Qatar Airways

Passengers may select seats at the end of the booking process or at check-in. Requests for a seat assignment can be made anytime up to 24 hours before take-off. This is subject to availability and will be confirmed at check-in. It's not possible to change a seat assignment via qatarairways.com.

Amendments and cancellations depend on the fare class. In general, the cheaper the fare the greater the restrictions. The airline recommends calling the local Qatar Airways office to amend a booking.

There is no need to purchase a seat for babies under two years. On a flight from the UK to Doha, for example, infants fly for about 10 per cent of the adult fare and children (aged 2-11) pay about 80 per cent of the adult fare.

Qatar Airways does not offer discounts for older travellers.

Only guide dogs (in any cabin) and falcons (in Economy Class) are permitted on some routes. These are Doha-US and vice versa, direct flights connecting at Doha (Bombay-Doha-Houston for example) including Qatar Airways and United Airlines codeshare flights. Animals may also travel in the passenger cabin on flights between the US and Doha which connect at airports in the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean South and Central America. All other animals need to be checked in at Qatar Airways Cargo Terminal (qatarairwayscargo.com).

Qatar Airways transports musical instruments and asks that they are packed properly and able to "withstand normal handling". Normal excess charges apply. Large instruments may be carried in the cabin, in a separate seat. Instruments weighing more than 75kg will be carried on two seats, those weighing more than 150kg on three seats. Passengers intending to bring a musical instrument are asked to contact their local reservations office.

In a word, superb. Economy-Class passengers will enjoy a wide variety of international menus from Europe, India, Middle and Far East with complimentary beverages. Business-Class flyers will be served six-course meals, and First-Class passengers can enjoy a ten-course meal. The in-flight entertainment is top-notch too. A personal TV screen offers 900 options to while away the flight with movies, music, video games and documentaries. Laptops can be plugged into the in-seat power point, creating a virtual work station.

The Privilege Club has three levels: gold, silver and burgundy. Each flight earns Qpoints that can be redeemed for flights on Qatar Airways and its airline partners (All Nippon Airways, Asiana, Kingfisher Airlines, bmi and Lufthansa). Qmiles can also be earned via Qatar Airways' hotel (Aloft and Conrad), car rental (Budget and Hertz) and financial (American Express and Deutsche Bank) and travel partners (such as Columbus Travel Insurance).

Read reviews and see photographs of Qatar Airways meals taken by fellow flyers at AirlineMeals.net.

Oryx is the name of Qatar Airways' in-flight magazine. It can be read online.

Qatar Airways has codeshare agreements with several carriers including All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, BMI, JetBlue, Lufthansa and United Airlines but is not yet a member of any airline alliance.

Qatar Airways is a much-garlanded airline (Airline of the Year and Best Middle East Airline at the Skytrax World Airline Awards in 2011). The national airline of Qatar, it describes itself as "five-star". Qatar Airways has been flying since 1994 and has become one of the fastest-growing carriers in the world with one of the youngest fleets of any flag carrier - an average age of four.

It has a hub in Doha, capital of Qatar, and has a global network of 100 destinations, covering Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Its rate of growth has been speedy - ten new destinations from Doha in 2010 (Bangalore, Tokyo, Ankara, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Phuket, Hanoi and Nice) and seven in 2011 to date (Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Stuttgart, Venice, Aleppo, Shiraz and Montreal).

To get the most out of Qatar Airways splash out on Business or First Class. The carrier operates the only dedicated commercial passenger terminal exclusively for its high-spending passengers at Doha International Airport.