65 minute connection time at DOH - problem?
 

A colleague of mine has a 65 minute connection time at DOH (15:30-16:35 on a Friday) and is slightly worried about it. Given the bussing that goes on there it looks a bit tight. Both flights arrive/depart from the same terminal and are with QR (sorry, this is probably OT but it seems that quite a few people on this board travel through a fair bit). Incoming flight is from BAH, connecting onto one to LHR. He will be in Y.

Does anyone know how realistic that is? Our TA said it would be fine but I'm not so sure, so I thought I would come to the real experts!

My dad has the same :) He is one the new One Business LHR - DOH and then onto KL. around 65 minutes as well, he spoke to them and they assured it is fine, we will see :)

DOH MCT is 45 minutes. I'll post the web-link in a minute.

Here you go:

http://qatarairways.zendesk.com/entr...ecting-flight-

I'm hoping to try that service in September! I hope all works out for him.

Thanks, Phil. Do you have any experience of this yourself, and is the MCT quoted by QR reliable? I'm assuming it is.

Well the Travel Agent could not have booked connecting flights outside of the minimum connecting time set by the airport and airline, and based on a very high probability they will make it with no issues whatsoever, so you're being a bit harsh!

But if you want first hand experience, i've managed a 50 minute connection with 2 children, 1 in buggy, Y to Y with no issues. With 90% of passengers connecting, and mostly QR to QR, it is a finely oiled machine. Yes the bussing is crazy, 15 minutes to the terminal, a walk upstairs, and then 15 minutes ending up next to the plane you just left can be frustrating, but there were no issues. Every flight i've taken from Doha has left 15-20 minutes late - it seems to build in time, and colleagues have been on planes (to Bangkok) delayed an hour as so many people on were coming from Germany (holiday routes they often will for UK / German flights).

You even get priority boarding passes with lots of people employed to look out for you and push you in the right direction in the terminal.

Of course by the time your colleague flies (this Friday or another?) QR could have moved into their shiny new terminal with airbridges and everything.

To be honest, I wouldn't want anymore time than 65 minutes in the old terminal in Y.

Is your friend's trip this Friday (23 May 2014)? I only ask as this is the last Friday of QR operations before moving to the new airport (from 27 May 2014) where, hopefully, there will be considerably less bussing.

I hate tight connections at the best of times, and try to avoid them at all costs. At DOH my connections tend to be measured in hours, rather than minutes: I've even had a private bed for the night in the Premium Terminal F section - very civilised.

Thanks! We've had a few problems with our TA and I'm responsible for this colleague. He has asked me to change the flight as he's worried. I'm reluctant to do so, given the change fees, so I really just wanted some first hand experience from people here to make sure that the information is reliable.

Oh god no - don't change!

If I had the choice of 55 minutes or 65 minutes, i'd take 55 minutes every time.

Well oiled machine etc...! Experience is that if there is a delay with QR (rare), it's measured in hours rather than minutes, so would buckle the longest connections.

If they were in J and had access to premium terminal, they may have reason to expand their time there!

Ahem!!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...5-minutes.html

Sorry - is that not allowed? Didn't mean to commit an FT faux pas!

Since I almost always fly BA, I have never really had any reason to post on another forum. Apologies for causing confusion and breaking FT rules. I won’t do it again!

With the old terminal, once you arrived at the transit terminal, they have the line at the left for those with short time frames for connections, so unless overly congested, you should get through security within 0-10 minutes. The gates do close 20 minutes before (and sometimes even a little earlier), so do be at the gate early, even though all you will do is scan your boarding card and go down the stairs to the cramped area and wait for the bus.

For the new terminal, with the jet bridges, you should be fine.