tkelvin69

I guess QR 720 SEA-DOH doesn’t exist?

florin

The Al Safwa Fist Class lounge is closed now; it may or may not be open when you travel. Either way, 8 hours in ANY lounge is too much. A 2 hour layover is reasonable; enough to stretch your legs and get onto the next flight. You may have time for a quick peak at the Al Mourjan lounge, but you probably won't have time to chill and relax... which you will do on your flights anyway.

estnet

I disagree - as an older person myself I value a long layover - as long as it is comfortable - even more so now. Here's why - after a 15 hour flight even with the ability to have the 2 seats to myself the narrow sleeping area, while lovely, did not make a comfortable rest -too many metal dividers, etc. The single seat on my next flight even more so - WAY better than economy but still.....
In addition I used to walk around on the plane for a bit of exercise and to prevent DVT - not now, though. So the chance to walk and move my body in an unrestricted manner before another flight is valuable to me.
I arrived about 5pm and the lounge was relatively empty - I was notified that later in my 8 hour layover it would get busy - didn't notice much b/c I was in the rest area until a group of ?athletes from Botswana arrived speaking loudly and generally ignoring that people were resting/sleeping. I was leaving anyway but I felt sorry for the others trying to sleep. There were HUGE other areas where they could have gone and talked without it being disruptive - but that is a one time observation. Since the normal business lounge is the only one open at present how the situation plays out regarding lounges isn't to be known at the present.

david55

I appreciate the reminders that we are in pandemic and life ( and travel) may be still very different than what I remember or read from other's experiences next spring.

CALMSP

Generally whenever heading to Greece, I want to be on the islands as quickly as possible! The downside I'd say is the time of night you would get to ATH after a layover in DOH. There certainly is no downside flying the Qsuite, even though you'll spend 7 hours overflying!

SFO777

Another vote for QR and the extra 4 hours. No way do you want to put up with 4 hours in a BA/AF Economy seat on the 2nd leg to ATH.

FlyingFrZ

I should also mention that if you've never flown Qatar before, I'd definitely try it at least once. They are a real treat to fly with.

david55

We always chill in Athens for a few days before heading out. We actually like Athens. By stopping in DOH for the night we will arrive in Athens in the morning at around noon ( current schedule) instead of 11PM if we had kept going with a minimal layover.

As mentioned earlier.... I am 65, my husband 77 and 19 hours of flying plus 2 hours in transit is just way too much for our aging bodies straight through....besides... we are in no rush.

CALMSP

how are you stopping in DOH for the night? Are you staying in the airport transit hotel?

david55

That would be the plan.... unless paying up for the First class lounge and getting a private room for 6 hours would be a better situation.

enelym1978

Just to know that you'll be sitting in an economy seat for the 2nd leg of your trip there is enough to make me chose QR instead. Business class on European carriers are a joke, I would never pay premium for that, unless I needed something to reach a next tier.
For the return flight, 8h is a long time, but 2h is quite short.... tough decision I would say. But what would you be doing in Athens anyway? You'd need to be out of your hotel by 4PM anyway if you had status, or you'd have to book an extra night to be able to stay until your flight at 1AM...