Qatar Airways

[Hogpatrol]

Arrived JNB at 3:35 a m. International terminal was a ghost town. Flew Airlink to PLZ. They weighed the pelican 1200 ammo boxes. We were right at 5kilos but dinged us 575 Rand for excess baggage

 

[Edster]

Arrived JNB today, PHL, Doha. One hour and forty five minutes for two of us to check in and get our guns and ammo through the gate agents and tsa at PHL. Ammo and carry ons not weighed by Qatar but ammo inspected by tsa. Qatar wanted firearm surrender form, 4457s, passport copy, covid-19 test results
And invitation letter from outfitter.
The holdup was waiting for tsa agents to come and check the guns. From what we understand, we were the first passengers shipping at PHL firearms on board Qatar.

No TSA involvement at all during checking at BOS.

 

[Av8or]

On my way home from Jnb on Qatar ( Doha to dfw currently) great service, no problems, gun check in with Qatar at Dfw and Jnb was slow. But no pblm, just be patient, don’t seem very efficient at firearm check in.

 

[Areaonereal]

Hogpatrol....was the excess baggage charge for the ammo in the pellican ? I believe that Airlink has a fee for firearms leaving and arriving off loading with in its SA location. 300 Rand loading and 300 Rand at the destination.

 

[Philip Glass]

When I flew I went Seattle/Doha/Joberg and mine were checked through all the way to Joberg. Had no troubles.

You should have no problems with that layover time, my wife and I had a tight connection coming home, (we were 42 minutes plane to plane) I was a little worried about our luggage making the connecting flight but if you download the Qatar app and put your trip info in it you will get a notification that your bags have been loaded on the connecting flight.

Thanks for the note on the app. Knowing your luggage is on the plane is worth a lot!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Hogpatrol....was the excess baggage charge for the ammo in the pellican ? I believe that Airlink has a fee for firearms leaving and arriving off loading with in its SA location. 300 Rand loading and 300 Rand at the destination.

We didn't pay that fee, just excess baggage of 500r and 75r tax

 

[Hogpatrol]

I assume it was for the Pelican

 

[Hogpatrol]

+1 on the Qatar app. Notified of baggage aboard.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Here's my experience with weapons and Qatar Airways: 02 May 2021

I contacted my travel agent Sherrie.
Next I corresponded via email with Qatar Airways in DC, IAD.

Up on arrival at IAD I showed the 1st lady my flight itinerary as she took my temperature and checked my Covid PCR test results and date.

A 2nd person was called and he greeted me, took me out of line, and straight over to a ticket check in counter, where I was greeted by 2 more staff members and the senior manager. The senior manager looked at my flight itinerary and checked my passport. He remained with me during baggage weight check and off we went to his shared office.

The Senior Manager picked up a packet with my name on it, pulled the forms out, asked for my passport, filled out a couple of forms, verified my weapons serial numbers, he confirmed my weapons and check bag would be checked through to Johannesburg.

Next was ammunition check; number of cartridges per weapon count, a check of security that the cartridges were satisfactorily packed, closed, locked and replaced the ammunition box into my check bag, picked up my ticket from the ticket agent. Several handshakes all around with well wishes on my trip and escorted as far as the TSA security check point by the Senior Manager for a final handshake, well wishes on my trip, and a thank you for traveling with Qatar Airways.

The Qatar Airways people I met and were greeted by were very friendly, courteous, and very pleasant. Their service and assistance through this made this old country boy feel like a rock star.

Once on board the aircraft the 1st flight attendant greeted me, then escorted me to my 1st seat and assisted with putting my carry on into the overhead bin. A few minutes later the Senior Flight Attendant came to greet me and introduced himself. Then confirmed I was traveling with weapons, assured me my weapons and checked bag were on the aircraft, checked through Doha to Johannesburg, and introduced me to my 2nd in flight Flight Attendant.

Once we were in the air a 3rd Flight Attendant along with the 2nd Flight Attendant asked and then the 2 Attendants escorted me the a 2nd row of seats where as were many in the plane had whole row seating.

