THE Modern Hub? · QATAR AIRWAYS Economy Class 737 Max 8 🇶🇦 Doha – Riyadh 🇸🇦 Doha & It’s Bears!

Join me for this full trip report and flight review on board Qatar Airways from Doha to Riyadh in Economy Class on board their 737 Max 8. We will explore the beautiful Hamad International Airport and explore its immense connectivity, touching on my Routes & Hubs Series.

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💸 Fare Paid
Total Fare: 5600 Avios + $99.68 USD
Class: Economy Class

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🎶 Background Music in This Video
⇢ “Day Off” by Sundays
⇢ “Early Dawn” by Late at Night
⇢ “Deja Vu” by Journeys
⇢ “Desert Heart” by Nadaz
All music tracks featured in this video are licensed under an Artlist Unlimited License.

↪ Video Chapters ↩
0:00 Heading to Doha Airport
01:28 Check In Hall
03:18 Terminal Impressions
04:01 Al Maha Lounge
05:43 The Bears
06:40 Airside Impressions
08:24 Boarding
09:00 Seat Tour
11:21 Spool up, Take off & Airport Stats
13:15 In Flight Service
13:54 Entertainment
14:47 Descent & Landing
18:20 The Flip Flop Score

This is NOT a promotional video. I pay for all of my flights and hotels (and I always tell you how much!) so I can be as honest and impartial as possible. I do not receive any special treatment that wouldn’t otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and that’s the way I like it!

#qatarairways #economyclass #tripreport

46 Comments

  1. I always find it weird to sit in a smaller single aisle aircraft for such giant airlines. For example, when I traveled on the 737-800 of SQ, it was a drastically different cabin experience which doesn’t feel as royal or elegant as the full service wide body jets. In a situation like this, I strongly index on the world class cabin service that usually more than makes up for it. As always, an amazing review of one of my favorite airlines!

  2. I don’t like Boeing. I don’t know how to check if the flight I’m booking is A30 or Boeing. Any tips?

  3. I used to work at a Chief Pilot's office for an airline (well, we did cargo and operated nether) and there was an old saying: Buy an Airbus if you have money to burn, buy a Boeing if you want to make a profit. The problem is that, Boeing aircraft can be outfitted any way you like, Boeing has made that clear. Airlines choose the interiors. The 737 can fit the wider seats. The problem is airlines would rather optimize space for profit than passenger comfort. Airbus on the other hand, cannot compete with Boeing for efficiency. Even the A320Neo isn't as efficient as the 737NG and if you read the performance data you would come to that conclusion. So Airbus has a formula for how many seats they can feature and in what way in order to get similar performance to the Boeing jets. This is often why you started seeing large luxury cabins on Airbus jets first, and on all the new A321 iterations, its a cost savings (not to mention premium fairs) and often larger seats. But look at your low cost carriers. In the US, primarily Airbus operators Spirit, Frontier, Virgin America all went bankrupt (some more than once), while Southwest and Alaska are still chugging along (and no Jet Blue is not a budget carrier they were the first premium brand in the US and they too have had years where they have struggled). Boeing's only problem was, people like you don't see it that way, and it was causing airlines to not see it that way which put pressure on Boeing to get things done fast and cheap and they let their QC slip big time.

  4. Highly recommend turning on the CC option for hidden commentary.

    Never knew about the bear family nor contemplated the world airport concept.

  5. Great review Kevin! Of the 3 big Middle East carriers, which airline's economy class do you you think is best?

  6. You are the sole channel with balanced pics on every topic and not biased absolutely appreciate that

  7. Indigo has wet leased somewhere around 6 Qatar airways 737 aircraft. This is in response to unfortunate grounding of its fleet thanks to P&W.

  8. I really love your channel I recently subscribed honestly you are way better then Josh Cahill and Noel Philp's

  9. Turkish commenced IST to MEL direct in 2024 and I believe they'll be going to SYD in 2025, so there's another to add to your list to try when you come back over to Aus. You may also try the new "ownership/partnership" between Qatar and Virgin Australia.

  10. 8:41 Flip flop traveller wearing trainers??? Just kidding, great video as always 👍😊.

    I've actually had the luck of travelling on both Qatar's A320 between Muscat, Oman and Doha, and the Max 8 between Doha and Manama Bahrain, and much as I hate to admit, I've found the Max 8 both on Qatar, and with other airlines a more enjoyable ride than A320 (&I am genuinely an Airbus fan) . It's really all in the wings and I think the wing design on the max is actually better engineered for comfort than the A320. It's just a shame Boeing can't metaphorically even pull a creme cake out of a damp paper bag, and make it a decent aircraft ☹️.

    That said, I do note the old design of the 737 can leave a cramped window feel for many.

  11. I am both broad shouldered and very tall. Another problem with 737s is that the windows are far too low for tall people like me. I much prefer flying in A320 family or wide bodied airliners.

  12. TK now serves Australia, albeit with a stopover in Singapore, but in a few months it will be a direct nonstop service

  13. Oh lordy… The legendary Qatar Airlines pizza thing in a box! I still haven't quite gotten over being 'served' that for my only meal on a long haul flight from Doha to Manchester UK this year. Spoil us why don't you Qatar… 😄

  14. Kevin, if you can find a reason to pass through Portland International , it looks stunning.
    Otherwise the binary experience of amazing Tullamarine Int Melbourne a true trainwreck of an Airport

  15. 10:45 The Josh Cahill ban Hammer haha. When I was a teenager and the only flights I took were 1:20h long I always saw them as very long flights haha. Now that it takes me over 15h of flight time to get home, this last 1:30h to get home is a blessing.

  16. Qatar Airways 737 Max 8 thats interesting normally its the B777-200, A380-800, A350-900.

  17. Most passengers transit at Doha…that raises a good point. Doha itself, unless you are going there on a business trip, doesn't offer much in the way of tourist sights. Its not a destination to visit in itself The only reason Hamad International Airport is a regional hub is purely down to its geographical location, connecting Europe with Asia, allowing Qatar Airways to offer cheaper fares for those willing to make a stopover at Doha rather than fly non-stop between Europe and Asia (or Africa too I suppose). Qatar has the advantage of a more established route network over its Middle-Eastern rivals, question is, how long will that remain the case? Dubai with Emirates is the obvious main competitor. But what about other Middle Eastern locations I wonder…can they rise to challenge Doha and Qatar Airways?

  18. There is also a big difference seat-wise on Turkish airlines' 737s and A320s: The airbus seats are much better padded, so my backdide is not sore and numb at the end of 5-6 hour flight.

  19. Rn It's being used for 4 hour journey for indigo and the crampness oh my it was so cramped it made a320 feel like widebody aircraft 😂

  20. Funny thing is none of the MAXs of QTR are even active for them anymore. 6 have been leased to 6E and the other 3 are parked

  21. Thank you for this video! It blows my mind the level of service that you receive on gulf airlines. I remember when American Airlines used to serve a full meal service from Chicago to Detroit in economy. Now, nothing! Keep up the good work! 🛩️

  22. Nice video by the way Turkish airlines does have a direct flight to Sydney and Melbourne Australia it'll be coming next year with the Airbus a350 1,000 so that should be good and no it's not the URL version that Qantas has so it should be fun so hopefully Turkish airlines can fly directly to Sydney and Australia with the Airbus a350 1000 which is awesome just wish they had some a380s but that's just a wish keep up the good work

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