Qatar Airways.(Flight check: Doha-Rome)

Departures: It's a surprisingly slow check-in at a quiet Doha International Airport; let's put it down to inaugural-flight flutters, they'll have to be a lot quicker than this on a normal day-to-day.

Lounge: As we enter the airline's business class lounge, a uniformed lady promptly ushers out to first class opposite which, although offering a panoramic view of the runway, isn't really kitted out for working (the business lounge is ironically a better option with three terminals and printer). The airline's Skynewspapers service offers a range of digitally printed daily titles from around the world. I catch up with the UK's Guardian and nibble on some sushi and …