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

[rookhawk]

Emirates is by far the best airlines I have flown. Both Emirates and Qatar have a rigid system on ensuring your firearms leave when you do.

I’m just not a fan of the Doha airport departure gate system.
But im not a fan of JFK, Dulles or Atlanta either

So back to the ship idea

I’m also not a fan of Doha connections at this present moment because I think there is a risk of war / missile strike. A high one? No. But about as much risk as visiting Belarus right now. Both countries as examples are harboring adjutants in ongoing wars. (Israel-Palestine in the former, Russia-Ukraine in the latter)

Most people won’t think it’s a risk at all, but I’m a risk averse kinda fella so just pointing out I prefer to where I don’t think my travel will be interrupted. Dubai is about as stable a country as one can find at present, so I favor that layover.

If your destination is other than JHB, I want to point out the weakest link in the chain is the unreliable, perpetually bankrupt, and frequently changing carriers that get you from JHB to the surrounding country of your choice. They break down. They change brands. They change gun rules. I try to avoid regional carriers for last-leg portions of a trip if at all possible. (E.g. Air Zimbabwe, Mango, SAA Airlink, etc.)

 

[Nevada Wapati]

As someone who just took a long route through Europe on Atlantic Air in Upper Class, I say no. The service was great but the extra time was not worth it.
Next time I'll be flying Delta again. Even if it means I'm in Premium Economy instead of Business Class

 

[IA1865]

I did it in January, flew Q Suites DFW-DOH-JNB. Took some walks up and down the plane to stretch my legs and I'd say the Qatar economy seemed to be nicer than delta, but not enough to warrant the incremental travel time. It was pretty easy to fly with rifles as long as you have your forms properly filled out. Keep them printed and in an outside pocket of your carry-on as you'll be showing them a lot.

I really enjoyed flying through Doha, and the Al Mourjan business lounge is incredible. Service in business class was top notch, but even still - the novelty really wears off about 10 hours into the home flight and you'll just want to be home.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Not only does Turkish still carry trophies, they’re a damn good airline. Not quite Emirates or Qatar, but pretty close. And…. Istanbul is absolutely worth a day or two to visit. If you go that way, I can connect you with an outstanding guide service who is especially hunter friendly.

Would definitely appreciate the contact via a PM. I’m traveling light this trip, no firearm and if I can get the girlfriend to pack light enough, no checked bags

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

You can’t go wrong with sightseeing in either place. If you take Turkish, in case you are unaware, security at IST takes a very long time and it’s a long way from the city center, plan accordingly.

How long of a layover would you recommend at IST? I was told anything over 7hours they include a city free tour with your ticket.

 

[wesheltonj]

How long of a layover would you recommend at IST? I was told anything over 7hours they include a city free tour with your ticket.

Sir, I would make it at least two full days. Traffic in the old town area is awful. There are so many sights in the old town to see which is on the European side. Not much to see on the Asia side. The food is fantastic and reasonable. A must try is Arch Bistro.

You need to plan for a lot of time getting to and through the Airport. It’s better than an hour from Istanbul proper. Your vehicle goes thru security, you go thru security to enter the terminal building, then security again to the gates and last security at the gate. Uber works, but expect a wait to get your ride, because of traffic.

 

[DLSJR]

Sir, I would make it at least two full days. Traffic in the old town area is awful. There are so many sights in the old town to see which is on the European side. Not much to see on the Asia side. The food is fantastic and reasonable. A must try is Arch Bistro.

You need to plan for a lot of time getting to and through the Airport. It’s better than an hour from Istanbul proper. Your vehicle goes thru security, you go thru security to enter the terminal building, then security again to the gates and last security at the gate. Uber works , but expect a wait to get your ride, because if traffic.

Bingo! He’s absolutely correct. I’d stay overnight and get a hotel on the Bosporus on European side. It’s worth it.

 

[DLSJR]

Would definitely appreciate the contact via a PM. I’m traveling light this trip, no firearm and if I can get the girlfriend to pack light enough, no checked bags

PM sent. The guy I sent is excellent, speaks perfect English and they’re hunters themselves.

 

[xbr897]

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

I know I'm late to this thread, but just wanted to point out that there is no comfort plus on Qatar. They just have economy seats and Biz class seats. At least on Delta you have option for comfort plus at decent buy up prices if you're flight isn't too booked up. For coach, save the time and fly on Delta. If you were flying Q Suites then I personally would enjoy extra time in that setup as its makes the travel a much more enjoyable part of the trip.

 

[Altitude sickness]

you are not spending the extra time in the Q suite. The extra time is inside the airport.

