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

[Hyde Hunter]

looking at next April to SA, I will have to fly out of Sioux Falls, SD on American Airlines to Fort Worth in order to fly Qatar and the flight to Joburg will be 37 hours not counting the time from SD. If I fly Delta thru Atlanta the flight will be 22 hours plus the flight time from SD. the price is only 300.00 less on Qatar than Delta (flying economy, possible to upgrade to comfort plus on both airlines), so is it worth the extra 15 hours on Qatar? The nice thing about Delta is I can get a direct flight from SD to Atlanta if I don't mind leaving at 5:30 am, for the Qatar flight I will have to fly American Airlines from SD to Fort Worth then get my bags and gun case and then get on Qatar. thoughts? thanks Jim

 

[wesheltonj]

First Eco is Eco. That said Qatar I think might be nicer. I say, I think as I only have B Class experience on Qatar. I do have Eco & Business on Emirates. Emirates Eco beats hand down any USA carrier on service & food and would suspect Qatar is on par with Emirates. For the $300 price difference I would prefer to fly direct. Now, if you were getting a long day-time layover in Doha and have time for a Day tour, I would take the Doha stop.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

A direct flight to Atlanta, while nice, is not critical, especially when it creates a 10-12 hour layover in Atlanta. Take a later flight, even if it means going through MSP. If you have 3-4 hours to connect in Atlanta, you will be fine.

 

[JimP]

Flying economy I'd go Delta.

I flew economy on Qatar 2 years ago and it was miserable.

If I'm going to be miserable the less amount of time the better.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Flew Qatar once, Q Suite to Joburg through Doha and premium economy on the return. On the return, arriving in Doha, walking through the cheap seats, it looked like the nose bleed section after a Philadelphia Eagles game. I couldn't take a step without stepping on trash. Never saw anything like it.
Having said that, I'd take Delta, especially if taking rifles.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Delta

 

[shootist~]

is it worth the extra 15 hours on Qatar?

No. I've done it once each way. The extra 15 hrs traveling is miserable, even considering Qatar is a better airline.

If Qatar is the Only choice like it was in 2021, then sure. They did a good job. (FWIW I flew business class both times.)

 

[deewayne2003]

I did the Qatar economy DFW-DOH-JNB- Harare in July and I can honestly say it was my worst flight experience to date…. And I’m no stranger to long flights.

All the economy seats are packed because of all different LARGE families flying home to India with the massive suitcases.

I arrived 4hrs before boarding and walked up to the gate just in time to board; worst check in process I’ve ever experienced.

Bottom line, if your in business class then by all means it would be fine, but I’ll never do it in economy again.

 

[Puddle]

Ask Delta if they will fly your DG trophies back home.

If they won't, then ask yourself why should they carry you?

 

[375Fox]

Fly delta. I flew Qatar this year to try it out. It’s nice but not worth the added travel time. However, the biggest reason I’d say to fly delta is because your aren’t checking in at a Qatar hub. You’ll need to fly American to Dallas, pick up your guns at baggage claim, then recheck with Qatar while watching the clock. It’s not worth the added hassle when delta is a good option. Check in at delta at your home airport and you are good to Johannesburg.

 

[375Fox]

I did the Qatar economy DFW-DOH-JNB- Harare in July and I can honestly say it was my worst flight experience to date…. And I’m no stranger to long flights.

All the economy seats are packed because of all different LARGE families flying home to India with the massive suitcases.

I arrived 4hrs before boarding and walked up to the gate just in time to board; worst check in process I’ve ever experienced.

Bottom line, if your in business class then by all means it would be fine, but I’ll never do it in economy again.

I’m not going to say it was my worst flight because it was fine, but I made the same observations with the large Indian families and kids. Delta is primarily adult American tourists and definitely easier to check in with a firearm.

 

[Safari Dave]

NO

 

[Hyde Hunter]

thanks everyone for the reply's, I was trying to avoid a second airline to MSP or Fort Worth but it is the only choice other than United. did the direct Delta flight last year to Alt but the 13 hour layover was a killer and had to leave home at 2:30 am for the 5:30 flight, sure makes a long day. so I think I will fly Delta and try to get comfort Plus or premium economy

 

[375Fox]

thanks everyone for the reply's, I was trying to avoid a second airline to MSP or Fort Worth but it is the only choice other than United. did the direct Delta flight last year to Alt but the 13 hour layover was a killer and had to leave home at 2:30 am for the 5:30 flight, sure makes a long day. so I think I will fly Delta and try to get comfort Plus or premium economy

Is there a reason you don’t drive to MSP to avoid second airline? Not that far between airports 3.5 hours.

 

[Cam300]

no.

 

[John the Electrician]

15 hours of miserable air travel to save $300 on what should be a fun vacation. Not a chance I take that deal.

I’m not being a smart ass or aloof or better than anyone else; my time off is worth way more than $20/hr.

As a guy in the trades, I used to get asked all the time to do work on the side. People wanted to pay $20 cash. My reply was “if you don’t like what I charge Mondays through Fridays, you really won’t like what I charge to work nights and weekends.”

Again, for $20 an hour, why have a crappy experience?

 

[JimP]

15 hours of miserable air travel to save $300 on what should be a fun vacation. Not a chance I take that deal.

I’m not being a smart ass or aloof or better than anyone else; my time off is worth way more than $20/hr.

As a guy in the trades, I used to get asked all the time to do work on the side. People wanted to pay $20 cash. My reply was “if you don’t like what I charge Mondays through Fridays, you really won’t like what I charge to work nights and weekends.”

Again, for $20 an hour, why have a crappy experience?

I liked it when people offered me menial things for work that they wanted me to do for them.

I would just tell them that if I wanted to do the work that I'd do it for them for free, but that I really didn't want to spend my off time doing something that I already spent 8-12 hours on.

 

[Green Chile]

Time is money but far harder to recoup! I’ve flown numerous routes to Africa but prefer getting it done ASAP through Delta…and that’s coming from someone who only flies coach.

 

[mdwest]

Funny how we all differ on airline and route preferences.. but largely seem to agree on most everything else related to hunting in Africa

I prefer Qatar…

Being in Dallas, my choice involves a connection no matter what…I’ve either got to fly to ATL and wait for a flight to Joberg… or fly from DFW to Doha.. and wait a couple of hours there to catch a joberg bound bird..

I prefer the airport in Doha over the airport in Atlanta.. prefer Qatar as an airline over Delta.. and prefer the better price that Qatar almost always presents over Delta… Qatar is also code shared with American where I am a platinum pro flyer… so I get all of the advantages of my frequent flyer status (preferred seating, early boarding, etc etc)…

Any one of those things wouldn’t amount to much… but all of them combined make Qatar the clear winner every year when we go over…

 

[MontanaPat]

Ask Delta if they will fly your DG trophies back home.

If they won't, then ask yourself why should they carry you?

Based on that logic we should all fly Turkish Air thru Istanbul since they are the only ones carrying DG trophies to the US currently