nerdbirdsjc

People who like reliability in timetables and seating experience, neither of which QR will offer in abundance anytime soon?

Dave Noble

How nany passengers departing that airport in business class , who are travelling on an airline that is a member of OneWorld do you see getting turned away?

QR limits its London and Qatar lounges only to those in 1st or Business. I haven't had any issue accessing a QR lounge when meeting the requirements for admission - I have seen economy class passengers, trying to gain admission via status, being turned away from its lounges

ISTFlyer

To be honest, it's the best timing that AA could have in terms of connections. There are a lot of QR flights from Iran, Iraq, Indian peninsula, Middle East, etc... arriving around midnight and I guess AA are targeting transfer passengers rather than O<->D ones here. I would also not account the AA Eagle regional departure bank out of JFK during the morning which perfectly fits the arrival of this flight.

Also departing at 0140 means dinner after takeoff and sleeping at 0400-0500 Doha local ( 2100-2200 NY local ) waking up at breakfast time NY local which I would prefer to avoid being jet lagged. When I fly through DOH to the USA with QR, I always prefer departing DOH at that time slot to maximize sleep onboard ( both in Y and premium cabins ).

Antarius

If AA sends the 772, then it doesn't offer reliable seating either. If they send the 77W, then yes.

​​​​​​QR wins on the soft product for sure. But IMO, the Q suites are overrated with their horrible footwell. I'd take their old 2-2-2 J or AA's 77W seats any day.

platbrownguy

This -- although I am like OP in that I enjoy the flying itself, even AA J... I've done MRs to HKG and ICN in AA J and loved them. Worst case you get a crAApy crew but the hard product and being catapulted through the air across the globe and back are still pretty great.

I honestly don't know what to do with all my potential SWUs -- I have until December to "choose" all my choice rewards from requal/80/120/160/200k EQM last year and may end up doing the AC membership instead of SWUs for the one where that's an option. If I had nothing better to do with a pair of SWUs, I might do the DOH run too, just because. Probably rather wait until masks are gone on it though. JFK-LAX FF would be a great idea IF they ever open up FFD in LAX.

carlosdca

But then why DOH? If distance is completely irrelevant with new system?
There are a lot more interesting destinations from JFK.
Europe? Bs Aires?

metallo

I'm the same boat with last year's rewards -- no need for SWUs currently, so I actually cashed one of them in for the miles (40k, if I'm remembering correctly), and I may do the same for the other rewards (but have until the end of 2022 to decide).

As much as I enjoy flying, I don't think I could ever see myself doing a trip like this just to burn SWUs.

SFO_FT

It’s possible to convert earned SWUs into miles?

Antarius

There is a spectrum of how crazy us FTers are

I did DEN-LAX-HKG-DFW-IAH once. Half the price of DEN-IAH and way more fun.

metallo

No, unfortunately. I meant that I cashed in one of my choice rewards for miles instead of SWUs (anecdotally, most people seem to take the SWUs). There is no way to convert SWUs directly into miles.

brewdog11

Booked the quick turn! Interested to see how it goes. SWUs are waitlisted but J availability is fairly open.

I enjoy long flights (long as in 12+ hours) in the forward cabin. Plus I only have three days off, so it precludes me from taking the SA flights given they’re arrival is +1 day on the return. Plus I feel like I’m getting better value out of a flight to DOH vs EZE/GRU/LHR/etc

Long Train Runnin

So I transited DOH the other night. Since I arrived from FRA we came in "clean" and didn't get routed to transit security. Since the transit desk I used in the past was before transit security I honestly don't know how I would have gotten a BP. I guess since you are already right at the gates you could talk to the GA and get a BP that way.

DOH was a total zoo FWIW I think that was my ~10th transit there and my first since COVID and I have never seen it so busy. The line to get into the OneWorld elite lounges was so long I didn't even bother.

ryanbriar

Similar experience coming in from Heathrow around 11:30 pm on Friday. Fortunately no transit security and the airport was packed with the midnight to 1 am departures. Inbound arrivals from the US may require security (at least that was the case last year).

ISTFlyer

It's totally random that an arrival from the US would require or not require security. I had random experiences resulting in both occasions since the pandemic with no pattern.

sdix

Pretty sure AA will end this flight after the World Cup. Who in their right mind would pick AA over a ME3 carrier in F or J?