Qatar Airlines flying into U-Tapao from Jan 28

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firecat69

Re: Qatar Airlines flying into U-Tapao from Jan 28

Post by firecat69 »

I am enlightened on the poll and I do plead guilty to looking at Skytrax etc if I have never flown an airline. The pitch as you say is a mixed bag but in general the Airlines such as Asiana, Korean etc have better pitch then the disgraceful 31"that Qatar has. I grant you in comparison US air carriers suck although DL is making great strides and your point about UA is well taken for the present. Does not make much difference for the miserable 777/200,. I had the misfortune to travel on from Atlanta. Just on the plane alone I would never consider Qatar again out of ATL no matter what the fare.

The one thing you did not address and for me the most important is length of trip. In 90% of the cases from any major airport in the USA or Europe to any of the destinations I have an interest in flying to Qatar adds at least 4 hours to the trip. Any Major city in Europe has non- stop flights to BKK or at worst 1 stop on a mostly direct route that is hours shorter then Qatar. From the west coast of the USA to BKK , Qatar would be a ridiculous choice unless you enjoy punishing yourself many extra hours of travel. For me Qatar under normal circumstances would have been a horrible choice to South Africa except a really low BC was available with a Hotel provided in Qatar because of a 10 hour connection. If it had been a 8 1/2 hour connection no Hotel would have been provided and I would have never considered the flight.

I will admit that from JFK to BKK the flight time is competitive with other carriers. Of course since Qatar and other Arab carriers do not follow the rules of competition , anyone that flies them is forced into longer flight and trip times because of the need to land in the Arab country no matter where your destination might be. I no longer spend a lot of time looking at Economy fares but question whether in general the fares of the Arab airlines make up for the forced time in the Silver Tube or Terminals makes up for the difference in fare if any?
fountainhall

Re: Qatar Airlines flying into U-Tapao from Jan 28

Post by fountainhall »

I entirely agree that length of a trip affects my decision on airlines and as a result the various factors that go into the hours spent in that metal tube. You call the Qatar seat pitch of 31" inches "disgraceful". But I could give you a list of dozens of international long-haul airlines where this is in fact the norm. The dreadful British Airways has even announced its pitch is being reduced from 31" to 30"! How then is it disgraceful for Qatar?

Yes, the two Korean airlines have an extra inch or two as do some of the other Asian airlines (including the low cost Air Asia X!) - although not JAL or most of the ANA fleet which are also 31". Cathay Pacific has announced that its long haul 777s will in future have 10 across seating rather than the present 9 and the pitch on many will come down to 31". My feeling is that as more space is allocated to the real revenue generating seats up front, those in the back of planes will continue to be squeezed even further. In Europe the short haul budget Easyjet is 29" and in the US Sprint is just 28"!

Although I now rarely fly to the USA, there would certainly have to be a really big price reduction to make me consider a four-hour detour to Europe. I have often taken Finnair - 31" economy pitch on its new A350s but flat beds in business - but only because it is cheaper and permitted connection times at Helsinki are only 35 minutes for One World carriers. Plus the airport is easy to navigate. The total journey time is therefore never more than two hours longer. I have never failed to make a connection - yet!
firecat69

Re: Qatar Airlines flying into U-Tapao from Jan 28

Post by firecat69 »

In reality as you say economy sucks in all airlines, there is just a little better seat in some then Qatar. My question is what makes Qatar #1.

1. Their route structure sucks.

2. Because of that,their total travel times usually suck.

3. Their seats are no better then any other airline and worse then some.

4. I did not find their food any better then most I fly and certainly their service was no better then many Asian airlines.

5. Booze seemed not much different although I do recognize that they get kudos for their wine. Since I find recovery from time zones and flight times tough enough, mostly I don't add alcohol to the mix but that is a personal decision.

Also I find Seatguru wrong as much as they are right, so pay little attention to them as measurements etc sometimes don't make sense.

For instance on my last trip I flew Qatar and Lot (Polish air) Identical airplanes 787. seat map was accurate for both . Qatar 1-2-1 and Lot 2-2-2.

Lie flat width all identical. I am still trying to figure out why the LOT seat was superior in all respects . How is that possible when 1 airline has 4 across and the other 6 across? Now certainly the window seat on Qatar offers more privacy. But I was in the middle on both flights so I had direct aisle access on both.

The Lot seat had better controls, far more storage at the seat etc. I don't get it, but I would fly Lot again in a minute and will not be looking to fly Qatar unless the fare is so much less then others and at least somewhat comparable in travel time.

So again I wonder who is surveyed for the rankings of airlines. I suspect it is weighted heavily to BC passengers and don't in any way suspect that the 80% or more in the back are considered since I doubt that most of those will have little good to say about their experience. Nobody has ever surveyed me and I have travelled millions of miles in 50 years.

As I said before , there have been minimal advances in passenger airplanes in 55 years and there does not appear there will be any future.

Of course those who can afford First Class Emirates with their own shower might disagree. :D
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