G-BOAA

Could I please have some opinions on this. I am thinking of booking 2 separate flights on separate airlines.

Arriving in Doha on Qatar Airways with hold luggage and then having to checkin for an Etihad flight that leaves 4 hrs 15 minutes later?
Is this likely to be ok?

How long would it typically take to do this in Doha, and would I go through arrivals or flight connections?

David_DLI

That sounds like a lot of time!

Typically you will arrive to the transfer area, and then will be directed through security into the terminal. Sometimes they allow passengers skip security and they are directed to the terminal straight out of the plane.

remdk

G-BOAA there is no need to go through immigration, customs, check-in etc. Just go to the transfer desk between security and arrivals when you arrive and let them check you in for your next flight and retrieve your luggage and re-label it to your final destination. Then go through security into the departure area. I am told it takes about 15 minutes.
This is also covered by the 'About DOH airport' widget on the dashboard.

Firipu

Its a small sample size, but out of the 6 Qatar flights that I have taken in the last 6 months, all have been on time or early! I think its a combination of extra padding in the scheduled flight times and early boarding times (typically one hour before departure)

So 4 hours should be enough time, especially if you happen to land outside the busy periods.

G-BOAA

Thank you all for your informative replies.

brunos

I don't know when your flights are and the origin.
One risk you have is that QR will reschedule the first flight and that the new schedule give you less time.

Safc0615

On this note about connection times, I have an 8 hour connection inbound from CPT in J and back out to BRU in J, any advice on what to do with my 8 hours in the highly rated business Lounge in DOH ??

zsc

Eat, drink, get some work done (WiFi can be slow sometimes during peak hours though), take a hot refreshing shower, explore the airport; lots of things to do in All Mourjan.

Or you could get a transit visa and explore Doha.

plunet

If the transit visa is of interest this thread where I pondered the question and wrote up my experience might be useful to review

Http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar-airways-privilege-club/1801917-qr-free-transit-visa-diy-doha-night-tour.html
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Global321

Flying...
Ticket #1 QR BOS-DOH-CGK, 1-hour connection in DOH
Ticket #2 MH CGK-KUL-BKK

BOS-DOH scheduled arrival at 5:35pm
DOH-CGK scheduled departure at 6:30pm

Looking at the last few weeks, arrival times are 5:36,6:15,5:29,5:24,5:59,5:55,7:06,6:14,5:34,5:44, 5:53,5:41

Question #1 - Do flights from the USA go through transit security?
Question #2 - Does QR provide any ground services to speed through?
Question #3 - How late can the inbound run and still make the outbound (assuming the outbound is on time)
Question #4 - Will QR proactively put us on one of the DOH-BKK non-stops if BOS-DOH is running late?
Question #5 - If the BOS-DOH is running late, any chance the QR folks will be able to rebook us on the DOH-BKK?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated. FWIW - We are both OW Emerald flying Business Class on all legs

Thanks in advance to the QR/DOH experts!

clubeurope

1. More often than not, yes
2. If your connection is very tight, a QR ground staff will assist you to your connecting flight.
3. 45 minutes is the minimum connection time in DOH
4. Assuming your reservations are on separate tickets, no.

Global321

Thanks.
#4 - We will be checking bags all the way through to BKK. (QR will do this, even on separate tickets.) Do you think that changes things?

Any thoughts on #5 ? If we miss our connection in DOH will it be tough to convince them to just route us to BKK on one of the many QR non-stops? (We have a dinner meeting in BKK on Thursday night. No other MH flights will get us there on time.)

Thanks again.

LondonElite

plunet

5. Has been experienced by travellers on QR previously as a form of service recovery. However I think I have only heard it once or twice on the forum. If the worst happens then whilst it will not hurt to ask, set your expectations to fully expect a No, and be prepared with a suitable insurance strategy for the onward flight CGK to BKK.

Also, assuming this is a return flight, if you manage to roll the dice and get rerouted to BKK you then need to ensure that your return flight tickets are protected. Depending how the reroute is done in ticketing can cause complications for the return.

Note that QR ground staff are unusually inflexible and don't typically offer great customer service in the face of IROPS.

Good luck and please report back on what happens.
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Global321

Thanks for the advice. I am hoping - if the worst happens - all being OW and being Emerald - they will help us out.
I will report back.