Originally Posted by
mahg33ta
Thank you for the feedback. I know nothing about Qatar, Airlink, JNB, or anything else. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. So it's very helpful to hear advice from someone who knows what he or she is talking about.
Do you agree with the travel agent's theory that 90 mins with no bags should be ok, if I come up with a plan that I am sure is checking bags through to VFA? I realize flights can be delayed and there's always a chance things get fouled up, but if I don't need to do customs or immigration, I just need to walk from one gate to the next, correct?
We are a bit constrained on times and have to leave on a certain day, but current plan is leaving 10 pm local time. My holdup is that I have 2 qsuites booked on BOS - DOH and that is clouding my thinking. We could leave early am that day on a different itinerary and get to JNB by the night before, giving us an overnight before catching the flight to VFA. But, I am a calculating finance guy too !
Another thought is to book a DOH - JNB - VFA paid economy on a single ticket and keep my BOS - DOH award ticket. Surely the boston checkin attendant would check our bags through to VFA in that scenario? What else could they do? Your point that I could still hunt for avios upgrades is a great one.
Did your TA say no bags or checked through? On a single ticket they have to check your bags through. There’s no option, and that completely changes the transfer process. If you have no checked bags or your bags are checked through, then you can use international transfers. That avoids immigration (there’s a superficial immigration check, but it’s cursory and quick), and if you have boarding passes you simple walk into international departures. In that scenario, 90 mins is sufficient.
But after all is said and done, if you’re on separate tickets and the BOS agent(s) refuse(s) to check your bags through, I think it’s unlikely you can do it in 90 mins without luck.