Choosing Qatar Airways

During the planning stage of our trip preparation, the time came to choose what airline to use to travel to Nepal.  I had been using the Hopper app to watch for prices from St. Louis and Kansas City to Kathmandu.  The prices had been hovering between $1,000 and $1,100.  So we decided to wait to see if the prices would drop.

When we got within about 6 weeks of our departure time,  we decided that we could not wait much longer.  The prices on Hopper were still about the same so we checked Expedia and other travel sites.  It was there that we saw that the prices for Qatar Airways were lower.  We decided to check their website.  It looked good, and we got a good recommendation from my daughter who we would visit in Nepal.  Prices round trip from Chicago were around $730, but we decided to fly out of St. Louis for about $940.  The idea of driving 6 hours on the way home after a 14 1/2 hour flight was not appealing.

Long Layovers

As with most things, there are trade offs.  With our cheaper price came long layovers.  On the way out, we traveled with American Airlines to Chicago, with a layover of almost 11 hours.  We left Chicago and stopped in Doha, Qatar with another layover of almost 11 hours.  The last leg then took us to Kathmandu, Nepal.  On the way back we had layovers of 12 1/2 hours and 5 hours in Doha and Chicago, respectively.

So What Do You Do?

No one likes rushing from one plane to another.  This is especially true if you have to switch terminals.  But the opposite is also true.   Longer layovers are nice to have after long flights for recovery purposes.  But long layovers can become tiring, too, especially if you don’t have a comfortable place to wait.

In Chicago, our layover (almost 11 hours) was disproportional to our flight (1 1/2 hours) to Chicago.  We considered going into Chicago, but vetoed the idea since we had our carry-on luggage and would have to go through security again.   But, the biggest reason was due to a complication that had arisen. (Read here).  And so we walked around the domestic terminals looking for the famous Billy Goat Tavern.  We found it, and had lunch, but were a bit disappointed.  The airport version is not nearly as much fun as the downtown (original) Chicago version.  We then took our time getting to the international terminal and waited at the gate.

Layover – Doha

The layover in Doha was a stark contrast to what we had experienced in Chicago.  Coming off of a 13 hour flight, this layover was welcomed.  WE needed to walk and stretch, but 11 hours was overkill.  As with all aspects of our trip, we did our research ahead of time.  Looking at websites and videos, we saw that the Doha was very new and modern.  This airport has all the modern conveniences, plenty of restaurants, and even quiet rooms (one for men, one for women) where you can perhaps take a snooze in chairs that recline.

However, sometimes you get lucky.  Naomi, while researching our trip on Pintrest, discovered that if your airline was QATAR Airways and you had a long layover, you were eligible to take a free 3 hour tour into the city, subject to first come, first served availability.  So when we landed, we made our way to the trip desk only to discover that the last tour of the day was full.  However, the agent explained that we could take public transportation into Doha for only $6 per person.

So,  instead of sitting around in a very nice airport, we decided to go into the city for a few hours and do some exploring.  In order to boost tourism, Qatar gives a free short term visa for those who have a long layover in Doha.  As proof to show that this was a layover for us, we had to show our boarding pass for our fight out of Doha.  The two main things that we did in the city were a 30 minute boat ride in the Persian Gulf (just us and our travel mates, Terry & Shelly) and walking around in the market.  This was well worth the time and was of little expense.

Layover – Doha (part 2)

On our way  home, we had a layover in Doha again.  This time it was a 12 1/2 hour layover after only a 4 1/2 hour flight from Kathmandu.  However, what was staring us in the face was a 14 1/2 flight to Chicago.  But not only had Naomi discovered the free 3 hour tour,  she had also discovered that Qatar Airways was willing to put us up in a very nice hotel.  The criteria was the same:  a long layover and using Qatar Airways as our airlines.  So using the airline website, each couple booked a room at the Holiday Villa Hotel and Residence.  We had read that a copy of our marriage license, to prove that we were indeed married, would be required at check-in.

When we arrived in Doha, we made our way to the hotel shuttle and our names were on the list.  Within 15 minutes we were at the hotel and checked in.  Totally free.  And we did not even have to show our marriage licenses.  Their hospitality was superb.  We were treated not any different than any paying customer.  After hot showers, we settled down to a good night’s rest getting us ready for the upcoming long flight.  This made the flight cost even more reasonable.

Qatar Airways – Review

Looking back, we’d have to say that our experience with Qatar Airways was a good one.  They had great hospitality, both on the airline and at the Doha airport.  The tour and the hotel stay were fabulous benefits.  Beside the one complication that we had, we had only two complaints.

We booked the flights with Qatar Airways, but since they did not fly out of St. Louis, Qatar used American Airlines to get us to Chicago.  In determining the luggage rules, we used the rules for American, one carry-on and one personal item per person.  However, prior to boarding in Chicago, those who had come on connecting flights were asked to report to the gate desk.  There we discovered that the carry-on luggage rules were more restrictive than American’s.  Because of a full flight, they were not allowing a carry-on and personal item and the luggage weights were much less.  For these reasons, we had to check in our carry-on bag.  We had packed based upon American’s rules and now we would no longer have access to that luggage until reaching Kathmandu.  Fortunately, we only had previously checked one bag each, so no charge was accessed.

Our second complaint happened at the Doha airport on our return home.  When we came from the hotel in Doha, we had to go through security.  However, when we made our way  to the gate, we had to go through more security there.  Just prior to going to the gate, we had bought 2 bottles of water to carry on to the plane.  This unopened water had to be discarded while going through the gate check.  Needless to say, we were annoyed about not knowing that prior to purchasing the water.

Traveling, especially to foreign countries, we have learned to be flexible.  Once again that lesson was evident.  Things are not always as we expect and things often change.  When you know that and accept it, these things just become part of the adventure and give you more stories to tell!

Overall, our experience with Qatar Airways was good and we would definitely fly with them again.