Source: @qatarairways
I have never flown with Qatar Airways before, or even yet since my flight hasn’t actually happened yet, but any company that has me dancing around my kitchen and jumping up and down in excitement must be a good one.
Let me tell you about my dilemma.
I’m climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with 4 other friends and once we finish the climb, they are headed off to Zanzibar for a few days while I am heading back to Naples Italy and work.
Looking at the tickets back the cheapest flights were with Qatar Airways with one stop in Doha Qatar. My perfect flight would arrive in Doha at 1800 and then I would catch a plane to Rome at 0200 arriving at 0600. Booked it on the spot. A couple of days later I needed the information for the flight and when I went and checked, I had made a big error.
Instead of leaving at 0200 that morning, my flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 1400 the next day. I would be in Doha for 18 hours and would have absolutely nothing to do!
I mean how much would it cost to get a visa to enter the country, a hotel for the night, and the transport to and from the airport to do all that?!
I immediately checked the American Express list of Airport Lounges and nope, no lounges located in Doha.
What now?
Trying to call the booking agency I looked up the difference of price in flights between the one leaving at 0200 and 1400. There was no difference, maybe they could just change it for me and that would be that.
Then again, what was I thinking, in what world has there ever been a forgiving airline, even for a small mistake? N.E.V.E.R. When I called the booking agency, they told me it would cost $290.00 just to change the flight, even though it was the same exact price as my other one online.
After scouring the internet for anything that could help my situation, I saw this post from 2006 about a layover service that Qatar airways provides for travelers in transit that have a layover for longer than 8 hours. It was called STPC. This service is specific to Doha Airport.
Apparently they always have rooms blocked out at certain hotels for just this reason, and although its not advertised, all you have to do is call the Qatar help desk and ask for it! They’ll sign you up even if you booked through another booking agency. Although if you are within 3 days of the flight you may or may not be able to get the stop over service, so remember to call in advance if you can.
Which is precisely what I did. Living in Italy, I waited until it was “during working hours” for the U.S. Qatar Airways help desk and I called and asked about this layover service, if it even still existed.
The woman was very pleasant, helped me in answering all my questions, and within 10 minutes I received a confirmation email that included the entry visa, shuttle service to and from the airport, one night at the hotel, and a free dinner voucher for the hotel during my stay! Wow! I was so excited I couldn’t even sit down while I was finishing the conversation. Once getting off the phone I was doing loop de loo’s around the kitchen.
Wbat’s even better news is you don’t even have to worry about picking up all of your luggage and taking it back the next day. You only take your carry on with you, which means you will have to plan ahead a little but that’s just schematics. All of the information for this stopover service is located here on Qatar Airways official website.
Also make sure to check the listing, because if you are flying from any of these airports to Doha, Abu Dhabi (AUH), Bahrain (BAH), Dubai (DWC), Dubai (DXB), Kuwait (KWI), Muscat (MCT), and Sharjah (SHJ), then you are not eligible for the stop over service.
Qatar airways, I haven’t flown with you yet, but I’m excited to! Thanks for all the help!
This article appeared first on Dynamic Soarer.
28 Comments
You will need 7 working days to obtain a visa if you cannot get a visa on arrival and this service seems to be restricted to all economy class tickets but one (F). I would recommend Emirates over Qatar, because Dubai is a more tourist friendly place and getting a visa is a 2-3 day process (with very few refusals). Emirates offers complimentary Dubai connect (hotel, shuttle and meal vouchers) to passengers with layovers 9 hours or more.
Hi, I bought tkts in Qatar Airways from Buenos Aires to Mumbai with a stop over in Doha for 22hs. We are traveling in Business class and just with a 10 minutes phone call the company made free arrangements for Hotel, Transfers, Visa and Meals.
I think that the term "no shorter connection" is the one that is a litlle confuseing. From Buenos Aires to Mumbai there is no other option than stay for 22hs in Doha, that is the real meaning of this term.
Also the tkt fare is an issue, probably the business class has priority over the economy one.
Hope this help everyone!
FYI from another site - my experience was similar but with me it seems they'd overbooked the rooms (our flight arrived very late 2 am)
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My experience with Qatar airlines was not so pleasant and smooth. I flew Business Class and was denied accommodations basically because I purchased my flight with Avios from their "Partner" British Airways who they referred to as their "competitor". I assume that had I purchased my ticket from Qatar Airways for cash I would have had the Royal treatment for this fare level."
I also didn't know anything about this either. I hope that your information will help other travellers as they stop through this site before booking with Qatar Airways so they have a heads up.
Beware: Qatar Airways provide this at their discretion - they can and do cancel it after they confirm you have it (I speak from personal experience), and there is a chance (how big I don't know) that you'll be refused temporary entry into Qatar by their immigration authorities.
Wow. I hadn't heard anything about that. Thanks for the heads up. Of course I can understand them denying access at immigration but confirming that you are able to have the layover and then revoking it, that's not cool.
We were not that lucky - sitting in Doha airport and had a rather rude Qatar help desk lady tell us we can't even get s meal voucher since we were on the early flight from BKK and thus don't qualify . 9 hours layover and there's hardly a place to have a peaceful nap - I see everyone here freezing as they have the aircon on full with temp outside st 13 degrees Celsius - I won't fly Qatar again - emirates give you a meal voucher at least but Dubai airport is a worse airport for a layover
I also flew with Qatar airways and i was on transit for more than 8hours...My surprise when the friendly customer service organized everything for me, from visa to the hotel where i was to rest to the bust shuttle to take me there :-) :-) Kudos Qatar airways...you know how to treat customer like king :-)...I will be traveling again this December and am definitely booking with Qatar airways
The free STPC service is only for Business, First Class and Economy tickets marked (N) or above.
