Greetings,

I hear a lot of discussion regarding Qatar being the go to airlines now. Besides a bit less expensive, what makes Qatar better. Emirates has been great and wondering how that experience could be improved. Also, any negatives about Qatar would be appreciated.

TIA
Will

I have flown both several times. I consider them equals but QA is definitely cheaper. I will be flying it again in November to Africa.

That's great Jerry. We're looking a returning next May. Just feeling out options.

Hope all is well with you.

Will

Choosing one over the other or choosing any carrier is largely dependant on where you are flying from and flying to. Then look at the total trip time and the number of connections. If you're traveling with firearms, the fewer connections and the fewer carriers is ALWAYS the best option regardless of price.

If you fly from Atlanta to Windhoek you can choose Delta to Johannesburg and then SSA to Windhoek. The total trip time is 33 hours. You change carriers in Jo'burg and have to clear customs with bags and firearms.

For the same number of total trip hours you can fly Qatar Air from Atlanta to Doha and then to Windhoek. But you only clear customs in Windhoek (once), do not have to claim your bags and rifle in Doha, don't have to deal with all the headaches in Jo'burg AND you save a lot of bucks in the process, fly on new aircraft with a cabin crew who actually try to be helpful and are all under the age of 35 for the most part. (The only thing older than Delta aircraft are their flight attendants and both look FUBAR).

But if you're flying to Jo'burg from Atlanta, then you hold your nose and fly Delta. It's 15'ish hours without a layover.

If you fly a lot, the rewards program with Qatar Air and Emirates is light years better than ANY US carrier and upgrades are much cheaper. In addition, Qatar Air is a partner in the Oneworld Alliance which has lots of US and European airline partners.

If you fly QA to Doha and your layover allows there is an in transit hotel called the Oryx that is clean and quiet. The maximum time to reach any gate from the Oryx is only 15 minutes.

As I travel several times a year to Tanzania I am always looking for the best value/service. I have switched from KLM to Emirates. I can fly strait from Seattle to Dubai. Three hour layover then onto Arusha. My round trip ticket was slightly less than $1,400. There is a bit more seat and leg room in economy. I book through TWG who provides excellent service