The key Gulf carriers have among the many highest proportion of worldwide transit passengers of any airways on the planet. In spite of everything, their enterprise fashions revolve round utilizing their central places to attach a few of the most densely populated components of the world.
These authorities owned airways are additionally about placing their respective international locations on the map, so ideally they need you to really go to as properly. One has to marvel the place Doha could be with out Qatar Airways, or the place Dubai could be with out Emirates.
With that in thoughts, Qatar Airways has a few applications in place to supply individuals lodging in Doha, whether or not they simply have an prolonged transit of 8-24 hours, or whether or not they need to have an extended stopover there. Let’s go over the fundamentals of each of these applications (in a separate submit I coated the Emirates Dubai Join program).
Qatar Airways’ free transit lodge program
You probably have an prolonged connection in Doha on Qatar Airways, you could be entitled to a free lodge room, transfers to and out of your lodge, a free entry visa to Qatar, and meal vouchers:
- This is named the Stopover for the Objective of Connection program, or STPC
- That is accessible to passengers with a transit time of 8-24 hours, however provided that you’re taking the subsequent accessible flight; in different phrases, you possibly can’t deliberately e-book a later connection to get a free lodge
- In the event you’re reserving greater than 72 hours prematurely, you possibly can request this prematurely on-line, whereas when you’re reserving inside 72 hours of departure, you’ll need to request this on the switch desk at Doha Hamad Airport upon arrival
- This program is on the market to passengers in all courses of journey, although there are fare class restrictions, which I’ll speak extra about beneath
- Top notch passengers obtain a 5 star lodge, enterprise class passengers obtain a 4 or 5 star lodge (an effort will probably be made to discover a 5 star lodge, but when not accessible, a 4 star lodge will probably be supplied), and economic system class passengers obtain a 3 star lodge
- Premium passengers will probably be knowledgeable the identify of their lodge prematurely, whereas economic system passengers gained’t
- Meal vouchers can be found if transiting a minimal of 11 hours — in case your layover is 11-19 hours, you get a QAR100 voucher in economic system or a QAR175 meal voucher in a premium cabin, whereas in case your layover is 19-24 hours, you get a QAR175 meal voucher in economic system, or a QAR250 meal voucher in a premium cabin
So, which fares qualify for Qatar Airways’ Doha free transit lodge program? You will discover the complete guidelines right here, however to summarize:
- Saver award tickets in all courses of service don’t qualify for the free stopover program (this consists of “Z” fares in firstclass, “U” fares in enterprise class, and “X” fares in economic system class)
- In firstclass, “R” and “A” fares qualify, so long as the one-way fare is not less than $400, together with provider imposed surcharges
- In enterprise class, “J,” “C,” “D,” “I,” and “R” fares qualify, so long as the one-way fare is not less than $400, together with provider imposed surcharges
- In economic system class, “N” fares and above qualify, so long as the one-way fare is not less than $400, together with provider imposed surcharges
Qatar Airways’ discounted stopover lodge program
Separate from the free transit lodge program, Qatar Airways additionally has a stopover program, the place you possibly can obtain a reduced lodge room if you wish to keep in Doha for one to 4 nights enroute to your closing vacation spot.
The fee varies primarily based on what number of nights you keep, and how much a lodge you need to keep at. The costs are per individual, primarily based on double occupancy:
- One evening prices $14 in a normal lodge, $20 in a premium lodge, or $77 in a luxurious lodge
- Two nights price $22 in a normal lodge, $35 in a premium lodge, or $148 in a luxurious lodge
- Three nights price $48 in a normal lodge, $67 in a premium lodge, or $236 in a luxurious lodge
- 4 nights price $73 in a normal lodge, $99 in a premium lodge, or $325 in a luxurious lodge
As a way to make the most of this, you’ll want to e-book instantly with Qatar Airways. In the course of the reserving course of, select “Qatar Stopover” within the flight search panel, and enter your origin and vacation spot. You’ll then be capable to select how lengthy of a stopover you need in Doha.
For flights departing from the next international locations, you possibly can select your lodge on the time of reserving, as you possibly can choose your flight and lodge package deal instantly:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Eire, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the UK and Vietnam.
For flights departing from all different international locations, you’ll need to e-book your flight first, after which go to Uncover Qatar to e-book your lodge.
Are the Doha transit & stopover lodge applications value it?
A lot of the Gulf carriers have some kind of a transit or lodge stopover program, and benefiting from these might positively be value it. One factor to remember, nonetheless, is that inns in Doha are usually fairly moderately priced, so many individuals could nearly favor simply to e-book inns on their very own.
You probably have lodge elite standing, needless to say elite perks don’t usually apply when you’re reserving on this method, and also you gained’t earn factors or elite nights. For instance, the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha is the closest Hyatt to the airport, and it’s solely a Class 1 World of Hyatt property, so it’s fairly cheap to e-book with factors.
Additionally needless to say when you’re staying for one evening, there might be worth in reserving via a lodge like Amex Effective Motels & Resorts or Virtuoso. You would possibly be capable to e-book a lodge that prices $200, and obtain free breakfast, a $100 property credit score, and extra.
My level is solely that it might be value benefiting from these affords if included, however I wouldn’t e-book a dearer fare simply to have the ability to use this program.
Backside line
Qatar Airways has each a transit and stopover lodge applications, for these with prolonged layovers in Doha. You probably have a connection of 8-24 hours, you could be entitled to a complimentary lodge room, assuming you’re reserving a qualifying fare. In the meantime if you wish to keep in Doha for as much as 4 nights, you possibly can make the most of a reduced lodge possibility.
You probably have an eligible ticket then these applications are value preserving in thoughts, although in any other case inns in Doha usually aren’t too costly both.
Have you ever ever taken benefit of the Qatar Airways transit or stopover lodge program?