…and what it’s like to fly during a global pandemic
March 2020
Disclaimer: This was a last minute evacuation flight. I know you are probably wondering why I am traveling during the coronavirus crisis. I am fully aware of what is going on and have been (and will continue to be) taking all necessary precautionary measures. I am also aware that it is not the right time to be traveling, however, I do believe this was the right decision to make. Itineraries were arranged by the US state department. No upgrades were made or requested.
Wednesday, March 25
It was a super tough choice to make…
I am 100% certain that you have been aware of what is going on around the world with the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. It is crazy how much this has impacted everyday life. As these past two years in Uganda have already taken a huge toll on my physical and mental health, the current situation with the coronavirus was making everything so much more stressful. I wasn’t able to wait any longer to go to the US for medical checkups, and besides, there was no purpose for me to still be there if the school had no chance of reopening. The decision was a result of many complicated circumstances brought by the spread of Covid-19. At that time, Uganda was preparing for their first case. (Just before this, all neighboring countries including Rwanda and Kenya have reported cases, yet there were still none in Uganda). It was a very long time until the coronavirus reached Entebbe, brought by a man flying through Dubai from Ethiopian Airlines.
About a week an ago, school closed down and just in case, we were preparing for an evacuation flight and going back and forth between what would happen if we go to the US or if we stay. There were many reasons that I felt the best option was to leave. Due to how populated Kampala is, my gut feeling told me that once the virus reaches Uganda, it will get out of hand. In addition to suffering mysterious stomach problems for the past two years, I knew from experience that If I caught the virus I would’t get the right treatment. This was really tough because the situation in the states keeps getting more serious every day. In the mean time I was just left there anxiously waiting…
But about a week later, the embassy notified us that on the 25th of March, there would be a last minute flight to Doha for American citizens, members of the embassy, CDC, and more. After discussing all possible outcomes of both decisions, we came to a conclusion that the best thing to do is to take that flight, otherwise who knows how long it will be until the airport opens for regular flights, and that wasn’t worth risking.
On the morning of March 25, this would be my first time ever flying Qatar airways.
I have always wanted to try them out as I have heard only the best about them. I was looking forward to fly on one of my favorite planes- the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A wave of emotions was going on in my head because it all happened so fast.
I was glad to depart out of my least favorite airport for the last time, however it was not that bad because there were no lines during customs. I also noticed that none of the regular check in areas were open. It was quite strange seeing that the airport was technically completely closed, except for this one special flight that we were lucky to get on.
I was starting to get a general idea of what it is like inside airports at this crazy time. All other flights were cancelled and most of the duty free shops were closed. Fast forward to boarding, at now it was the moment of truth: is Qatar airways really the best airline in the world? I was very curious to find out.
I was hoping to fly on one of my favorite aircraft: the Boeing 787. Unfortunately though, there was a last minute aircraft change. Due to the number of passengers, today’s flight was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER registered A7-BAS.
My first impression of the cabin was that it was very clean and the seats looked very similar to those of KLM’s newer economy and premium economy seats. They had the exact same adjustable headrest and they were just as comfortable, if not, maybe more. Just before takeoff, the crew handed out refreshing towels in a beautifully woven basket. This was a very nice finishing touch that added to the luxury appeal.
Qatar’s IFE is known as “Oryx One” and features a selection of movies and music that is quite literally endless. I don’t think I’ve ever had to scroll down that much to find the Greatest Showman soundtracks. My first impression of the IFE was that it had so much content but it was not working properly. On the entire 40 minute hop to Kigali, I was pressing hard but it was still not working. It took me a while to realize that this plane did not have touch screens. Instead, the IFE system was one of those that is controlled manually by a remote. (no wonder why it wasn’t working when I tried touching the screen!) I guess I’ve been so used to touch screens that I forgot that not every plane has updated entertainment systems. The thing that I don’t like about these kinds of IFE systems is that they are really hard to navigate, which can be a bit frustrating at times. I was able to watch two good movies on this 6 hour flight.
In terms of service, this was another strong point of the flight. The crew were very friendly and there was really good service. At this point, I would say it felt just like KLM, but with even more comfortable seats. As for the food, this was one of the more disappointing aspects of their economy product. The quality of the food was pretty much like most airline food. Not very good, but still edible for the most part. What really impressed me was that there was a menu and METAL cutlery! This was the first time I’ve ever seen metal forks and knives in economy class so that was a huge surprise.
The flight from Kigali to Doha was about 6 hours, but with the flight from Entebbe to Kigali, plus the stopover, the total time spent in this plane was more like eight-nine hours. Based on this flight alone, my first impression was mixed. I was really impressed with the presentation and service as well as the comfort, but at first I was wondering if Qatar Airways is a little bit overrated, mostly because the food dissapointed me a bit. However, this would be different on my next flight all the way down to Washington.
