is it worth 15 extra hours to fly Qatar vs Delta?

[Scott CWO]

I try to avoid JHB (Johannesburg) at all costs if hunting Zambia, Zimbabwe or Tanzania. I would rather fly Qatar or Emirates and eat and shower in Doha or Dubai on a layover there than spend a night in Johannesburg with all the gun permits and a mess of an airport. In 2021, I had no other choice than to fly to JHB and then to Maun in Botswana for my elephant hunt. Even then I flew Qatar to JHB arriving at 4 AM so I didn’t have to overnight in Johannesburg to connect to my flight to Maun at noon. Bruce from Gracy Travel met me at 4 AM and we claimed my bags because I don’t trust JHB with my bags during long layovers. We rechecked my bags for the flight to Maun and it worked great. Definitely worth the hassle.

I always claim my bags in JHB when I have a layover there longer than a few hours. This procedure saved a lot of hassle for me on my way to Zimbabwe. When I arrived in Harare that evening, I was the only hunter on the plane with a rifle that made the connection. JHB is terrible.

 

[Rare Breed]

Correct. Rechecking means collecting luggage and guns and rechecking with another airline. I did it once as I flew AA to ATL and then Delta. I also had a friend and Hunting partner get messed up by AA and he had to recheck and it took 5 hours!

To your guys point I have just learned when I do my Africa safari’s I will not change airlines until the next day example being jumping on Airlink next day. No way I’m making any type switch within US!!!

 

[fourfive8]

Seems everyone has their own method and theory for preventing or mitigating travel nightmares- especially the exceedingly frustrating and expensive nightmares that plague international travel.

My experience suggests:

Use knowledgeable travel agent and use meet, greet and assist service in problematic areas of the trip.

Book minimum number of connecting flights.

Book minimum number of airlines and use only one airline if possible.

Book flights with enough connection layover time to compensate for flight delays.

When prudent, plan overnight layover hotel stay after long haul flights and/or between different airlines. Perfect example is flying into JNB on Delta. Collect bags and guns with meet and assist service like that provided by Gracy Travel. Walk over and check in at City Lodge located in airport complex. Relax with good night’s sleep after meal. Have meet and assist get you to check-in next day for regional flight to final destination whether it be in RSA or other country.

I don’t know if it’s my imagination or not but since the scamdemic, air travel nightmares have become more common. Probably pays to double up on planning and prevention. A few hundred more dollars, spent on avoiding potential problems, may be wise investment.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

Correct. Rechecking means collecting luggage and guns and rechecking with another airline. I did it once as I flew AA to ATL and then Delta. I also had a friend and Hunting partner get messed up by AA and he had to recheck and it took 5 hours!

I have been reading about the nightmares with American and that is why I decided to bite the long layover in Atlanta and fly Delta so it is the only airline coming and going

 

[sgt_zim]

I've done it 7 times. Twice through Europe, once with SAA, the rest with Delta. With rifles, the ATL-JNB route is, at least, predictable. Transiting Europe with rifles was a bit of a pain.

I'd like to try Qatar or Emirates sometime, just for the experience, but I won't do it with rifles.

If it meant a half-day of additional time, no way.

They're both great with rifles. One thing you can be assured of if you're traveling with rifles on either of those airlines is that your rifles will meet you in SAPS. The same is absolutely not true of flying through EWR or ATL. You'll *probably* be ok flying UA or Delta. But I can tell you that the SAPS people had nothing at all kind to say about either of those airlines when I was there last month. And at least 2 forum member have reported in the last 2 weeks absolute nightmares with them. No effing way would I fly a US carrier to JNB. It just isn't worth the risk.

You couldn't pay me to fly Delta or UA to Africa. I fly out of IAH, so I have 1 stop no matter which airline I fly. That stop will be in Newark, Atlanta, Doha, Dubai, or Istanbul. I'd even entertain Addis Ababa over Atlanta or Newark.

Flying through IAH, Qatar is hands down the least expensive option of all of them. No idea why, but it is. I can book 2 seats in Q-suites on Qatar for 5500 USD (and less than that if I'm willing to forego their lounge in Doha). Nobody else even comes with 1000 USD of that.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

They're both great with rifles. One thing you can be assured of if you're traveling with rifles on either of those airlines is that your rifles will meet you in SAPS. The same is absolutely not true of flying through EWR or ATL. You'll *probably* be ok flying UA or Delta. But I can tell you that the SAPS people had nothing at all kind to say about either of those airlines when I was there last month. And at least 2 forum member have reported in the last 2 weeks absolute nightmares with them. No effing way would I fly a US carrier to JNB. It just isn't worth the risk.

You couldn't pay me to fly Delta or UA to Africa. I fly out of IAH, so I have 1 stop no matter which airline I fly. That stop will be in Newark, Atlanta, Doha, Dubai, or Istanbul. I'd even entertain Addis Ababa over Atlanta or Newark.

Flying through IAH, Qatar is hands down the least expensive option of all of them. No idea why, but it is. I can book 2 seats in Q-suites on Qatar for 5500 USD (and less than that if I'm willing to forego their lounge in Doha). Nobody else even comes with 1000 USD of that.

thanks for the info and yes Q-suites right now is 2000.00 less each than Delta Business, but when you need to fly economy Qatar is only about 159.00 less than Delta and Qatar is about 8 hours hours longer than Delta. if I could fly Q-suites I would choose Qatar

 

[sgt_zim]

thanks for the info and yes Q-suites right now is 2000.00 less each than Delta Business, but when you need to fly economy Qatar is only about 159.00 less than Delta and Qatar is about 8 hours hours longer than Delta. if I could fly Q-suites I would choose Qatar

I booked economy+ on Qatar about 10 months before my trip. That ended up being nearly 1000 less expensive than economy+ on UA or Delta - 2 fares.

Oh. And my rifles actually arrived at JNB with the rest of the luggage, unlike what happened to my friend who flew UA for the same hunt.