It’s a 13ish hour flight from Chicago to Doha. 16ish hour flight from Atlanta to Joberg

Joberg is farther south

 

[Cucuy]

Thanks @Hyde Hunter for starting this and thanks to all who gave input. This thread helped my decision. I was in the same situation for next summer. If it was just me and my butthead hunting buddies, I would have saved the $1K extra per ticket and gone with the Middle Eastern flight and the extra time. For me and my family on our first safari, it’s Delta for the win.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I know I'm late to this thread, but just wanted to point out that there is no comfort plus on Qatar. They just have economy seats and Biz class seats. At least on Delta you have option for comfort plus at decent buy up prices if you're flight isn't too booked up. For coach, save the time and fly on Delta. If you were flying Q Suites then I personally would enjoy extra time in that setup as its makes the travel a much more enjoyable part of the trip.

Qatar as preferred seats in economy which come at an added cost. Theyre normally bulkhead and exit row seats. This is their version of comfort plus/premium economy. I think they call it economy comfort. If you buy this option your upgrade costs to Q-Suite if open right before the departure are lower as well.

 

[xbr897]

Qatar as preferred seats in economy which come at an added cost. Theyre normally bulkhead and exit row seats. This is their version of comfort plus/premium economy. I think they call it economy comfort. If you buy this option your upgrade costs to Q-Suite if open right before the departure are lower as well.

True, you can have better seating locations but I still see those as basic economy seats compared to the premium economy type seats on Delta which have more differentiation from other coach seats. Premium Select on Delta is more like domestic US First class seats that are larger and have greater recline along with a footrest. I also think that these days it is very hard to find any Q-Suite availability at last minute unless you're very much in off season or low travel time.

 

[Shaw]

I flew Delta Premium Economy over and Comfort + on return and Premium was not worth the extra $700 a seat. Comfort+ is definitely better than coach.

 

[Scanos]

I am a huge fan of Qatar Business Class. In my experience you end up with layovers on most trips. With some airlines they will get you to Joburg faster. But you end up laying over there. If you are only going to Joburg then that may make sense. But for me, the business class service and comfort makes it worth while. The firearm check in can be a little bit of a hassle. But, if you are business class, in my experience, they will get you checked in quickly. I wouldn't do it without business class because the firearm check in would take too long due to all of the other travelers with multiple suitcases. The good news is, once they have your firearms they will reliably get them to your destination. The same cannot be said for some other airlines.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[LWPhunt]

Stated above, why give up so much time to chase $. Time is money, and a sore set of legs, back, rear end and just dealing with people in an airport or airplane is miserable, make it as fast as you can. There is no trophy for time spent traveling and walking over $'s to pick up a few pennies. get on continent fast and enjoy it.

 

[Philip Glass]

This is exactly what I was thinking.

You have several choices. Qatar, Emirates, and Delta.

The thing I HATE about Delta is twofold. 1.) You may not be able to get a redeye flight that morning swift enough to get you to ATL in time for the flight...so much for saving time. 2.) You have to reclaim your rifles in ATL and then re-check them in for the overseas route. Again, you're adding risks and uncertainties.

I've flown Emirates (37 hours in, about 27 hours home) many many times. Both coach and business. I consider it worth the trouble because the cattle class is just a smidge smaller than business class British Airways USA to London. I'm a gigantic human and I'm not uncomfortable in Emirates coach.

For Qatar, the biggest fan on this forum is @Philip Glass and he may have wisdom for you as well. I'm sure he'll say Qatar is better than the Delta approach.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about gun laws. If there is one thing a Muslim country does not tolerate, its guns circulating in their country. When you fly Emirates (I'm guessing Qatar too) they take the guns really seriously. You do your own gun permit on their website which is easy. You get a pre-approval from their Dubai security. The guns check through from USA all the way to Africa. When you get on the plane in Dubai, police and security are on their walkie talkies confirming "Mr. Smith is boarding the plane now, please put the rifles on the plane". This level of chain-of-custody is far better than any other airline I've experienced. My first hunt was half-ruined because I used a sponsor of this site to book all my airline arrangements. They assured me the guns would check through and the useless RSA flight people swore the guns were on the plane. They were not. They had to be rechecked by SAPS but nobody that knew better told me that.

Bottom line. Emirates is worth it. Qatar may be worth it too.

I can tell you rechecking at ATL is a mission! I won’t do that again.

 

[roverandbrew]

I have flown Delta three times this year to hunt in Africa (South Africa x 2 and Zambia x 1) along with Qatar to Zambia. The ONLY reason I switched my flight from Qatar to Delta this past month into Zambia was because of some confusion with the new firearms policies. This was recommended by Gracy Travel until things get sorted. Hands down I prefer Qatar if all is equal. If I am only headed into South Africa I feel Delta makes sense. Fewer transfers is fewer lost bags and delays. If headed to other countries I prefer to wait in Doha, Shower at a lounge, and fly straight in.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

I can tell you rechecking at ATL is a mission! I won’t do that again.

you must be talking about flying another airline then witching to a Delta flight, I get on Delta in So Dakota and stay with Delta the whole way and never have to touch my guns after the initial check in in So Dakota

 

[Philip Glass]

you must be talking about flying another airline then witching to a Delta flight, I get on Delta in So Dakota and stay with Delta the whole way and never have to touch my guns after the initial check in in So Dakota

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!