Flight Review: Qatar Airways Economy Class Dublin to Doha

This was to be my first flight with Qatar Airways in economy, which was supposed to be one of the finest economy products in the sky. Having flown Qatar Airways in business class and first class, I suspected that this flight wouldn’t disappoint.

Flight Number: QR 20

Aircraft: Boeing 787-8

Flight Date: 17th January 2023

Duration: 6 hrs 24 min

Booking

I searched for this flight on Google Flights and booked via Qatar Airways for GBP 475. In my opinion Google Flights is the best search engine for commercial air travel.

Ground Experience

Check In, Security and Immigration

Dublin Airport is not one of the largest airports in Europe, however, it is served by all three of the major Middle Eastern carriers, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates. Check in was a straightforward process. I have Oneworld Emerald status due to being a British Airways Gold member, which allowed me to use the Business Class check in as Qatar Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance.

As it was about 5 am in the morning when I checked in, security was almost empty, particularly fast track (which was accessible due to my Oneworld status). It took me about three minutes from the time I left check in to clear security.

At Dublin Airport there is no outbound immigration. The airline collects your passport information and passes it onto the government.

In general, flying economy doesn’t grant lounge access, however, with Oneworld status, you can use the lounge. At Dublin Airport, Qatar Airways uses the East Lounge. This is a small lounge, however had a really nice design to it and I enjoyed my time there. A review of this lounge will be published in the coming weeks.

Qatar Airways Dreamliner Economy Class Cabin & Seat

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is beautiful aircraft, particularly when it comes to the passenger experience. The B787 appears to have more height in the cabin due to the storage bin configuration, nice finishes, and large windows. During flight, the aircraft is much quieter than most other current aircraft, which is clearly noticeable. Furthermore, the aircraft is pressured to a lower equivalent altitude, allowing passengers to breathe more oxygen in.

The economy class cabin on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787-8 has 232 seats which are set out in a 3-3-3 layout.

I was seated in 17A and had the seat next to me free. I used Expertflyer to see which seats had a seat free next to them the night before and luckily this hadn’t changed by the time we were ready to travel. I would highly recommend using Expertflyer to search for seat availability and Seatguru for understanding aircraft layouts and the best seats on each aircraft.

Due to the incoming aircraft coming in late from Doha and the freezing cold temperature in Dublin, the flight was delayed by over 30 minutes as we had to de-ice the aircraft, which only happens after all passengers have boarded.

At 8.17 am local time, we left the gate and had a short taxi to Runway 28L before departing for Doha. The pilots were able to make up some time in flight, which had us arriving approximately 10 minutes after our scheduled arrival time.

Amenities

When I reached my seat, I found a small Protective Kit which contained a mask and hand sanitiser as well as an amenity kit with eye shades, dental kit and ear plugs. On most airlines you don’t get these types of kits, especially on flights of seven hours or shorter, so this was a nice touch.

In-Flight Entertainment

The entertainment selection on Qatar Airways is extensive. There is a significant amount of content to consume including TV shows, games, Hollywood movies, International movies and more. The screen was an HD touchscreen, measuring 12 inches across.

There is Wi-Fi on these aircraft, however, the prices are not great. The prices are as follows: 1 hr free for messaging, 30 MB for $5, 100 MB for $10 and 200 MB for $20. I tried the internet and the speed leaves a lot to be desired. I would advise against buying internet unless you absolutely had to.

Under the seats there is a power point if you need to charge your device. Furthermore, there is a USB socket under the screen.

Food and Drinks

No menus were provided. Shortly after take-off, the crew came with breakfast and offered three options: Frittata (vegetarian option), beef stew and omelette with chicken sausages. Drinks were offered at the same time.

I selected the omelette and chicken sausages and an apple juice. The food was a good portion size, and the taste was great. For an airplane meal in economy, this meal rated very highly.

Later in the flight, approximately an hour before arrival, we were offered a snack. They offered either a vegetarian sandwich or chicken ‘sandwich.’ I selected the chicken, however, this appeared to be a sausage roll rather than a sandwich. Nomenclature aside, it was quite tasty.

Service

The service on this flight was very good, clearly a notch above other airlines. In general, economy class service across most full-service airlines is roughly the same, however, it was clear that Qatar Airways was a cut above.

The crew took time to talk to people, make them feel comfortable and offer them a great service.

Final Thoughts

Even though I have been lucky enough to fly first and business class with a few airlines, including Qatar Airways, I have to say that I’m extremely impressed with this product overall. One can argue that economy on Qatar would be the same as most other full-service airlines, however, it seems like there is a little extra in each aspect of the product ranging from the hard-product, to the IFE, the food and the amazing on board service.

I think one big factor to consider is the aircraft, which is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. For passengers, there are few better aircraft to fly. The Dreamliner is quiet, comfortable, gives an appearance of more space and has those beautiful large windows.

I’d highly recommend Qatar Airways economy class, however, if you are able to, try and fly either the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or the Airbus A350, which has similar qualities in terms of passenger comfort and experience.

Qatar Airways Economy Class DUB - DOH