Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Economy Class Seats - Very Cramped

[Boringchap]

Beware, if you are thinking of flying with Qatar Airways. They have Boeing 787 Dreamliners (I think 30). The Economy class seats are incredibly cramped.

 

We flew to London with Qatar and on 2 of the 4 legs, we had the Boeing 787.

 

The flights

Singapore to Doha QR 945, departing SIN at 0230 - Boeing 787-800

Doha to London Heathrow QR 011 departing DOH at 0550 - Airbus A340

(45 minute layover at Doha)

For the return

London Heathrow to Doha, QR 002 - departing LHR at 2130 - Boeing 787-800

Doha to Singapore, QR 938 - departing at DOH at 0700 - Airbus A350 (very new plane!)

 

I made some flight review videos, if you are interested to see the cabin.

 

Singapore to Doha

https://youtu.be/HEAy1KHMVtw

 

London to Doha

https://youtu.be/_bkNZfvfFf4

 

On a more positive note, the rest of the experience was good. The new Airbus A350 and the older Airbus A340 product was good too. So, it is just this Boeing 787 product.

Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Singapore to Doha

This is the flight review video - https://youtu.be/HEAy1KHMVtw

This was the very first leg, Singapore to Doha. The flight would depart SIN at 0230. By that time, we were all very sleepy.

A picture of the departures that early morning.

Fortunately, Changi Airport had some loungers where we could snooze a bit. The loungers were very popular though. That area of the airport was very quiet and you could look at some plants and even a small water feature.

Boarding was smooth and departure was slightly early, which was good because our connection at Doha was 45 minutes and we were wondering whether we could make the connection. The flight from Singapore to Doha would take about 7 hours.

Now, I begin my rant. They call the Boeing 787 the Dreamliner, but it is certainly no dream sitting in the Economy class. Why? The seats are awfully cramped and the legroom is crazily tight. Even my kids felt a bit squashed and they are small in size.

The Boeing 787 in Economy is in a 3-3-3 configuration. I went into lots of detail about this point in my flight review video. But here are some pictures to illustrate my point.

This picture shows you the legroom available and the infamous IFE box, which takes up some space. The remaining space in front of my can barely take my backpack, which is by no means big.

This picture shows you my legs in that small space.

Another picture showing you the cramped seat and legroom. I guess for a short flight, say 2-3 hours, it is still ok. But for a red-eye, it is a completely different proposition.

Do watch my video as I show you more of the cramped seating and I also take a walk around the cabin and you can see for yourselves the seating situation.

To be fair to Qatar, other than the cramped seats on the B787 (which you can appreciate is a big deal given that we spend 99% of our time in the seat during a flight), all other aspects of the flight was very good, if not excellent.

International crew was attentive and very pleasant. Service was prompt. The IFE system was very modern.

Shortly after takeoff, we were served with a sandwich snack. These were warm sandwiches as well as a nice piece of warm cake. They were delicious. You could have a full bar service with your sandwich, that was nice.

Thereafter they turned off the cabin lights so that we could get some sleep. 2 hours before landing, they served a full meal (breakfast).

We landed early, which was a relief. To my surprise, we didn't have an aerobridge. We had to be take an airport bus to the terminal. However, while on the bus, I noticed that there were many empty aero-bridges. Strange. Were they deliberately creating work for the buses? I don't know.

Here is a picture taken while boarding the airport bus at Doha Airport. The ground crew were unloading luggage, especially those that required rapid transfer.

Anyway, do watch my review video if you want to see more, including the cabin, the food and even the bus ride from the plane to the terminal at Doha.

Qatar Airways Boeing 787 London to Doha, Flight QR2.

This was the flight back to Singapore, via Doha, on our way home. We had a good holiday in London. Now, it was time to go home. Departure was from London Heathrow Terminal 4. I spent quite some time at the Observation Deck and made a number of videos, see this link - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-ireland/1686930-viewheathrow-london-heathrow-terminal-4-a.html

This is the flight review video.

https://youtu.be/_bkNZfvfFf4

Gate 22 was the Boarding Gate. It was a short walk from the main terminal.

Read this sign.

Some planes parked at Terminal 4. We would be walking over to the other side for Gates 22-25.

That would be our ride to Doha. Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner, A7-BCK.