The services and assistance I received Qatar Airways is definitely worth flying and I will be flying with Qatar Airways on future trips.

Part 2: will be my return flights from Johannesburg to Doha to IAD.

 

[Glenn Slaven]

After a number of emails sent to a number of addresses at Qatar, I received the following:

From: Ahlem Bensaid <abensaid@qatarairways.com.qa> On Behalf Of PFC DOH
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2021 5:39 PM
To:
Cc: PFC DOH <pfcdoh@qatarairways.com.qa>
Subject: RE: [External]FW: Firearms approval - MVZT8F Qatar Airways



Dear Mr. Edward

Thank you for writing to us

Kindly provide information about type, dimensions of the weapon`s case and total weight of the weapon along with the case , and total weight of the ammunition.

Notes:

• The passenger must sign the Declaration of Surrender of Firearms.
• The weapon must be unloaded and should be properly wrapped and packed in a hard-sided, lockable container. If possible, the weapon should be dismantled and packed inside a suitcase or gun case.
• The ammunition must be securely packed in a sealed, strong wooden, metal or fibreboard box or other packaging specially designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. This packaging shall be contained inside a hard-sided suitcase or in the hard-sided case containing the firearm. Only one package of ammunition intended for personal use and with gross weight not exceeding 5 kg, is allowed per passenger. If the gross weight exceeds 5 kg, the ammunition may be carried only as cargo.
• The ammunition shall not contain any explosive or incendiary projectiles, which are totally prohibited for carriage by air.
• The original documents should by carried by the passenger and presented at check-in.

Best Regards

Customer Contact Centre Qatar
Tel: +974 4023 0000

www.flyqatar.com/help

Going places together. qatarairways.com


If you PM me I will send the Declaration in WORD form so you can easily fill out for your trip over and your trip back.

Ed

PM sent

 

[mdwest]

Here's my situation/update on Qatar Airways...

I started emailing QA on June 2nd to advise them of my intent to travel with firearms in mid July to South Africa.

3 emails were sent to the two points of contact listed earlier in this thread between June 2nd and June 14th with no response back.

I called QA Customer Service directly today to confirm that they had received my email, copies of the associated paperwork, etc.. and that I was good to go..

I was put on hold for 1 hour and 22 minutes before a representative picked up the line..

To her credit, the customer service representative was incredibly helpful, friendly, etc.. once she picked up the line..

She was able to confirm that I had been emailing since 6/2.. she advised me however that QA wouldn't allow me to put 2 rifles in the same case (the case dimensions, total weight, and contents were disclosed in the original email).. that I would need to bring each rifle in separate hard cases..

Im pretty certain this isnt a requirement, and that other AH'ers have recently traveled to Jo'berg through Doha via QA with 2 rifles in a double case.. but truthfully it wasnt worth the argument.. I own two hard cases (both happen to be double cases), and I confirmed that they dont mind that I pack other things in the case such as clothing, gear, etc.. so now instead of packing a single suitcase for "stuff" and taking a double rifle case for the firearms.. Ill just take two rifle cases and get all of my "stuff" on the plane that way (as well has have my hunting buddy put the locked ammo box in her suitcase)..

So.. no real problem.. and if this is the most difficult challenge I have to overcome to get to Africa this year, its going to be a wonderful trip...

But.. be advised.. if youre planning on traveling on QA.. and youre taking firearms with you.. their website says nothing about having to do anything in advance. it would be easy to believe you just show up at the airport with your rifle(s) in a locked hard box and your ammo in a locked hard box inside a separate suitcase, and you'll be good to get on the plane..

But the reality is.. you need to be in their system 30 days in advance and flagged as someone traveling with firearms (they are now sending me my "approval" to travel with firearms within 48 hours).. and if youre counting on notifying them by email, they are pretty notorious for not responding (Ive now heard of this from multiple people and personally experienced this happening).. and the time you should expect to be put on hold to actually speak with someone could well be a long period of time..

