QTR Economy : 777-300ER vs A340-600

[nekkid]

Arrived back in the UK yesterday, and had such a terrible time of it I'm thinking of going back for another couple of weeks in October. 

I flew out of BKK yesterday on an A350 and then from DOH to the UK on a 787-8. In general quite a few people seem to like the Airbus planes, though for me on this trip the 787-8 seemed a step up from the A350. Though there was good legroom on the A350 I found the 787 to be more comfortable and eerily quiet and I slept better. In both cases my tailbone really suffered and I'm looking at getting a coccyx cushion asap. (Unfortunately this well reviewed one is not on Amazon UK https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AE9V3WQ )

Looking at a QTR flight DOH-BKK which has a choice of 777-300ER or A340-600. 

A340 seems an older plane, on youtube I saw one review of such a plane which the reviewer said was delivered to Qatar in 2006. As it's older I thought it might be less space restricted in economy. Has anyone here flown on a QTR A340? Was it comfy, or just an old, tired plane?

 

[skwashdem]

The QR A340-600's are all older planes and they show their age. They are 2-4-2 across the back, which is nice but he entertainment system boxes are under the window seats on the two outer sections and both aisle seats in the center section. Really cuts into your leg room in those seats.

If you get the A340, best seats to pick are anything on rows 10 or 30 (bulkheads) with preference going for the window seats or 17B and 17J on the second exit row over the wing. After that everything is pretty standard but I'd stick to the 2 seat sections and go for the aisle.

For the QR 777-300ER that has 3-4-3 seating in economy and no Q-Suites for business class seating my favorite economy seat is 12D, but you need to be QR Silver or better, or some form of OneWorld status, to be able to pre-select it at booking. It has unlimited legroom because there's no seat in front of it and you'll be off the plane almost as fast as the people in business class. There are two other seats with unlimited legroom like it moving further back in the cabin on both variants of the 10 across 777. Which rows change based on the number of economy seats. SeatGuru has accurate seat maps for QR now. If those seats aren't available I try for a bulkhead seat. For a Q-Suites bird, you want 19D or 37D if you want unlimited legroom in the back. In my experience the crew rarely bumps into your seat with the meal/drink cart despite what SeatGuru and ExpertFlyer have to say. You also get the smug satisfaction of being able to say no when people ask to trade seats when they get jealous of your ability to full stretch out your legs.

[taylor1975]

10 hours ago, nekkid said:

Arrived back in the UK yesterday, and had such a terrible time of it I'm thinking of going back for another couple of weeks in October. 

I flew out of BKK yesterday on an A350 and then from DOH to the UK on a 787-8. In general quite a few people seem to like the Airbus planes, though for me on this trip the 787-8 seemed a step up from the A350. Though there was good legroom on the A350 I found the 787 to be more comfortable and eerily quiet and I slept better. In both cases my tailbone really suffered and I'm looking at getting a coccyx cushion asap. (Unfortunately this well reviewed one is not on Amazon UK https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AE9V3WQ )

Looking at a QTR flight DOH-BKK which has a choice of 777-300ER or A340-600. 

A340 seems an older plane, on youtube I saw one review of such a plane which the reviewer said was delivered to Qatar in 2006. As it's older I thought it might be less space restricted in economy. Has anyone here flown on a QTR A340? Was it comfy, or just an old, tired plane?

 

You liked the seats on the 787? ....they hardly recline and is meant to be offset by the base sliding forward, but it just sucks for me. Everything else is fab on that plane.

I'll take the older planes anyday.

[nekkid]

7 hours ago, taylor1975 said:

You liked the seats on the 787? ....they hardly recline and is meant to be offset by the base sliding forward, but it just sucks for me. Everything else is fab on that plane.

I'll take the older planes anyday.

