cagcag

Hello. 4 of us (no Oneworld status) are looking into QR for AADVANTAGE award tickets from SAW to either DPS or CEB. Both itineraries will entail forced overnight stays in DOH. Does QR offer free or low cost accommodations in DOH?

THANKS

ISTFlyer

The State of Qatar is closed to most foreigners, thus it wouldn't be possible to enter the State of Qatar at this time. That's why the STPC ( free stopover hotel ) program and the Discover Qatar ( discounted stopovers in Qatar ) services are currently suspended.

An AAdvantage ticket in Business would grant you access into the QR Al Mourjan Lounge where you could benefit from free sleeping cubicles ( private sleeper sofas ) or otherwise, you could pay for the Oryx Airport Hotel on your own expense.

If you are looking to fly this itinerary in 2022, I would suggest that you ask this question at a future date as things might change by then.

cagcag

[QUOTE=ISTFlyer;33253548]The State of Qatar is closed to most foreigners, thus it wouldn't be possible to enter the State of Qatar at this time. That's why the STPC ( free stopover hotel ) program and the Discover Qatar ( discounted stopovers in Qatar ) services are currently suspended.

An AAdvantage ticket in Business would grant you access into the QR Al Mourjan Lounge where you could benefit from free sleeping cubicles ( private sleeper sofas ) or otherwise, you could pay for the Oryx Airport Hotel on your own expense.

If you are looking to fly this itinerary in 2022, I would suggest that you ask this question at a future date as things might change by then.[/QUOTE THANKS ISTFLYER. This would be for travel ideally in March 2022. Was the STPC offering accommodations pre-pandemic?

cagcag

[QUOTE=cagcag;33253623]

bszeto

Hi,

I'm looking at potentially booking a RT HKG-DOH-JFK itinerary in biz in July but have couple questions

- As an AA EXP (OWE), does that mean I have 3 x 32KG check-in baggage allowance if I fly biz?
- Does QR still offer transit accommodations for layovers over 8 hours? I believe the minimum transfer time from HKG->DOH->JFK is over 8 hours

Thanks

realgaga

1. Yes
2. No until further notice, due to Covid-19 restrictions for entry into the State of Qatar.

ISTFlyer

QR provided a hotel room for free if the shortest connection to your final destination is less more than 8 hours.
For your case to CEB, there is a combination QR242 -> QR924 and for DPS there is a combination QR242 -> QR962 that is significantly less than 8 hours.
So, in your case, the STPC hotel wouldn't work if you intentionally choose a longer layover. No AA award availability on shorter connections would not help in this case.

The Discover Qatar program offered discounted city hotels ( about $25-40 per night ) and transportation to/from the hotel was on your own expense. However, discounted Discover Qatar programs are currently not bookable.

Also be aware that multiple schedule changes could happen until March 2022.

cagcag

atourgates

Looking at a SFO -> DOH -> CPT R/T flight in early 2022, in business, for our family that includes a few kids. Some newbie questions:

• Is there any sense in even paying attention to the aircraft showing on the tickets right now? I'm assuming there's good chance equipment will change between now and then. Right now Google Flights is showing QSuites from SFO to DOH, but standard business class from DOH to CPT. It's too far out to get info from Expert Flyer.
• We have the option of doing either a ~3-hour or 14-hour layover on the way out, and a 1h30m layover or a 9h layover on the return. I know I'm asking for guesses about the future, but assuming that the world is in a better-off-place with COVID by then, do we think it's likely that Qatar will re-institute a discounted stopover program? Under the current restrictions, do visitors have access to the Oryx hotel, as a "backup" in case we were to book the longer layovers but somehow be unable to leave the airport?
• Related - any experiences with Discover Qatar trying to get connecting rooms for larger groups?
• Any experiences flying Qatar business with children? Our kids are happy, polite flyers, used to behaving properly in adult environments. We've done a few (pre-COVID) J-cabin mileage redemptions to Europe with them on BA, VS, KLM and FI, but just wondering what the experience is like on Qatar.
• Finally - to reserve a 4-person grouping on the QSuite segments, can I just book the flight normally through AMEX's portal, and then call the airline to ask them to release those for us, or is important to reserve those at booking?

SamirD

• My equipment changed several times on my DOH onward segment, but the SFO-DOH stayed the same and was qsuite. This was for a reservation in Jan that was flown in Apr.
• This one is a tough guess. I think once any place is open, they want as much foot traffic as possible so this program will be back in full effect (and probably encouraged) once things open up. The hard part is to predict if things will open up by then.
• No experience
• I saw several well-behaved children in the qsuites, some with their wall up and door just open. I think if they are used to J, they will enjoy the qsuite and perhaps even the individual privacy if they enjoy alone time.
• No experience

bszeto

thanks. What's the best option currently available if my goal is to catch a few hours of sleep during the layover? Is the transit hotel pricey? Are there good sleeping options within one of the available lounges?

CPH-Flyer

Cape Town was 787-8 before the pandemic, so I would say there is probably not that good a chance of it getting up gauged to something that fits a Q Suite.

If you are 4 in one booking, you can just call QR to get a quad assigned. Provided AMEX does not book you in to a Classic fare, then you'd have to pay or have the appropriate status for seat assignments.

SamirD

In addition to the lounge options, there is a 'sleeping room' full of chairs at the airport that wasn't bad when I used it a few years ago.

atourgates

One more related question: does it matter if we book our trip as a standard round trip, or a multi-city trip?

To be more specific, using Amex's system, I have more options for layover and departure times if I book a multi-city itinerary with a SFO -> DOH leg, a DOH -> CPT leg, a CPT -> DOH leg and a DOH -> SFO leg.

To be clear, this is still a single itinerary booked together, but just booked as 4-individual legs instead of a R/T SFO -> CPT ticket.

In the pre-pandemic days, would booking individual segments have made a difference on the availability of discounted hotel stays in Doha? Aka, am I like to affect our eligibility for that program by booking a multi-leg trip if that program is reinstated by 2022?

plunet

In summary, no.

The only significant difference is that if your layover exceeds 24hrs then it does not count as a transit, it assumes you will be leaving the airport, and therefore you need to be admissible into Qatar and the borders need to be open, have the necessary paperwork, etc. Also when you exceed 24hrs layover your luggage will not be checked through and you have collect and recheck at Doha. Conversely less then 24hrs, you need to have everything you need for your Doha stay in hand luggage as you will not usually be permitted to short check.

I think for the +Qatar you needed a layover of at least 12 hours (my memory might be playing tricks on me) and therefore in the original promo destructions published by Qatar it even stated that you had to book as a multicity to be eligible for +Qatar. In reality it didn't matter so long as your transit time exceeded the necessary 12 hours to qualify for the promo.