Originally Posted by
SNA_Flyer
Note that those Athens flights (and a lot of these other good looking fares) require very long layovers at Doha. That sucks since your only hotel option right now is the Oryx @ 300/night. You can't leave the airport. And you may not even get Al Mourjan access if it's an R fare. Beware of that. Otherwise some potential great deals.
I did ATH-DOH-SEA last week (purchased last time they had the MPMEMBERS fares, in February) and they gave me access to Al Mourjan on an R fare. I am OW Emerald (AA EXP) but my understanding from the QR newbie thread is that the status wasn't necessary for that access, they're just giving it "as a courtesy" since you can't enter Qatar right now. The lounge was really fantastic, but it's still a drag to be stuck there overnight. There are some "quiet rooms" that apparently have something like a real bed; they were full when I was there so I had a pod with a recliner good enough to sleep in, at least for me. My guess is if you book toward the end of the year or early next year they will likely have started allowing entry to Qatar, in which case the stopover is a feature not a bug. If not, then I think it's likely you'll still get Al Mourjan access. But that's really just a guess.
Don't forget these are fully refundable...go get you some.
