Qatar or Etihad?

[witte]

Anyone flown on Qatar or Etihad recently?

Looking at flights to Melbourne and not sure if there's much difference between these? Prices are similar.

Economy sadly but going to try and get extra legroom.

Other tips gratefully received

DD has flown with Qatar recently as said it was excellent. Lots of bling on board! Check you have a decent space between flights though. DD was late getting to Doha!

Thank you. Both are about 2 hour stop overs. Qatar seem more popular.

I travelled with both, and also Emirates, not much difference in economy.

Not what you’ve asked, but I’d never transit through the Gulf countries again. Too many horror stories.

@witte DDs flight was well over an hour late. 2 hours can be very tight if you are changing planes. We always go for around 3 to reduce stress!

I like Etihad as you can buy extra legroom for not a huge amount of money. It makes an enormous difference. You can also bid for neighbour free seats and even a whole row, sometimes for very reasonable prices. The lounge at Abu Dhabi is also very nice.

Qatar are also very good though.

I took your tip and booked Etihad extra legroom. Just need to select seats now. Thanks very much.

I've done the London-Melb trip a lot recently. I would have said Qatar is slightly better for economy but the extra legroom seats on Etihad are a big bonus and well worth it. Esp the ones at the front of the plane on the A380. It's a separate section so much quieter/less crowded.

Watching with interest for any tips to make the journey more bearable. I'm flying from Dublin to Melbourne at Christmas with Emirates and will be stopping in Dubai for around 20 hours. I've to book a hotel in Dubai in the near future.

We need to look at seats. I think I booked the front. The Abu Dhabi to Australia leg is a 777 I think.

You can look at seat guru to get a seat plan and they anlso indicate which are good and bad seats.

Yes, unfortunately the A380s are for the 'short' leg and the 777s are for the painful one. But extra legroom and esp bulkhead seats are a must. If you are a silver freq flyer I think there's a discount on them.

@sniffydog we went for extra leg room but not bulkheads as reviews said they're near toilet/ people walk around in the space but they might mean a different plane. It's a mystery to me!

Thanks I will have a proper look tomorrow.

Also not a frequent flier. First long haul flight.

Bulkhead ones at the very front of economy are the best. The other front rows are all emergency exit which does mean people milling around a bit sometimes.

Thank you very much