Qatar Airways A380-800 Doha to London-Heathrow

Dug this one out of the archives.

Qatar’s eponymous national carrier, Qatar Airways, has operated the Airbus A380 since 2014, on a select few routes. Initially believed to be gone for good following the extinction event for quadjets that was 2020, the type returned to service in 2022 on many of the same routes. Currently, the Oryx-tailed A380s can be seen abroad at London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Perth, and Sydney. The first of these destinations is the ine to which we’ll be flying today.

Server: Solo
Airline: Qatar Airways
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Origin: Hamad International Airport, Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Destination: Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom (LHR)
Flight Number: QR3
Route: OTHH-EGLL
Seat: 2L (First Class)
Time En Route: 7 Hours 17 Minutes

Morning boarding at DOH. It’s not even 8 A.M. and the temperature is already well north of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. What ever else Qatar may be, “cold” is not one of those things.

Pushback for the 7 hours and change flight to London, probably the airport with the most variety of A380s in the world, with China Southern and Air France out of the picture at LAX.

Taxi out for departure

QR4 Super Heavy departing

In cruise near Baghdad. The A380 is one of only two widebody types in the Qatar Airways fleet to have first class seating, with most other widebodies being equipped with the newer QSuites product, which in some respects is superior to the first class product on the A380. Nevertheless, it’s a very comfortable ride with stellar service over the Iraqi desert.

Encountering mild turbulence over the Austrian Alps

Descent over the English Channel

Early afternoon landing in London

Taxiing to Terminal 4

Parked at T4 while the airplane is cleaned and prepared to return to Doha in the evening as QR4

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Nice flight! whenever I fly into OTBH, it’s always a beautiful arrival. That area of the Middle East is somewhat underrated.

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