At just before midnight, the plane touched down at Doha Hamad international Airport. I would be stuck here for the next 9-10 hours as my connecting flight do Washington Dulles wouldn’t leave until 9:15 am the next morning. With that being said, I’ve only heard goof things about this airport. I had to prepare for staying overnight here, but I did hear something about these so called ‘quiet rooms’ that are separated by gender, where many passengers can doze off for a bit…
Thursday, March 26
When I stepped into the terminal, it felt very surreal and futuristic. The building was spacious and had a very confusing layout. There were tons of shops and places to eat that were still open. The main plaza with the famous “lamp bear” and palm trees was absolutely enormous. We tried getting lounge access but decided it was too expensive. In the area behind the lamp bear statue, there were two separate lounges. One of them was the famous Oryx lounge, which I’ve heard very good things about. I was able to do a quick sneak peek, but it didn’t impress me very much. There was no place to actually lie down, so instead we looked for one of those quiet rooms.
It was a long walk to the end of the terminal. We found a quiet room that was enclosed and dark. I walked in and sat in the chair for a few minutes and it was very comfortable. I wanted to stay in there but the rest of the family didn’t feel comfortable there for some reason. I guess it had to do with the fact that the rooms were gender segregated and the air was a bit smelly and stuffy. With the coronavirus going on, we decided that the quiet room was not the most sanitary space for sleeping. We looked for other quiet rooms, but the rest were all full and the lights were on. A while later, we found a cafe that had a super comfy space to lie down. We settled there and slept for a few hours. I also took a walk through the entire terminal and it took a super long time since the train was out of operation. What really surprised me was how many people there still were in the airport. There was only one area that was empty, but other than that it was hard to avoid people which was making me a bit worried. But later after that, I settled down in that cafe and slept for a few hours. This made the layover much easier than I ever anticipated, and pretty soon we were about to board the longest stretch of this journey: QR 707 all the way to Washington Dulles, which is about 14 hours.
The flight to Washington was operated by another 777-300ER, this one with the registration A7-BEF. The first thing that I noticed was that this 777 had the famous Q-suites in it. I was able to walk through the Q-suites cabin upon boarding. I didn’t take any pictures, but it looked amazing. The seats were probably the biggest business class seats I’ve ever seen and the suites themselves were extremely spacious. Walking through that part of the plane was a big slap in the face for me since I would have to sit in economy for this flight. I heard that this is the best business class in the entire aviation industry and I will fore sure try it out some day. But for now, I’m still one of the many passengers who always dreams of flying in business class someday.
This Boeing 777 also had slightly newer touch screens that were very quick and had even more music and movie selections. Seriously. searching for songs was like trying to find that one important file that you accidentally moved to trash. But it gets better. the best part: there was an amenity kit. Very rarely do I get these in economy. What was even more awesome was that this one came with a eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, and some kind of lotion!
Honestly, this was already better than most premium economy products. I thought this kind of amenity kit could only be found in business or Delta’s Premium Select, which is the closest thing I can compare it to. I have never flown on Premium Select but it is another product that I want to try someday. Anyways, going back to the seat, it was very similar to that on the previous plane, but with the amenity kit and touchscreen. There was a USB port to charge my phone and in the seat pocket there was a basic safety card and sick bag, but no magazine. There was already a pillow and a really soft blanket waiting for me at the seat. And just like on the other flight, the crew handed out refreshing towels in elegant baskets. I have to say, Qatar airways, with all of these finishing touches, really adds to that luxurious economy experience that not many airlines have.
Oh yeah, and by the way, I forgot to mention that Qatar airways has the strangest safety video ever, with a very horrible song in it that I was forced to listen to.
It was now time to face the nearly 14 hour flight all the way to the United States…
So far, the flight was going great. I reclined my seat to the max and put on my eyeshades while streaming my some of the same music that I found in KLM. At this point, I no longer felt like I was in economy. It honestly felt like I was in an angle-flat business class seat! It was probably the most comfortable I’ve ever been in economy class, but unfortunately it didn’t last long. I won’t go into that much detail, but basically my brother got very ill out of nowhere and it was so bad that I couldn’t get comfortable as my anxiety levels were going out of control. I could see how much he was suffering and I was very scared. Luckily, there were flight attendants that were also doctors and they did a superb job in taking care of him. One time, I was walking around the cabin to stretch my legs and one of them asked me how he was doing. I then proceeded to have a conversation with him. I really like how I can easily chat with the crew. The crew on board this flight were just as nice as the ones on Kenya Airways, if case you haven’t read that story yet.
When I was walking through the cabin, I noticed how quiet it was, even in the back. This is not the first time I’ve been in a 777 with GE90s. These are probably the best engines on any plane, from their impressive size to the sound that they make during takeoff and just how quiet they are during the flight.
Service like no other…
Just like on my first Qatar flight, the service was one of the highlights. But on this flight it was that much better. The flight attendants were super busy coming down the aisles with more drinks and snacks that I’ve ever seen on any flight. On top of that, there was a self serve bar that never ran out of extra snacks. I think this was the best service I’ve ever experienced on any economy class flight.
