samwkchan

My flight is from Malé to Doha on Qatar Airways and then from Doha to New York (JFK) on American Airlines on the same ticket.

My flight will arrive at Doha at 1:40am. The layover at Doha was originally 23 hours, but a schedule change of flights extended the layover to 25 hours.

I want to enter Doha on the day of long layover. Must I and can I pick up my checked bags at Doha? If I have to pick them up, can I check them right away when I arrive at Doha (which is about 23 to 24 hours before the take off time of my upcoming flight)?

Penguinmoon

If you are on one ticket, QR will check your luggage through to final destination. They absolutely refuse to short check for long transfer in Doha.

samwkchan

So I cannot grab my checked bags at DOH at all?

That’s good to know in advance. I will prepare my hand carry bags to have one day of clothes. Thanks!

mcgahat

Yep, as mentioned, they will absolutely refuse to short check the bags even on a very long stopover like yours. We didn't anticipate this once and were scrambling at check-in to pull together an overnight bag.

stephenjc

Are you absolutely sure about this?
I thought anything over 24 hours and QR wouldn't through check the luggage to the final destination.
I have a 26 hour layover in January due to flight cancellations and changes so need to know too so we can plan for this.

plunet

I also assume that a connection that exceeds 24hrs will be a no go for luggage to be checked through, I seem the remember it's a hard limit. Whether you can clear immigration, collect your bags, and just head round to check-in and redeposit them provided you're now within 24 hours I am not certain. I would expect some flexibility as it's their main hub, but can only find a reference to permitting early check in of baggage up to 12 hours early.

This would be a really good example where if your experience can be shared post travel would be valuable for the forum.

Schwann

But if the flight is AA operated I'm not sure if OP will be able to check in their bag until the AA desks open?

I agree that a 25 hour layover would mean the bags are not checked through.

plunet

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Ah yes, AA operated. That would definitely be an issue for early check in. OP needs to either plan to take their bags, or try and get their flights rescheduled.

mcgahat

For those of you quoting the 24 hard limit, that is what I thought also. Which is why we were found scrambling at check-in. The agent said if it is considering a connection on the booking versus a stop then that is what makes the difference. I would plan for both circumstances.

Penguinmoon

One agent explained to me it's the fare construction on the ticket that limits their ability to check in to stop in Doha vs. through to final destination. If one enters Doha, it triggers different taxes. (Why you can vs your luggage I don't understand). Just went through this last month on UL MLE-CMB-CGK.

clsdn

I can confirm: regardless of layover duration, QR will systematically check your luggage through to final destination, even if > 24 hours (they have a long transit tag to identify these luggages).

I noticed this policy is really enforced strongly lately.... You will really struggle & most likely be unsuccessful if you have a single booking/one PNR and to have you bag tagged to DOH when your journey continues beyond.

longtin23

Seems that if you buy a ticket with stopover under multi-city, you will get away with it. I have asked the online agent for my multi-city one way booking and he confirms I can get my bag in Doha.

plunet

The generic rule is if transit is less than 24hrs then bags HAVE to be checked through, if more than 24hrs then they will not be checked through. There's usually a clause in the detail of fare rules saying that bags will not be released on transits of less than 24hrs.

stephenjc

As I said in my previous post, I don't mind if we have to check our luggage all the way through to AKL, we have bike boxes and it would be way easier to do that, than it would to have to collect them for our 26 hour layover in DOH.
This is not a multi-city booking.
We were meant to be in DOH for 2 hours, but the Tuesday flight to AKL was cancelled. The Wednesday flight from EDI arrives into DOH after the AKL flight leaves, so we had to keep the original Tuesday flight to DOH and take the Wednesday AKL flight, hence the 26 hour layover.
I have booked a hotel in the city so we can do little sightseeing.
If it's 100% confirmed the agent at EDI will check the bags to AKL, we'll take a cabin bag for 1 night in Doha and that'll make things so much easier for us.

brunos

I have no experience of that situation. Even if someone has, it might not extend to all outstations/agents/cases.
But I would advise that you pack a cabin bag for the night.
Your ticket is a through ticket, so they are likely to be required to check bag through. Whether it is a 20h or 26h transit, they will send the bags to a holding area anyway.
You might request to get your bags in DOH and they might (or not) obliged, but it and it will be big hassle. You won't be able to check them 24h early on AA, so will have to carry them during the day.

Another suggestion is to take advantage of the schedule change to ask for a change of flight allowing for a shorter transit in DOH. It seems that you want to do a stopover in DOH, but is it really worth it?