FlightAware Link:
Where did I fly on this flight?https://flightaware.com/live/flight/A7BEE/history/20230610/0505Z/NZAA/YPAD
Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER
Booking the Flight & Cost of the Flight
I booked this flight in economy class and paid NZ$346. I paid NZ$25 to select a seat in the front economy class cabin; seat 18K. Seats would be cheaper the further back or how central they are. A ticket on Qatar Airways between Adelaide and Auckland was about this price on average, with a business class fare going for about AU$1000. I booked using the Qatar Airways website on my laptop, which was quick and easy to navigate.
Operating Aircraft The operating aircraft for this flight was Boeing 777-300ER A7-BEE which was eight years old, and was first delivered new to Qatar Airways in July 2015. This aircraft is powered by two General Electric GE90-115B engines. The aircraft had been very well looked after and had been kept in a very good condition. Cabin The cabin on this Boeing 777-300ER was very clean and well maintained. The feel and look inside the cabin evoked that of a fairly young aircraft. The flight was empty with less than 100 passengers on this flight, so everyone had more than enough room to spread out.
Seating For this flight I paid for seat 18K, right up in the front economy class cabin in the third row. Upon seeing there was no window upon boarding, the flight attendants allowed me to move to seat 16K, in the front row. There are four different configurations available on the Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER fleet, but this flight had the luxury of being operated by the Qsuite configuration, which has a total of 354 seats. 42 of these seats are in the business class cabin at the front of the aircraft which take up the first eleven rows, and are in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration; these are the famous Qsuites and face forwards or backwards depending on the row. Even-numbered business class seats face forward while odd-numbered seats are rear-facing. Seats are about 21 inches wide with a pitch of 79 inches; this also converts to a flat bed. These suites have closing doors and do-not-disturb buttons, adding to the privacy factor. They are made of fabric with a leather headrest.
The remaining 312 seats are in economy class between rows 16 and 48 and are in a 3-4-3 layout (the remaining four rows go to both a 3-3-3 and eventually a 2-3-2 layout as the plane curves towards the back). These seats are fabric and have a seat pitch of approximately 32 inches and a width of 17 inches. The seat I ended up with was very comfortable and had plenty of legroom being the front row of economy class. I tried several other seats throughout the flight and they offered good legroom and were wide enough for good comfort.
Inflight Customer Service On this flight there were quite a Qatar Airways flight attendants that served us. I was amazed with the cultural diversity of the team. The flight attendants were very friendly and kept checking on passengers throughout the flight to see if they needed anything. Inflight Entertainment There was a safety card, air-sickness bag on hand, an inflight menu and a duty-free magazine in the seat pocket, but no inflight magazine. Qatar Airways has an extensive inflight entertainment system accessible through seatback TVs. In-flight Wi-Fi can be purchased. I was surprised to see no inflight magazine, the vast majority of airlines usually have one nowadays. I was glued to the window for the majority of the flight watching the sunset, as well as listening to music on my phone, or explore the aircraft cabin.
Photos
The operating aircraft sitting at gate 8 at Auckland Airport's international terminal after a long layover
Views whilst boarding
Business class seats, the famous Qsuites look very nice!
Economy class seats
Great legroom in my original seat; 18K...
...which does not have much of a window view unfortunately
Incredible legroom in my new seat, in the front row of economy class!
Seat 16K
Taxiing for takeoff
Takeoff from runway 23L
Snack to start the flight just after departure with choice of drink, I went with apple juice
Seat 40A
Dinner: mixed grain salad, infused bread, choice of frink and a bottle of water, raspberry mousse and a main dish of either braised beef with buttered vegetables, stir fry noodles or chicken nyonya curry (flight attendant recommended the last one to me), so I went with the chicken nyonya
Inflight at 38,000 feet
Cabin inflight, only about 70 passengers onboard this leg
Sunset as seen from seat 48K, the last row of economy class
Inflight entertainment - I watched the flight map, but a wide range of movies are available
Another round of drinks, another apple juice for me
Coast of Australia
Melbourne, seen from seat 38A
Descending into Adelaide Airport
Landing on runway 23
Taxiing to the gate
Stopped on gate 18
Views whilst disembarking
A7-BEE will continue flight QR915 home to Doha in about 90 minutes Final Verdict This was my very first flight with Qatar Airways and it was fantastic. The aircraft was clean, the seat was very comfortable, the food was incredibly delicous and the flight crew were amazing. Qatar Airways consistently ranks as one of the best airlines on earth, and even this flight was enough to be testament to this claim, they are indeed one of the best airlines in my book. It was great to try Qatar Airways on a short flight without having to go all the way to Doha to try them out. It is a shame that this little niche fifth-freedom flight is now axed in favour of both direct Doha to Adelaide and Doha to Auckland flights.
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