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

[Mtn_Infantry]

What do you value your time at?

Like @mdwest i regularly fly Qatar from DFW and/or IAH due to being able to use my Executive Platinum status for extra bags/upgrades/early boarding/seat choice or being able to use reward miles for the tickets. I have a layover regardless so me this adds about 4-7 hours of additional flight time making it worth it. If I was paying for the ticket and not using reward miles/status I’d need to see about a $1000 savings to justify the extra 8-10 hours travel time.

That said, I’m presently looking at taking either Turkish Airways or Air France on one of my next trips (not bringing firearms) to intentionally take a longer layover and spend a day/night there sightseeing before flying into JNB. I’d save well over $1000 per ticket and get to spend a day plus touring another city.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

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

Exactly, none of the big carriers frequented by US Citizens takes Big 5 Trophies from Africa

 

[Altitude sickness]

If I could quickly drive to a Qatar hub. Without the additional firearm hassle of checking into American 1st then Qatar.

And check in wasn’t so long because huge families have 20 suitcases and 5 kids to check in


And the Doha terminal gate bussing situation was better

And it didn’t add another half day of travel each way.

We booked the hotel in Doha for our long layover. Which made it tolerable. It’s my second time going through Doha. It’s gotten too busy.

Too many travelers for the gates

If you chose Qatar air don’t arrive or depart in the morning. Or late at night. 10:00 Pm through 2:00 Am is swarming with packed terminals.

 

[revturbo9967]

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.

Similar observation but the flight wasn’t completely full. It’s not worth the extra travel time in my opinion either.

 

[jpr9954]

I just got from Limpopo on Wednesday and flew Delta both ways. I was flying on a "buddy pass" or standby thanks to my brother-in-law who is a retired Delta captain. He and his son joined me on the hunt.

Going I ended up in Comfort Class in a middle seat as did my nephew. Larry who had higher seniority was in Premium Select.

Coming back is where we ran into issues. We returned from Thabazimbi to Jo'burg on Sunday afternoon and we got my nephew on a flight home that night.

Larry and I had planned to leave on Monday as it was looking better for good seats. He could check what was available in every class plus how many were ahead of us as "non-rev" passengers. We did a late check-out from the CitiLodge on Barbara Rd and got to the airport with plenty of time to go. We had to wait to check our bags as Delta forces standby passengers to wait until 8:30pm to check-in. There were five of us flying standby. We both were assigned Premium Select seats. It looked great until it didn't. Thanks to load optimization, the weather, and a possible issue with one fuel gauge, all standby passengers got bumped. We had to go through immigration again and it took over an hour to get our bags. The only good thing was that we made friends with a fellow standby passenger who happened to be a former South African Olympic athlete. His dad who picked him up also graciously gave us a ride to a local hotel.

We did get out on Tuesday night along with a total of 12 standby passengers. It was in Main Cabin or economy. I had a row seat with an empty seat next to me. That was just as comfortable to me as Comfort Class middle seat.

This is a long winded way of answering your question on Qatar v Delta. I saved about $1500 flying standby over my June trip. The downside was that I couldn't take my own rifle (for good reason in retrospect!), I had an extra night in a hotel, and I didn't have a choice of seats. Would I fly to Jo'burg on a buddy pass again? Probably not given that the altitude and weather will always make load optimization an issue. I might going to Cape Town but not with a rifle.

Take the Delta flight. You will be in better shape when you arrive in South Africa and will suffer less jet lag.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

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

375Fox, for me it is not 3.5 hours also have to add on another 1 3/4 to 2.0 hours from where I live just to get to the airport in Sioux falls then the 3.5 to MSP to a airport I have never been. so total drive time just shy of 5.5 hour drive, that alone is not worth it, I will fly Delta out of SF and I have less worry about baggage and rifles getting misplaced with a second commuter airline to get to Atlanta

 

[sgt_zim]

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

My home airport is IAH, about an hour drive from where I live.

I flew IAH -> DOH -> JNB.

Total air time for that trip is around 23 hours, but we did have a 9 hour layover in Doha.

My best friend flew UA from IAH through EWR on to JNB. I don't recall what his total travel time to JNB was. But on the return home, he departed JNB about an hour after we did, and arrived in Houston only about 2 hours before we did. With a 2 hour layover in DOH on the way home, our total airtime coming home was just under 24 hours, total travel time about 26 + a little. So my friend had about 23 hours of travel time.

Buying air for 2 and upgrading to econ+, Qatar was almost $2000 less expensive than either Delta or UA, and we booked nearly 11 months in advance. In fact, econ+ on Qatar was only slightly more expensive than regular economy on Delta or UA.

 

[Scott CWO]

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

As others have said, if not flying business class, it’s not worth the extra time and hassle to fly QA.

 

[wesheltonj]

I will add don't just look at your home airport. My home airport is SAT, but I alway look at AUS, DFW & IAH. I have found that BA is the cheapest from IAH and the most expensive from AUS. Emirates & Qatar is cheapest from DFW. I usually drive to IAH to get an BA flight about once a year - 3 1/2 hour drive each way, but it's alway worth the savings. Earlier this year I drove to IAH to get a flight, unfortunately I was booking another flight shortly after returning and my wife did not want to drive to IAH again this year and ended up with a flight from AUS. Premium Eco for a few hundred less than the price of Business from IAH.

 

[Graham Hunter]

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

Ethiopian also takes trophies!

 

[Doubleplay]

To start with why only Delta or Qatar? Why not Turkish, Ethiopian or even Kenya airways?
If I were you I would buy a separate ticket to New York(most competitive market for airlines) and then look at all the alternatives from there on Google Flights.
You might be surprised how much money you can save or for a little bit more you might even fly business class.
Delta and United because they are flying nonstop are always will be more expensive and on certain times considerable more.

 

[TOBY458]

I live near Atlanta, so no contest. Delta all the way for me. We flew Qatar in 2022, and it added way more flight time, plus a 10 hour layover in Qatar. Never again for me. I’ll fly straight to SA, overnight in an airport hotel, then make the 1.5 hour flight to Zim the next day. Much more simple, and you actually get some rest the night before heading to Zim.