Points Miles and Bling (blog) contains referral or affiliate links. The blog receives a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your continued support. Credit Card issuers are not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details, current product information, and Terms and Conditions, click the link included.
As a points and miles enthusiast, I do my utmost best to travel in ‘relative comfort’ but every now and then a combination of rigid dates/flight availability and cash prices make me do the unusual. This time around, I was supposed to travel YUL-YYZ-AMS-BOM in economy. But thanks to a winter storm, my flight from YUL-YYZ was canceled. I was rebooked on Qatar airways, YUL-DOH-BOM and found myself staring at a 12 hour journey in economy. The Y-suite. Get it? 😉
Qatar Airways Economy Class 777-300ER
Flight: QR 764 YUL-DOH
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Duration: 12hr 20min
Seat: 28H
Qatar was prompt with their pre-boarding announcements and boarding commenced at 7:00pm, as per zones designated on the boarding passes. The passenger load on this flight was light.
Priority Boarding line
‘No-such-priority’ boarding line
This was my first time with Qatar airways and I was impressed with the cabin cleanliness, interior design and the spiffy look of the economy seats. The cabin was configured with a 3-4-3 layout.
Qatar Airways Economy Class – Seats
Middle section of the economy cabin
The standard seat pitch in the economy cabin on Qatar’s 777-300ER is listed at 31-33 inches. As I settled in to the seat, I could not help but notice the comfortable knee and leg room I had. I am 5’8, if you are looking for perspective to the picture below;
Knee and Leg room
The seatback entertainment unit was adequate and boasted to an extensive library of choices, in multiple languages. The seat-back was also equipped with USB plug, power port and what looked like a LAN port!?
Entertainment unit – Seat 28H
Each seat in economy came with a pillow, a blanket and a basic amenity kit. I do appreciate airlines that make an effort to provide basic amenity kits to passengers in economy section. Another thing Qatar gets right.
Pillow, Blanket and an amenity kit
The in-cabin service kickstarted with a refreshing towel and distribution of menus for all passengers.
Unfortunately, our departure from YUL was not as prompt as the boarding of the flight. We were stuck at the gate for over 2 hours, due to a mechanical issue. Such was the misery of my wait, I tweeted my agony and Qatar responded in a spectacular fashion.
Given the long transit of the flight, the meal service included a Dinner and a Brunch service. Unfortunately due to the 2 hour 22 minute delay, the flight took off around 10:30pm and dinner service did not begin until well past 11:00pm. Meal service went on for more than an hour, it was past mid-night when the lights in the cabin were finally dimmed for passengers to rest.
Dinner menu options
I opted for the Paneer Tava Masala, food taste was fine but the presentation lacked imagination. My tired brain did not register to take a picture of the food. I just wanted the service to end so I could rest.
Once the lights to the cabin were dimmed, I engaged my super powers (one where I sleep through all flight conditions) and was able to stitch together a 6-7 hour sleep.
Cabin crew came around with a sandwich and ice-cream service mid-way through the flight and made it a point to wake me up and ask. Not sure why some airline crew feel compelled to wake-up passengers to offer food. I obviously declined and went back to my slumber. Brunch service was offered a couple of hours before landing and I declined that as well, the options did not excite me to interrupt my second wave of sleep 🙂
Brunch Menu
Beverage list for the flight
When I was not sleeping, I did manage a movie and tried to connect to the wifi onboard. I was excited to learn one hour of the wifi service was complimentary, but the connection never really worked. The few times I tried, the service was unavailable.
Take Away
This is the longest I have flown in economy cabin, ever. Delays and wifi service aside, it was not hard to see why Qatar Airways is regarded as one of the better airlines out there. Even in an economy cabin, the little things like an amenity kit, printed menu and wet towel service go a long way in winning customers. The hard product was impressive as well. While I don’t plan on doing 12 hours in economy again, my overall impression of Qatar Airways Economy class on 777-300ER was positive, and that includes their reaction to my tweets as well!
Whats the longest you have flown in economy class?
10 comments
Thanks for the trip report.
If your original carrier/routing was on AC Y, then I’d say that re-booking to QR was an upgrade.
Also another simple reason for the reader asking why there are so many J/F class reviews, is that there’s no aspiration to/about flying in Y.
Agreed, QR Y is an upgrade from AC Y. However, when flying Y, I like to break my trip in EU…so this 12 hour flight followed by 3.5 to BOM was a bit much for me…
Were the business seats fitted with qsuites?
Sorry Issac, unfortunately no qsuites on this route.
Thanks for the write up for economy. That’s far more useful for 95% of travelers out there. People who fly in business or first already know it’s going to be nice so write ups in those cabins are pretty useless. For economy travelers, that information can make the difference between a decent and horrendous flight. It’s sad that travel bloggers write mainly about premium cabins out of the sake of hedonism and vanity instead of working hard to provide good information for most travelers out there. BTW, I’ve stopped flying the ME airlines because I’ve found many of the passengers in the economy cabin to be rather uncivilized and disruptive. The FAs do not try to control them. They do things like toss their trays into aisles once they’re done eating, etc.
Thanks for your honest feedback Donald, much appreciated. Allow me to chime in;
I agree, the proportion of Business/First class reviews and econ. reviews are pretty lopsided. At the same time, because we write so much about earning and redeeming points and miles, its good to read how those redemptions are often on aspirational cabins. Additionally, when we have a bunch of points and miles handy, its hard to willingly fly economy. Your comments are well received though.
You are not the first one to complaint about the uncivil passengers on ME airlines. My personal experience has been similar, but mostly on ME-South Asia segments. NA-ME segments tend to be better. Based on discussions with friends and family, the theory is that a big section of SouthAsia-ME segments are South Asian labourers and construction workers who come from very different sensibilities of etiquette. Please note, its not about good or bad, simply very different in how they perceive and react to conditions. The FA’s realize the same and don’t put on their ‘A-game’ as such. Disclaimer: This is not true on all flights, just select few.
Cheers!
Longest non-stop flight? 16.5 hours YVR – SYD on AC. Longest flight? QF 1 LHR – SYD with a hour in DXB – 22 hours.
Damn! That reminds me, I used to do YUL-LHR-JNB with 10 hr layover in LHRl. Any tips and tricks to help survive these long flights in economy cabin?
Denial. That’s a powerful tool.
Haha – Touche!