Flies from Doha to Madrid with Qatar Airways

Boeing 777-300

Economy

18A — emergency exit row.

80 per cent. Had a spare seat next to me, with the odd other spare seat dotted around the plane.

Time: 6 hours 42 minutes.

Food and drink: Overall very good. Initially I was disappointed we were being offered breakfast and not lunch as it was 11.30am by the time we ate, but the cinnamon and raisin pudding with vanilla custard was delicious. I enjoyed a gin and tonic and a Heineken as the flight went on, the beer pairing particularly well with the “sandwich” that was more of a chicken-filled sausage roll with a tasty salsa-like sauce.

Service: Fantastic, I was mostly served by a Brazilian man, who had great manners, was quick to respond to requests and wandered up and down the aisles offering water and juice on a tray for anyone to grab as they wished. He attended to a couple of ill ladies really well. Entertainment: Not Qatar’s strong point. It has a large range of movies, but they all seemed sub-par B-rated movies. I watched Pitch Perfect 3 (had to finish the trilogy) and took a punt on one called November Criminals — don’t waste your time with it.

Toilets: They held together reasonably well (remember that couple of sick ladies?).

Airport experience: I had 10 hours to kill in Doha at Hamad International Airport, which gave me plenty of time to explore. It’s massive, modern, clean, with lots of high-end shopping. It’s expensive, even as airports go. Trying to find a half-decent meal for a reasonable price proved tricky despite the wide range of food outlets available, and it’s certainly not an airport to do your dutyfree shopping. Plenty of seating options, and there were some cool temporary football World Cup fan areas set up to watch the games when they were on.

The bottom line: Great service, good food with an entertainment section that could be better.