



Boarding began on time from gate B4...



This flight was operated by A7-ALD, a two-month old Airbus A350-900, which I had just flown in from Singapore on 3+ hours earlier.

We entered the aircraft through the very elegant business class cabin...





This was laid out in herringbone 1-2-1 layout, with seats that reclined fully flat.





The economy cabin was laid out 3-3-3...





We pushed back on schedule...



...and took off to the north, with the silhoutte of the Doha city skyline shrouded in dust and haze visible on the left side...



High definition cameras mounted on the tail and underside of the aircraft gave those without window seats a good outside view...

[yflyer]

On this short sector, beverages and a hot snack were served...





Landing in DXB towards the west...



The landing gear on the A350 is clearly visible from the tail mounted camera...



Touchdown in Dubai, and a lengthy taxi to the gate for the water cannon salute...

[yflyer]

Next up, a full account of SIN-DOH on the Qatar Airways A350.

To be continued!

[ycp81]

Nice! I would be flying QR's A350 a couple of days later as well!

[CarbonMan]

Thanks, yflyer! Love the resolution of the tail and underbelly camera, the best I've seen. If only SQ installs them as well.

[ycp81]

Just flew on QR's A350 and it was a totally awesome experience ! QR really sets the bar high in economy

[yflyer]

Nice! I would be flying QR's A350 a couple of days later as well!

Just got back to SIN...if my experience on QR this week is any indication, you will enjoy it, ycp81!

[yflyer]

Just flew on QR's A350 and it was a totally awesome experience ! QR really sets the bar high in economy

We posted simultaneously! Yes, amazing, wasn't it! We should compare notes!

[yflyer]

Thanks, yflyer! Love the resolution of the tail and underbelly camera, the best I've seen. If only SQ installs them as well.

Thanks, CarbonMan! Yes, the camera resolution is great...best I've seen too. Spent a lot of time on the flights just watching the scenery...

Rest of the TR coming up shortly!

[yflyer]

There's nothing quite like trying out a new airline or a new type of aircraft.

The A380 has been around long enough that it flying it, great though it is, no longer feels special (Especially for EK and SQ regulars).

The 787 has gotten over it's battery woes only to have it's reputation tarnished as a 9-abreast people mover...

That means the A350 is now in the spotlight as this year's "IT" bird to fly/try!

The fact that the A350 is being operated by Qatar Airways, which has been garnering rave reviews recently, is another big plus. These days, Qatar flies three A350 flights daily from Singapore. Three a day -- can you believe that! And speaking to some of the ground staff, many of these go out (or come in completely full)....

So I'm going to take my time with this TR...a blow-by-blow account of my Qatar A350 flight in Economy to Doha, which preceded the QR A350 inaugural from Doha to Dubai that started this TR.

And just to whet everyone's appetite, there is a part 2 once I am done with this...on my return, they were overbooked in Y. I was op-uped to J, so I'll be covering Qatar's A350 Business Class later as well . But more on that later...

[yflyer]

Qatar Airways flies out of T3.

Are there ever crowds at T3? Most times I am there, the place feels serene, peaceful.



There is a model of Changi Airport in the middle of the landside departure area of T3, showing the new terminals being built.



Qatar uses the Dnata lounge in T3. This is not a large lounge, but is airy and has decent tarmac and terminal views.

After a quick visit to check out the lounge, I headed across to A14, where two-month old A7-ALD was being readied for departure. Good, no equipment swaps today!



I've not looked at the specs, but visually, the dimensions of an A359 and a 773/77W look very similar...



As Oneworld Sapphire, I got to board early, together with the J pax. Always good to enter an empty plane, and snap some photos before everyone else shows up...

[yflyer]

A very nice entrance area to the A350, in the middle of the J cabin...



This area doubles as a standing bar for J pax during the flight...



The J cabin is laid out in herringbone 1-2-1 layout, with lie-flat seats.





The seats themselves look very comfortable. They are not particularly wide, but the footwell extends quite far forward so the length should be good enough unless you are exceptionally tall.



Most window seat pax will have about 2 windows each. Apart from the view, there is no difference between aisle and window seats, as far as I could tell...





A/C Power, USB etc...



Easy to use seat controls. This seat reclines right down flat. No need to get up and flip it over. The "bed" icon on the control panel is a bit of wishful thinking, though. It goes flat, but doesn't transform into THAT.

[yflyer]

The Y cabin was laid out 3-3-3.



The dark red / grey seats, and electric blue mood lighting created quite an interesting ambience: warm and almost club-like. This opposite of sterile. I liked it, although the overhead bins seemed to hang down lower from the ceiling that 777/787's or even A330/A380's.



The overall cabin ambience was fine, but I did not find it any more open or spacious than an A330 cabin (2-4-2) or a 3-3-3 777 cabin.

First row bulkhead seats...



The 2nd row aisle seat has no seat in front, so you get great legroom.



Seat pitch was decent, with ample legroom, and no IFE boxes obstructing the footwells.

[yflyer]

The headrest moves up and down. The wings are fixed, but curved and quite comfortable.



Recline is generous by Y standards. It goes noticeably backwards, and seat front moves forward as well. I found the recline sufficient for rest and even Y-sleep (Not to be confused with normal sleep...)

Attractive seat belt buckle with QR logo...



Individual air vents...I guess if you spend a lot of time operating in the desert heat, you want a little more control over climate on your planes. Wonder why SQ never goes for individual air vents.



LCD-based indicators for seatbelt sight / electronic devices etc.



Full AVOD IFE, with high resolution widescreen touch screens...



...and separate smartphone-like LCD touchscreen controller as well.



Headphones which look identical to those that SQ used to issue...sound was acceptable.



A/C power in Y...



Another view of the seat and headrest...



...and fully reclined -- very comfortable for resting. The last row seats in each section all have full recline. No need to worry about last row seats not being able to recline.



The armrest goes up, but not all the way between the seats. It is still possible to sleep on 3 Y seats if they are empty.



How was the Y seat to sit in? Very comfortable. Sufficient width and cushioning. State of the art Y comfort, even if the seat width itself is nothing special.