Again.. once I got a live person on the phone, she was wonderful.. very polite.. diligent.. and super helpful.. but even then Im not sure QA was really talking or communicating internally properly or really knows what its own "rules" are (Im pretty sure @Mark Biggerstaff just traveled on QA to Joberg a few weeks ago with multiple rifles in a single hard case and will be traveling back to the US from Joberg with the same rifles in the same single hard case.. and experienced no problems... where Im being very clearly told today that 2 rifles in the same case is absolutely not alowed...)...

 

[Beretta391]

Edit message. My bad

 

[Beretta391]

Ok now I can type. Best money you can spend is hire TWG, @TRAVEL EXPRESS or Gracey. Probably some others I don’t know. We flew to Namibia in 2019 on Qatar from DFW. TWG took care of everything. 2 guns in one tuff pak and ammo in other bag. No problems at all.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Here's my situation/update on Qatar Airways...

I started emailing QA on June 2nd to advise them of my intent to travel with firearms in mid July to South Africa.

3 emails were sent to the two points of contact listed earlier in this thread between June 2nd and June 14th with no response back.

I called QA Customer Service directly today to confirm that they had received my email, copies of the associated paperwork, etc.. and that I was good to go..

I was put on hold for 1 hour and 22 minutes before a representative picked up the line..

To her credit, the customer service representative was incredibly helpful, friendly, etc.. once she picked up the line..

She was able to confirm that I had been emailing since 6/2.. she advised me however that QA wouldn't allow me to put 2 rifles in the same case (the case dimensions, total weight, and contents were disclosed in the original email).. that I would need to bring each rifle in separate hard cases..

Im pretty certain this isnt a requirement, and that other AH'ers have recently traveled to Jo'berg through Doha via QA with 2 rifles in a double case.. but truthfully it wasnt worth the argument.. I own two hard cases (both happen to be double cases), and I confirmed that they dont mind that I pack other things in the case such as clothing, gear, etc.. so now instead of packing a single suitcase for "stuff" and taking a double rifle case for the firearms.. Ill just take two rifle cases and get all of my "stuff" on the plane that way (as well has have my hunting buddy put the locked ammo box in her suitcase)..

So.. no real problem.. and if this is the most difficult challenge I have to overcome to get to Africa this year, its going to be a wonderful trip...

But.. be advised.. if youre planning on traveling on QA.. and youre taking firearms with you.. their website says nothing about having to do anything in advance. it would be easy to believe you just show up at the airport with your rifle(s) in a locked hard box and your ammo in a locked hard box inside a separate suitcase, and you'll be good to get on the plane..

But the reality is.. you need to be in their system 30 days in advance and flagged as someone traveling with firearms (they are now sending me my "approval" to travel with firearms within 48 hours).. and if youre counting on notifying them by email, they are pretty notorious for not responding (Ive now heard of this from multiple people and personally experienced this happening).. and the time you should expect to be put on hold to actually speak with someone could well be a long period of time..

Again.. once I got a live person on the phone, she was wonderful.. very polite.. diligent.. and super helpful.. but even then Im not sure QA was really talking or communicating internally properly or really knows what its own "rules" are (Im pretty sure @Mark Biggerstaff just traveled on QA to Joberg a few weeks ago with multiple rifles in a single hard case and will be traveling back to the US from Joberg with the same rifles in the same single hard case.. and experienced no problems... where Im being very clearly told today that 2 rifles in the same case is absolutely not alowed...)...

I suspect Qatar responds to travel agencies in the same day or one day. I have copies of Gracy's email to them in reference to my rifles. Last two weeks of this May, I had two guns in one case and no issues.

 

[Red Leg]

+1 with respect to a firearms experienced travel agent. Gracy is working my trip to Zambia on Qatar in August. Would not consider doing it myself these days.

 

[mdwest]

yep.. no doubt... I agree with you guys... a TA would only be a few bucks more.. and would have saved me several hours of time at this point.. and would also be in place to assist if/when I hit any stumbling block..