If you are economy is marked (O) or (T) then it's $125. If your economy is paid for with AA miles, it's NOT available.
The flights also cannot have originated or be terminating in another Gulf country
AND
There should NOT be ANY flights to the same destination in the 8 hrs following your arrival at Doha.
If you are stuck in Doha without STPC and you hold a passport from a country not eligible for VOA, your only option is the Oryx Lounge airside.
It costs $55 and you have access to showers, WiFi, reclining chairs and some food, too if I am not wrong.
Al Mourjan is for First Class and Business Class travelers.
Thanks Rudy!
we are currently at DOHA airport and have a transit time over 08h. We have booked Economy Class marked (N) and they say we are not entitled to that service because our return flight costs less than 400$ p.p., although the total amount we paid for aller-retour was 1598 euros
Eirni, That is definitely very interesting. I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you guys. Seems as if they are looking for loopholes to restrict the service to some tickets.
Hi. I understand that the airlines can not accommodate us on a ticket which is purchased under promotional rate but can anyone please tell me if access to the Al Mourjan lounge at Hamad International Airport is for all passengers including those with promotional rate tickets or is it just for business and first class Qatar airways travelers? Also, do you guys know that according to the Qatar airways website, incase of a layover longer than 5 to 12 hrs, they provide a complimentary Doha city tour for 3 hrs? Again, travelers with promotional rate tickets eligible for this? Please let me know soon as I am planning my tour in late Sep and October!
Hi Alay,
When I was at the airport in May they said that the tour was not exclusive to Qatar Airways. It is on a first come- first serve basis. There are 3 tours a day and they fill up rather quickly. I can't help you with the lounge question... Sorry.
I would recommend grabbing a drink and bite to eat at Le Grand Comptoir as well. We decided to hang out there on out outbound and inbound flight. There's someone playing a live piano and the staff was very nice. They allowed a ton of passengers to " nap" in the area near the piano ( that's if you can sleep with all the noise).
You could also sleep in the reception area of the airport hotel. There are seats near the elevators.
Hope this helps.
Erica
Thanks for your help Erica! I don't know much about the offered tours as I decided to do my own straight from the hotel I was staying at while I was there.
Hi,
My ticket was $1,230 ( US to Singapore) and they still said it was a " discount fare". There were dozens of folks complaining on the line - we all wanted to know how a fare of 1,000 + is a discount.
Erica
May I ask what your airline ticket price was? I have a 15 hour layover and came across this article. When I called the airlines about the layover service, they told me I don't qualify for covered accommodations as my ticket price was not high enough. Mind you, I am flying from USA to Nepal.
Niki, I was flying from Tanzania to Naples Italy via Qatar. I had bought 2 round trip tickets for this so I could fly with friends. So, my one way ticket from Tanzania back to Naples Italy was $568.00. I had no problem booking the layover service. Did you try Qatar Airways Help Desk USA? I hope everything works out for you!
I have a 20 hour layover I'm looking at in July and would love to try this. Can you advise on cost as well as safety? I will be traveling alone.
Tania,
As far as the cost, everything Qatar airways provides for the layover is free, they give you vouchers for everything at the transfer desk.
As far as the site seeing tour, I paid about $60 for 4 hours. 0800-1200 when I got dropped back off at the airport. The driver was very professional and informative. His name was Shibu Salam, his company was Black cat Limousines & Transportation Co., and his phone number is 00974-66681126 (I actually still had his card in my wallet, randomly). I would definitely suggest that company, it's the one the hotel suggested to me while I was there. Hope this helps!
Cassey
Hi Tania,
I'm literally in Doha RIGHT NOW! I chose this layover because I saw this review. Our layover is 8 hours and 56 minutes ( JFK to Singapore) the hotel for us was not free. Once we arrived they advised us we had to pay $125 USD Per person for a hotel and visa. ( I called prior to landing and they advised me of the same thing- it wasn't free because we booked a "Promotional rate" On economy. )
They also offer free city tours 3x a day but those seem to go/ sell out pretty fast.
Erica,
I'm glad to know that you were able to find out about it through my website and now I will let people know that if they book "promotional rate" for a plane ticket then the layover is not free. Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Tania and Erica we intentionally chose a 13 hour layover instead of 7 hours as we thought we would get a free stay in a hotel. Turns out we also booked a promotional price and therefore do not qualify! Disappointing to say the least. The hotel airport is very expensive . We arrive at 0h05 and leave at 13h00.
Any suggestions? We are two female students traveling with South African Rands which don't go far when converted into dollars or euros !
Can you advise on cost? I have a 20 hour layover I'm looking at in July and would love to try this. Also what about safety? I will be traveling alone, did you feel safe when traveling the city with your guide?
What hotel did you stay at? Did you have any problems? Could you leave the property?
Erica,
I don't remember the name of the hotel which is a story for another day.
I did not have any problems. They provided all of the vouchers at the airport took me to the shuttle service which dropped me off directly at the hotel.
You could leave and do whatever you want. I decided to hire a guide to drive me around the city for 3 hours and show me all the ins and outs of Qatar. I even stopped to take photos at a mosque before he dropped me off at the airport to catch my flight.
Going through customs was easy. With the slip they give you they usher you straight to the front of the line as if you are received first class service! @Qatarairways was awesome!
That is a very cool service! I would use that for sure. It would be worth breaking up the flight to have a night in a nice hotel somewhere random like Qatar.
I know right! I couldn't believe how great of a deal I was able to get. Definitely something everyone should take full advantage of if they are ever passing through Doha with more than an 8 hour layover.
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