Spotted this plane coming in. Air One. Airbus A320. I checked wikipedia which reported that this company has ceased operations in 30 Oct 2014. So this plane is now operated by Alitalia?

Boarding was quick and smooth and we got to our seats quickly. Now, in my last report, I had already made a big deal about the cramped seat. That left me thinking, what else can I do to illustrate to readers just how narrow the seat is? An idea struck me, let's do a selfie. Check out this photo of me.

I am seated upright, leaning back against the seat fully, with shoulders touching the seat. Look where my shoulders fall and look where my arms are, in this relaxed position. I am by no means a big guy. To be more specific, I am about 5"9 and weigh around 160 pounds. And that's how cramped the seat is for somebody like me. See also the video, where I did a video version of the selfie, just to make the point clear to all interested viewers.

Alright, it would take 6.5 hours to Doha.

In the air. The main meal was served and I chose the beef. It was pretty good.

The meal came with this small piece of chocolate, which was very good.

Fortunately for me, the load on this leg was light enough such that the seat in between me and the other chap on the other aisle seat was empty. Phew! Much more comfortable. At least I managed to catch some sleep. Woke up about 2 hours before landing.

This was the breakfast snack, which was pretty good. All the snacks we had on Qatar were good.

We were put in a holding position before landing and that got me a bit anxious since our connection was only 45 minutes. Anyway, I figured the next plane would wait for us (I hope!). I took this photo to show you a comfortable leg position. Obviously, such a position is not possible if the middle seat is taken.

This would be the typical position for my legs if the middle seat were taken. You can see that it would NOT be comfortable at all, especially if you are trying to sleep!

Despite the holding pattern over Doha, I think we still landed on schedule. Again, we had to be bussed to the terminal.

Oh well, at least I had an empty seat beside me for this London to Doha leg. That made the flight very much more comfortable.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Boringchap

[Herz22]

Good write up on your trip!

[Sabian]

Agreed on the cramp leg space width wise for Qatar's Boeing 787 Y product.

 

I took the same flight as you last year to Doha but heading to Athens.

 

Catering is decent. No complaints.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Sabian

[159er]

When you recline on the 787, does the back goes down or the bottom seat slides infront?

 

I took ANA's 787 and its the latter. Swore off their 787 since then. Made the already cramped legroom even worse when reclined.

[Mkl22]

Was it only the left seat with the box that made it cramped? I know on sq 777-200 they have the entertainment system control box on the left seat of the Center block which eats up leg room. The middle and right seats are fine.

[Sabian]

When you recline on the 787, does the back goes down or the bottom seat slides infront?

 

I took ANA's 787 and its the latter. Swore off their 787 since then. Made the already cramped legroom even worse when reclined.

 

Seats on the aircraft are chosen by the airlines themselves.

 

So the same aircraft type in 2 different airlines may have different type of seats.

Was it only the left seat with the box that made it cramped? I know on sq 777-200 they have the entertainment system control box on the left seat of the Center block which eats up leg room. The middle and right seats are fine.

 

If i recall correctly, every seat is has a box below.

[CarPark8]

 

If you look careful, I understand that either or both Qatar and Emirates have in the economy, 10 seats in a row unlike other airlines with 9 seats in a row.

 

I think this explains why seats are cramp.

[Lotr]

Very very good write up with nice and useful pictures!!!

 

I have not taken Qatar airline before but have taken Emirates a few years ago, not sure which plane probably 777 something. 7 hours to Brisbane, seat still ok for, probably of my average size.

 

One of the worst airline that I have taken is United (to Hong Kong), really cramped seats and poor service.

[Boringchap]

 

Seats on the aircraft are chosen by the airlines themselves.

 

So the same aircraft type in 2 different airlines may have different type of seats.

 

If i recall correctly, every seat is has a box below.

 

The Boeing 787 was in a 3-3-3 config. For both flights, I was seated in an aisle seat, in the middle block.

 

See this photo. I noticed the center of the 3 seats did not have a box, so the chap sitting in the center would have more leg-room. However, the center person would be squashed on both sides!

If you look careful, I understand that either or both Qatar and Emirates have in the economy, 10 seats in a row unlike other airlines with 9 seats in a row.

 

I think this explains why seats are cramp.

 

Which aircraft type are you referring to?