About 6 hours later, we reached Europe…
At this point, it had been a long six hours and we were only in Europe. So far we have flown o flew over Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Serbia, one of my favorite places that I used to live in, then Bosnia & Herzegovina, and then the top of Italy. This photo was taken when we were flying over Geneva, which is where my family is moving to next year. After this we flew over France and England, where we finally reached the Atlantic Ocean. This was such a long flight as there was about 8 hours remaining. Shortly after leaving Europe, we still had the transatlantic portion to cover and it was the halfway point in the flight. I’ve been on many of these 8 hour daytime flights from the Europe to the US, all of which have gone by very slowly. The fact that we haven’t even covered that portion of the flight was making me want to get off the plane despite how comfortable the seats were.
The rest of the flight was pretty much the same.
I was getting a bit restless so I took many walks around the cabin. It was pretty much the same for the last half, with my brother’s condition still not improving and me being worried about how bad it was going to get. The crew continued with their service. It was a bit overwhelming how many they randomly came with drinks and even snacks, not including the main meals.
It was a long 13 hours, and soon we were finally making the approach.
We landed at 16:17 Eastern time according to Flightradar24.com. The flight was 13 hours and 41 minutes, slightly topping my worst flight ever which was about 13 hours and 35 minutes from Rome to Buenos Aires in Aerolineas Argentinas (the worst airline I’ve ever flown in). But that is for a different story. As for this flight, if everything would have goon smoothly with my brother and all, this would have been my best economy class flight yet. Apparently I once went on a 16 hour direct flight between South Africa and DC in business class. It would be nice if I can actually remember that, but I do not remember any of it. In fact, I don’t remember taking that flight so much that I am considering QR707 to be the longest flight I’ve ever been on.
It was a super long period to be sitting down, but as I said before, this was by far the best economy class product I’ve ever experienced. Everything, from the small details such as the menu and metal silverware to the more noticeable things such as the recline and service made this better than any premium economy. Qatar doesn’t have a premium economy and they don’t even need one because their regular economy is that good. Many people have said that this is the best economy class product in the world, and I cannot disagree at all with them. I am still surprised by how much the seats reclined, how much service there was, how there was an above average amenity kit- all of these things exceeded my expectations. I can truly see why Qatar airways is considered the best in the world and I haven’t even tried their business class yet. I wouldn’t mind spending 16 hours in economy class if I were to fly from Doha to Houston or even the ultra long haul route to Aukland, although business class would be nice too. For the final verdict, I truly believe that Qatar airways is a five star airline and I will make sure to book another flight with them.
Do I recommend Qatar airways? Absolutely!
I hope you enjoyed my review of Qatar airways. After getting of this flight though, my trip wasn’t over. I still had one more connection to make as my final destination was actually Houston. This flight would be in a United Airlines Express Embrear 175, but I decided not to review my last flight of the trip as I was really tired and planned on sleeping the whole time.
Dulles Airport during the pandemic…
But one thing that I did notice about Dulles Airport was that it was nearly abandoned. It was strange seeing that a large space that is normally packed with people such as immigrations was now completely empty. But in the terminals it was even stranger. I honestly felt uncomfortable knowing that the only other people in the terminal were airport and airline staff. I think at that time we were the only passengers there, and after seeing pilots buying donuts from one of the only cafes that was still open and being able to hear the airport staff bantering, I kind of felt like an outcast. But the rest of my layover went like this: trying to find a spot to sleep without getting hypothermia because it was by far the coldest airport terminal I’ve ever stepped foot inside. Seriously, it felt like below freezing in there.
Anyways, pretty soon it was time for me to board the flight to Houston. I arrived safely and spent the night in the airport’s Mariott. I forgot to review that airport hotel, but I really should have because it had a very interesting layout. After one night in the hotel and over 50 hours of travel time, our family safely arrived at our cozy AirB&B in Houston, right on the Bayou with city views, where we will be for the next two months or more.
So by now you have an idea of how good Qatar Airways is. But should you travel during these uncertain times?
Well, let me just say that traveling during the COVID-19 outbreak is very interesting. Many airports handle it differently but what I saw at each one was how many planes were grounded. There was a huge contrast, however, between the airport in Doha and the one in DC. At Hamad International, there were so many people that I was getting a bit concerned. I later learned that Qatar airways is still flying in order to bring citizens to their home countries in accordance with many embassies around the world. The only flights that I saw operating were in Qatar airways and yet there were still that many people.
Meanwhile I am used to seeing multiple airlines at the international terminal such as the Saudi 777 and Air France A380. This time the only plane that parked at that terminal was the 777 that I just came off of. Given that all the other gates were empty, it was quite an unusual sight. But as I said before, it was even stranger in the terminal where it was almost as if the staff had the whole airport to themselves and I was able to get the idea that now is not an ideal time to work in an airport either.
It was quite an interesting experience to see how the spread of COVID-19 has really impacted the industry, although we all wish we could return back to before the pandemic. As always, I have been washing my hands, wearing a mask while around people, and mostly staying inside my cozy AirB&B. And for all of the people who come across my blog, please stay safe!
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