Qatar Airways Flight Experience

We all know that going to Europe is not cheap but there is nothing impossible if you want to fulfill your Europe Dream. Yes, you can still find affordable airfare to Europe especially if you are going off-peak season. When we went to Norway two years ago, there is no cheap plane ticket because we bought our ticket 5 weeks before our trip. In addition, there is no seat sale from Manila to Trondheim flight.

This year, we applied for our Schengen Visa in January and we got our visa/passport after 5 days. Then we went to the Philippine Travel Tour Expo and look for cheap airline tickets. There was seat sale but the price varies too, it depends on your travel date. Since we are leaving during summer vacation, the price is a little bit higher. We inquired for Manila - Oslo - Manila, and Clark - Oslo - Clark flight and we decided to book the latter. We only inquired at Qatar Airways and Emirates because other airlines do not offer Oslo flight. Qatar Airways is much cheaper and they also provide Free Shuttle Bus from Trinoma to Clark Airport. 

Read: Biyaheng Europe: Manila Philippines to Elverum Norway

Fast forward to our trip, off we went to Clark International Airport. Checking-in was smooth and the flight is on time. This was our first flight with Qatar Airways and so far we are happy with our first experience. They have free 30 minutes wi-fi but I couldn’t connect.

Clark to Oslo 

Clark for Doha 10 hrs and 5 min
Layover 1h and 55 min
Doha to Oslo 6h and 45 min

Qatar Airways provided a travel kit, the kit includes socks, eye mask, earplug, toothbrush, and toothpaste. There is already a pillow, blanket, and headset on our chair. And of course, we have our own flight entertainment to keep us busy for our 10 hours flight. Aside from that, my son has his own travel kit too na wala sa Philippine Airlines or Thai Airways.

Qatar Airways provided a menu too so we know what to eat and drink. They have more options too compared to other airlines that we have tried. For our 10 hours flight, we have two meals. I appreciate the menu because it gives me an idea of what beverage is available for Economy Class flight, so hindi lang pala softdrinks or juice ang pwede. Madami naman pala choices.

Clark to Doha Menu

Main Meal

Appetizer: Macaroni Salad
Main:
Fried Milk Fish with Bistek Sauce (Steamed Rice, Pumpkin, Pak Choy and Caramelized Onion)
Grilled Chicken with Tarragon Herb Sauce (Roast Potato, sauteed green Peas, and Carrot)
Penne Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Dessert: Jackfruit Rice Pudding

Hot Snack 

Appetizer: Garbanzo salad with tomato and cucumber
Main:
Chicken Adobo with Steamed Rice (garlic, carrot)
Fried Milk Fish with Tomato Basil Sauce (buttered potato, pumpkin, and broccoli florets)
Stir-Fried Asian Style Vegetables with Glass Noodles
Dessert: Macapuno Fruit Salad

Beverages 

Wines: Red wine, White wine
Spirits: Gin, Whisky, Vodka
Beer: Heineken Cognac
Liqueur: Brandy, Baileys Original Irish Cream
Cold Beverages: A selection of soft drinks, ginger ale, soda water, tonic water, a selection of juices, still water
Tea and Coffee: Freshly brewed Ceylon Tea, coffee

Child’s Meal 

Before our flight, I ordered for Child’s Meal so my son has his own food. They serve the kid’s meal first and they have more foods than adults. What nice about their kid’s meal, they have their own snack box that we can take home. So if you have babies, toddlers or kids, don’t forget to pre-book child’s meal, I just modify my booking online. No extra charges for that. If you fail to order, the staff will just ask you to choose from the menu so they can serve it ahead of time pero same lang siya sa adult meal.

Hamad International Airport 

After ten hours, we landed at Hamad International Airport in Doha Qatar. Disembarking is quite slow because we need to take the bus. From the time we landed, it took us more or less 30 minutes before we reach the airport building. I think we were one of the last passengers who rode the bus. It was the longest bus ride that I’ve experienced inside the airport.

Upon arrival at the airport building, we went straight to transfer gates, pag-akyat pa lang ng escalator, nandun na agad yung screening. Since we are in a hurry, we forgot that my son has 2 Tetra pack juices in his bag (from kid’s meal) and it is not allowed because the liquid content is 200ml. The airport staff said, we can drink the juice but I decided to leave it to avoid the cause of the delay. Nawalan tuloy kami ng drinks while waiting at the boarding gate. Hehehe!

Qatar Airport is beautiful, too bad that we were not able to explore the airport since we only have limited layover. They have a train inside the airport, we rode the train to reach our boarding gate. By the time that we reached the boarding gate, hindi pa man kami nakakapahinga ng matagal, boarding na agad. We took the bus again to reach the airplane, so umikot lang kami. Airplane - Bus - Train - Bus - Airplane. Sobrang bilis ng layover namin.

Doha to Oslo 

Boarding is on time but the plane took off after 30 minutes, good thing that we still arrived on time at Oslo Airport and we were able to catch our train to Elverum. For our 6 hours flight, we have a travel kit again. But we did not receive any flight entertainment for my son, I don’t know if they have that since wala kasi ko nakita na binigyan na kids or I should ask for it. Anyway, they gave us again the menu and I was surprised, 2 meals pa rin sa 6 hours flight.

Doha to Oslo Menu 

Light Snack 
Savory Pastry Breakfast

Main 

Scrambled Eggs with Breakfast Sausage (fried potato cubes and tomato wedges)
Sweet Pancakes with strawberry compote
Paratha with Pindi Chana Chole (spinach croquette)

Accompaniments 

Seasonal Fresh Fruit Fruit Yogurt

Beverage: same choices

One thing I noticed, marami Filipino flight attendant sa Qatar Airways so mas masaya kasi hindi na nosebleed if we need to ask anything.

Read: Flight from Oslo to Clark via Qatar Airways