 

Emirates currently does not fly the Boeing 787. Their A380 seat config in Economy is 3-4-3, which is typical of A380s. I've flown with Emirates on their A380 and the service and flight experience was very good.

 

I think this cramped seating problem is unique to the Boeing 787. Not just Qatar, but quite a few other major airlines have also deployed the 3-3-3 config in Economy. I read that the 787 was designed for a 2-4-2 config in Economy (i.e. 8 abreast).

[Angchug]

I flew Qatar -Milan return. Not the best experience. Seat is cramp and full of Indians.

[Camrysfa]

I flew Qatar -Milan return. Not the best experience. Seat is cramp and full of Indians.

 

If stop over in Qatar -

they could be the massive Indian migrant workforce in building sector. Building for the FIFA world cup is one of the biggest works in recent times.

[Volvobrick]

Took ANA 787 before, remember it is 2 4 2 layout, no problem, not so cramped....

[Jamesc]

Not only 787s but soon 777 as well.

 

Its Boeing's policy to squeeze more seats

 

to get more airlines to buy its planes by

 

squeezing more self loading cargo to make

 

more profits.

 

 

Boeing really wants you to squeeze into the bathrooms on its planes

 

Boeing is going to update its popular 777-300ER wide-body airliners with even smaller bathrooms.

 

You read that right. Smaller. Bathrooms.

The bathrooms on a modern airliner are already not exactly models of roominess. The tiny 3X3 compartments are barely large enough for a normal-sized human being to move around.

 

And now that's all about the change— for the worse, in Boeing's case.

Why?

According to Bloomberg's Julie Johnsson, Boeing is desperately trying to fill out the remaining production slots for its current generation 777 models — before the company switches over to produce the next-gen 777X.

In an attempt to make the 300ER more financially attractive to buyers, the Chicago-based plane maker will squeeze another 14 seats into the cabin.

The traditional three-class cabin layout for the 777-300ER seats around 386 passengers.

 

In addition to the smaller bathrooms, the updated 777-300ER will also feature updated overhead compartments, which are expected to reduce weight by 1,200 lbs.

Furthermore, the updated jet will feature redesigned wings and control surfaces that the company expects to cut fuel consumption by 5%.

According to Boeing executives, the market reaction to the enhanced airliner — debuting next year — has been "really positive," Bloomberg reported.

 

 

[Boringchap]

I was moved to write a poem called

 

ODE TO QATAR SEVEN EIGHTY SEVEN

Qatar, Qatar, how cramped you are

Your 787, so beautiful from afar

Your airplane food was delicious to eat

But my shoulders fall out of your Economy seat

Qatar, Qatar, how cramped you are

Your 787, so lovely from afar

Your stewardesses, attentive and kind,

But the lack of leg space blows my mind.

Qatar, Qatar, how cramped you are

Your 787, so awesome from afar

Your website says a wide and spacious seat

But my back hurts, did I mention my feet?

Qatar, Qatar, how cramped you are

Your 787, So beautiful from afar

Flying your A350 was aviation heaven

But never again your Seven-Eighty-Seven!

Copyright Guitar Singapore Travels

https://youtu.be/aUsyhMg_YTQ

 

[Soya]

Ahemmm.......I got no legroom problem on my flights. LOL.

 

Edited June 14, 2015 by Soya

[Lotr]

Ahemmm.......I got no legroom problem on my flights. LOL.

 

looks like a380 business class? the 55" seat width are the best, bigger than some first class of other airlines!!!

[Boringchap]

Ahemmm.......I got no legroom problem on my flights. LOL.

 

 

Aiyah, please lah. We must compare like with like. I'm looking at Economy class seating.

 

You fly SQ Business, the best Business class in the industry, of course got no legroom problems lah.

Took ANA 787 before, remember it is 2 4 2 layout, no problem, not so cramped....

 

Indeed, I read that the 787 was designed for a very comfortable 2-4-2 config in Economy.

 

Unfortunately, many airlines are now choosing to do 3-3-3 in Economy. More lucrative.

 

The new A350 with a 3-3-3 in Economy is still fairly ok, I sat the Qatar A350 too. But the 3-3-3 in 787 is really bad.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Boringchap

[Lala81]

wow.

ok looks like if i see a 787 in booking tickets, should avoid.

So only ANA has 2-4-2 sitting?