While I dont regularly use a TA.. I do highly recommend good ones to most people I know that are conducting international travel.. Ive never heard anything bad about Gracy or Travel Express... and I've used Christopherson in Virginia a few times for work related international travel, and theyve always done a good job as well..

For me personally though.. I started traveling to Africa over 15 years ago.. and have traveled to 80+ different countries with firearms, to include countries where having a gun isn't commonly allowed, like Japan, the UK, etc.. (used to wear a gun and travel internationally for a living at one point in my career)... and have traveled to close to 110 countries in total..

As a rule, I know what boxes to check, who to call about what, etc.. and while I don't do it with the frequency that a travel agent does, I've done it enough (close to 3M international air miles), that Im comfortable with the process and/or figuring out what changes have occurred in the process and how to resolve them.. so I typically just do all of the leg work myself.. Its just part of planning another trip to me... and not really a stressor or an issue having to work through any obstacles or challenges that arise..

 

[Buck51]

I was told by Qatar that they would not accept my firearm info any earlier than 15 days before my flight. I got that response by email. i spoke to three different reps on the phone with at least 3 hours of hold time total for the calls...each rep told me something different. I have since rebooked with Ethiopian because of the in transit permit issue going through JNB to Mozambique. This time I used Travel Express to book and have great deal more peace of mind. I plan on using them for any future international travel. Very helpful and professional!

 

[JimP]

For any international flights I would use a TA. The good ones stay on top of things and will have answers for you in seconds right after you asked them. If not they are the ones that make the calls to get the answers.

Domestic flights I have no problems booking them myself but when I actually need to be somewhere like a safari in Africa I'll use a TA every time.

 

[JKS]

Here's my experience with weapons and Qatar Airways: 02 May 2021

I contacted my travel agent Sherrie.
Next I corresponded via email with Qatar Airways in DC, IAD.

Up on arrival at IAD I showed the 1st lady my flight itinerary as she took my temperature and checked my Covid PCR test results and date.

A 2nd person was called and he greeted me, took me out of line, and straight over to a ticket check in counter, where I was greeted by 2 more staff members and the senior manager. The senior manager looked at my flight itinerary and checked my passport. He remained with me during baggage weight check and off we went to his shared office.

The Senior Manager picked up a packet with my name on it, pulled the forms out, asked for my passport, filled out a couple of forms, verified my weapons serial numbers, he confirmed my weapons and check bag would be checked through to Johannesburg.

Next was ammunition check; number of cartridges per weapon count, a check of security that the cartridges were satisfactorily packed, closed, locked and replaced the ammunition box into my check bag, picked up my ticket from the ticket agent. Several handshakes all around with well wishes on my trip and escorted as far as the TSA security check point by the Senior Manager for a final handshake, well wishes on my trip, and a thank you for traveling with Qatar Airways.

The Qatar Airways people I met and were greeted by were very friendly, courteous, and very pleasant. Their service and assistance through this made this old country boy feel like a rock star.

Once on board the aircraft the 1st flight attendant greeted me, then escorted me to my 1st seat and assisted with putting my carry on into the overhead bin. A few minutes later the Senior Flight Attendant came to greet me and introduced himself. Then confirmed I was traveling with weapons, assured me my weapons and checked bag were on the aircraft, checked through Doha to Johannesburg, and introduced me to my 2nd in flight Flight Attendant.

Once we were in the air a 3rd Flight Attendant along with the 2nd Flight Attendant asked and then the 2 Attendants escorted me the a 2nd row of seats where as were many in the plane had whole row seating.

The services and assistance I received Qatar Airways is definitely worth flying and I will be flying with Qatar Airways on future trips.

Part 2: will be my return flights from Johannesburg to Doha to IAD.

This is terrific to hear as I'm flying the IAD to JNB route via Doha in two weeks.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I had no issues with Qatar. I guess it is who you talk to. Houston was a breeze checking in luggage and firearms. 2 rifles in one Pelican case. I had submitted a few documents to the special services dept at Qatar. Will find out in a few more days how easy Tambo check in is when I leave