Qatar Airways booked! First timer questions

[Ash]

Hi booked flights to Kathmandu via Doha with Qatar from London.

Does the Amex Platinum insurance cover me for the transit in Doha? I recall something about Qatar authorities forcing you to get some special insurance from a local firm?

And….does Qatar open free selection 24hr pre departure?

Thanks in advance.

[Rob]

You only need the insurance to enter Doha.

Qsuite flights have a lot of seats blocked so that groups of four will still have a block they can take. These seats are all released nearer departure.

(It’s the equivalent of a rail company not letting you book one seat on a table for four because a family of four might come along later.)

[YC]

Hijacking this thread slightly… I currently have a long transit in doha with QR. What are the chances they will allow me to move my second leg to an earlier flight at check in? (In both cases where there is avios availability and when there is not?)

[Andrew J]

Rob Burgess wrote:

You only need the insurance to enter Doha.

Qsuite flights have a lot of seats blocked so that groups of four will still have a block they can take. These seats are all released nearer departure.

(It’s the equivalent of a rail company not letting you book one seat on a table for four because a family of four might come along later.)

Table seats on trains can be booked by people on their own.

[WaynedP]

Nice, but don’t set your heart on ending up with Q-Suite.
Expect at least one timing change between now and your actual flight.
Sometimes works in your favour, e.g. shortening a lay-over in Hamad International Airport, sometimes not.

We’re due to overnight at the Four Points by Sheraton (booked for a paltry 12,000 points with Suite Night Award request pending) in Doha next week enroute to BNE with QR.

I have resisted the urge to pre-purchase “approved insurance” and printed out Amex Plat insurance and NatWest Platinum Account insurance policy docs as Plan A & B.

It’s not 100% clear to me whether either policy on its own satisfies the Qatari requirements in full, but it might do as it seems as if scrutiny has calmed down somewhat in the last few months.

Plan C is having a couple of hundred Qatari Riyals on me to compliantly purchase insurance for my wife and me on-the-spot if needs be.

I don’t plan on being foolish enough to challenge the authorities in a ME country for the sake of a few quid.

[Ash]

Rob Burgess wrote:

You only need the insurance to enter Doha.

Qsuite flights have a lot of seats blocked so that groups of four will still have a block they can take. These seats are all released nearer departure.

(It’s the equivalent of a rail company not letting you book one seat on a table for four because a family of four might come along later.)

Thanks Rob. I’ve only 2hr connection between flights.

Flying economy on this occasion, don’t mind Qatar economy,so no Q suites this time around. Will economy seats be free to book 24hrs pre departure?

[Richie]

QQ I’m looking at flying QR from DOHa with departures about 1-2am from DOH flying east, are the cabins fully lit for serving dinner, or is the cabin lighting dimmed and relatively quiet for sleeping? Any thoughts appreciated TIA.

[WaynedP]

Don’t know about Economy class but looking at my photos of my meals in J class from November 2021 it looks like rough timeline was:

-Nuts & wine served in fully lit cabin about 15 mins after takeoff
-Soup & bread rolls served in fully lit cabin about 45 mins after takeoff
-Pudding, coffee and nightcap served about 75 mins after takeoff in dimly lit, burgundy shaded ambient lighting.

Not long after that I was fast asleep.

[sally]

I transferred some of my BA avios to Qatar privilege points to book seats but after many attempts, when I get to the payment stage it doesn’t show the option to use the points. I’ve called and the agent cannot understand why!! Help please 🙏

[SamG]

YC wrote:

Hijacking this thread slightly… I currently have a long transit in doha with QR. What are the chances they will allow me to move my second leg to an earlier flight at check in? (In both cases where there is avios availability and when there is not?)

If there is Avios availability more than 24hrs before departure you should change in advance. QR on the ground has very little flexibility, worth an ask as they may be oversold and looking to shuffle people around but expect them to say no. Their fares / Avios availability is often better on cheaper less optimal routings (so they can charge more for the better ones) so allowing lots of unofficial flexibility would undermine this