Doha Qartar airport lounges
We will have a 9 ½ layover at the Doha airport on our way over to JRO next summer.
We splurged and booked business class which, I believe, should give us access to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
Has anyone use that lounge? It appears to be very nice and quite large. We hope to be able to use the showers and catch a nap after flying from Philadelphia in preparation for the flight down to JRO.
Side note: I booked the entire flight itinerary using the Qatar website and saved $2,000 per ticket versus the exact same route via the American Airlines flight.
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Hello, we live near Philly and use Qatar frequently. American now have a codeshare with Qatar and unless it has changed, that means you will be flying out of Philly on an American Airlines plane to Doha. This is a recent change, about a year. The last time we flew with them, we decided to go all the way to JFK to get the Qatar flight. That experience is so much better, way better polite service, meals at your timing etc. in fact, we were due to fly that route tomorrow but we had to cancel our tour.
Just recently, we decided next time we take that route, we will just fly from Philly to save the hassle of a limo back and forth to JFK, going is ok, but coming back, that long car ride home when you are tired is a pain. The actual seating on the American plane is nice, but the service etc, no comparison with Qatar
So we have used that lounge a lot. But you could book a room for a few hours in one of the two airport hotels. We have done that once. It worked out very well with a drop key checkout. Also we just found this on a website which you could look into
Complimentary Transit Accommodation: If you are a Qatar Airways passenger and have a transit time of between 8 and 24 hours with no shorter flight connections available, you may be eligible for complimentary transit accommodation, according to the airline's website. Check the airline's website for eligibility and booking procedures.
If you find you can take up this perk, please let us all know here!
I used Qatar when we went to India last year. There were two business class options: one gave access to the lounge and the other didn't. You might check and see if the ticket you bought gives you lounge access.
I was told that "R" class tickets get lounge access, while "P" class tickets do not. The P class tickets are referred to as "Business-Lite". With a P class ticket you can purchase lounge access separately.
I'm going from memory here, but I think that with an R ticket we had to purchase advance seat assignment to guarantee that we could sit together. Otherwise seat assignment would be at check-in and we'd get what was left, maybe not together.
That was the status in late 2024. You should check to see what the rules are now.
Update: I found this on their website. https://www.qatarairways.com/tradeportal/en/NewFareFamilies.html
I've flown Qatar to India and Egypt. I booked using Amex Platinum International Program...the fares were cheaper than booking directly on the Qatar website. Access to the Al Mourjan lounge was included. The Louis Vuitton lounge directly across the entrance to the Al Mourn lounge is also a treat for Qatar 1st & Biz Class customers. I fly from New Orleans to Dallas on American and then the Qatar flight from Dallas to Doha and Doha to the connecting city. I agree with British...the service is un-matched. I would go slightly out of my way to have the Qatar service on the longer flight leg.
Depending on the arrival time, you may consider a tour of Doha during your 9-hr layover. I think the tour is sponsored/coordinated by the airport which eliminates any concerns about making your connecting flight.
Another note about Doha airport… the security is the tightest I have seen anywhere including Israel. This is especially true coming back to the US. Example, you will have to take big cameras out of their bags, if you have a cover on your iPad, you will have to take it off.
We also book with Amex Pparinum
Mike,
Regarding Qatar Airlines, I booked directly with their website. The itinerary includes American Airlines (a codeshare partner) from Philly to Doha then on to JRO and return via Doha then on to Philly.
Seat selection was made for the Qatar flights but the American seats could not be confirmed on the Qatar site.
A message indicated that “seats would be assigned at check-in”. That worried me quite a bit.
I then went to the American Airlines website, used the AA confirmation code found on the Qatar ticket to select my seats. Now I know my wife and I will be sitting together the entire trip.
My experience is that even when you chose your seats, they might change them. When we travel, we do our own thing so don’t communicate with each other thot much, the goal is often to sleep as much as possibly anyway. The seating is far apart on AA or in separation cubicles on Qatar, so you can’t communicate unless you pick the ones with the double bed. Worse case scenario, having very young kids crying near you which has happened a couple of times recently.
So TrippleT, did you figure out which tickets you have, can you use the lounge.