Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 4: QR1398

Casablanca (CMN) - Doha (DOH)

ABOVE: Qatar Airways Airbus A330-300 in the twilight at Casablanca

Being one of the first passengers on board, I was able to take a few photos of the Business Class cabin before getting settled into my allocated seat, 3K. The cabin had 30 'angled-flat' seats in five rows of 2+2+2. The middle seat pairs were slightly offset from those at the side, offering a minor enhancement to privacy for all concerned. Once we had taken our seats, we were quickly offered a choice of white or rosé champagne and both opted for the latter. I noticed that a Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kit, flight socks, headset, pillow, blanket and menu booklets were all already in place in the seat area. Our Taittinger Rosé was served in proper, full-size glasses along with high-quality hot towels on black trays - very nicely done indeed, especially for pre-departure service in Business Class.

We pushed back more or less on time and made our way to the runway. An unexpectedly lengthy wait for 35L (while 35R remained unused) meant that we only managed to become airborne 28 minutes after leaving the gate. Heathrow sometimes managed to do better than this! The cabin crew were released from their seats relatively quickly and the senior member wasted no time in doing the rounds to introduce himself. In line with current British Airways practice, he was equipped with a tablet computer.

Shortly thereafter, orders were taken for drinks and dinner. Although the menu was of the 'order what you like, when you like' variety, a style of service normally reserved for First Class cabins, we both decided that our strategy for this flight was to have one, traditional blow-out meal and leave it at that; in many ways, this flight was simply a precursor for the 14-hour marathon to follow. I had a repeat order of the pink fizz to begin with, while Bruce sampled a Dry Martini from the cocktails menu. Both were served with the 'palate pleaser' from the menu. I followed this up with the mezze starter, the fish main course and the cheese plate, which provided opportunities to sample both the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and the 40-year-old port. Overall, it felt much more like First Class than a typical Business Class service. Presentation of the meal was superb, although neither of us was convinced that the taste of the food matched the same high standard.

À LA CARTE MENU
Tempt your taste buds with our on-demand menu designed to your desire, in any order and at any time during your flight.

Palate pleaser		LIGHT OPTIONS
Parmesan and za'atar crusted shrimps with yoghurt mint		Selection of hot savoury pastries: chicken pastilla,
dip		vegetable rakakat and lamb pine nut sambousak

Appetisers		Smoked turkey and zucchini in ciabatta with tomato relish
Classic Arab mezze: hummus, tabouleh and moutabel
served with Arabic bread
		WINES
Apricot chicken with mustard cream cheese, served with		Champagne
shaved cucumber, onions and herb oil		Billecart-Salmon
		Taittinger Rosé
Moroccan lentil soup, served with herb oil and cheese
sticks		White wine
		Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune du Château 1er Cru 2010,
Mains		Burgundy, France
Mediterranean vegetable quiche, served with rocket salad
and asparagus		Babich Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, New Zealand

Chicken breast stuffed with cheese and mushrooms,		McWilliams Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2006,
served with rosemary potatoes, cherry tomatoes and		Hunter Valley, Australia
sesame beans
		Red wine
Pan grilled fish with Charmoula spiced sauce, served with		Château Monbousquet Merlot & Cabernet Assemblage
saffron couscous and sautéed vegetables		Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2007, Bordeaux, France

Cheese plate		St Hallett Faith Shiraz 2011, Barossa Valley, Australia
Cheese selection served with crackers, grapes and
chutney		Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founders Reserve Cabernet
		Sauvignon 2009, Aconcagua Valley, Chile
Desserts
Seasonal fresh fruits		Dessert wine
		Château Dereszia Sweet Tokaji 2008, Hungary
Chocolate mousse cake with vanilla sauce and cookie
crumble		Port
		Kopke Colheita 1974, Douro Valley, Portugal
Gourmet ice cream

I whiled away the rest of the flight by watching the 2010 movie Inception, as our route took us over the southern edge of Malta and to the south of Crete. We made a turn to the right and passed to the south of Alexandria, Cairo and Sharm-el-Sheikh before turning across the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia towards our destination. For our final approach we headed out over the Gulf and landed towards the city of Doha at eight minutes past five, local time. We reached the gate well behind schedule at 0516, having been unable to recover from the length of time spent on the taxiways at Casablanca.