Flying from Doha on Friday morning on a 787 I was in a centre row aisle seat, on the right hand side, with an empty seat beside me, on my left. The seat in front was upright, I reclined my seat and slid left leg under the centre seat in front, and right leg under the seat directly in front, and found it reasonably comfortable, and able to change position now and then so as not to get cramp. Struggled with tailbone pain, was the only thing - those seats are not very padded. I used the small pillow they give out as a seat cushion, but intend to take my own next time.

I did use a sleeping mask (well, actually I kept the one they gave me on the night flight from DOH - BKK on the way out and used that). They didn't hand them out as it was a morning flight from DOH, so it was handy that I had one in my carry on.

Apart from hard seats I found the experience with QTR to be excellent. The airport at Doha is quite something to behold. Also, I found the food much more to my taste on the UK link legs, ie flying out to DOH, and from DOH to the UK.

[LeoTex]

On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 15:24, skwashdem said:

For the QR 777-300ER that has 3-4-3 seating in economy and no Q-Suites for business class seating

That sure makes for a tight fit.

My last leg coming and first leg going back home is on a Korean Air 777/300 Boeing, Seoul Bangkok.

At least with them its still 3-3-3. Makes a big difference. I chose a isle seat in the middle. Sometime the center seat is empty which is was this week coming back home this week. Most of the other times the person in the middle seat with the person seating in the other isle seat so you don't get bothered at all.

LeoTex

[skwashdem]

4 hours ago, LeoTex said:

That sure makes for a tight fit.

My last leg coming and first leg going back home is on a Korean Air 777/300 Boeing, Seoul Bangkok.

At least with them its still 3-3-3. Makes a big difference. I chose a isle seat in the middle. Sometime the center seat is empty which is was this week coming back home this week. Most of the other times the person in the middle seat with the person seating in the other isle seat so you don't get bothered at all.

LeoTex

I really don't find the 10 across seating to be uncomfortably tight on QR unless the guy next to me happens to be built like a linebacker. It's probably because I have a fairly normal sized build and can actually fit into an economy seat without issues. My main concern when flying economy is having enough leg room because I need to stretch my legs on a regular basis. Bulkheads or the specific seats that give you unlimited leg room are just fine.

Ironically, I'll probably abandon QR for the most part now that CX flies to my home airport. When Alaska is running one of their sales on buying miles it's $2100-2400 to pick up enough miles for a J redemption depending on the bonus they're giving.

[LeoTex]

14 hours ago, skwashdem said:

I really don't find the 10 across seating to be uncomfortably tight on QR unless the guy next to me happens to be built like a linebacker. It's probably because I have a fairly normal sized build and can actually fit into an economy seat without issues. My main concern when flying economy is having enough leg room because I need to stretch my legs on a regular basis. Bulkheads or the specific seats that give you unlimited leg room are just fine.

Ironically, I'll probably abandon QR for the most part now that CX flies to my home airport. When Alaska is running one of their sales on buying miles it's $2100-2400 to pick up enough miles for a J redemption depending on the bonus they're giving.

Lucky for me leg room isn't a issue for me being 5'6 1/2", but a little wider seat is nice.

With the 3-4-3 seat set up, even the isles are a lot narrower.

At least in a bulkhead seat you don't have a seat in front of you leaning back. The only thing I don't like about the bulkhead is getting the monitor and table tray in and out.

LeoTex

[nekkid]

I flew out of BKK on the A340-600 and I wouldn't recommend it over the 777-300ER.

The A340 had a "technical issue" and take off was delayed for at least 2 and a half hours, and we sat on the tarmac with little or no A/C, though the crew did bring around one round of water for us to drink, it became very hot, and temperatures remained high until a couple of hours after we eventually took off. I attribute this delay to the airplane being AIUI being one of only 2 A340s remaining in Qatar's fleet, and in service with them since 2006. The knock on effect was I missed the connection in Doha and was bumped to the same flight I'd just missed 24 hours later. I was bussed to a nice hotel with a 250 QAR allowance to spend there and the service at the hotel was exemplary, but I'd much rather have been on my flight back to the UK.

So in future I will avoid older planes in Qatar's fleet, such as the A340.