Input requested

[klfrodo]

Per a previous post. I'm having difficulty finding business class reward seats on One World flights from SEA to VCE.

 

What I have discovered is that it may be possible to get business class reward seats on Qatar from SEA to DOH. Spending the night at the hotel inside the airport and then get another reward seat in business class into VCE for DOH.

 

Besides the customs & Immigrations thing and then having to recheck luggage the next morning, what other issues might I run into that may cause me to reconsider this potential plan?

 

 

BTW, I have also included in my research looking into pre-positioning and catching departure flights out of the following airports, YVR, PDX, SFO, LAX, SAN, LAS, PHX, DEN, DFW, IAH, ORD, PHL, JFK, IAD, & MIA.  All with very little luck. 

Edited September 17 by klfrodo

[JM0115]

7 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Per a previous post. I'm having difficulty finding business class reward seats on One World flights from SEA to VCE.

 

What I have discovered is that it may be possible to get business class reward seats on Qatar from SEA to DOH. Spending the night at the hotel inside the airport and then get another reward seat in business class into VCE for DOH.

 

Besides the customs & Immigrations thing and then having to recheck luggage the next morning, what other issues might I run into that may cause me to reconsider this potential plan?

 

 

BTW, I have also included in my research looking into pre-positioning and catching departure flights out of the following airports, YVR, PDX, SFO, LAX, SAN, LAS, PHX, DEN, DFW, IAH, ORD, PHL, JFK, IAD, & MIA.  All with very little luck. 

If you purchase two separate tickets you may be able to link the two together to baggage check all the way to VCE but it depends on timing and what airline you are taking from DOH to VCE.

[fbgd]

The hotel at DOH is airside and doesn't require you to clear immigration/customs to use it. So if you manage to avoid having to go airside to collect your bags (hand luggage not a possibility? sending ahead using a service?) this is very easy.

 

If you haven't used QR through DOH then they have a separate immigration/customs channel for First/Business Class arrivals so it's not really a bother if you do need to do that, plus there's a separate check-in and security zone for First/Business.

 

I've only ever flown QR in Business Class and been through DOH a handful of times and it's always been seamless.

 

The only thing that is potentially risky if how flexible your other award ticket is if you experience a big delay or issues with your SEA-DOH flight...but that's not really a QR/DOH issue, just standard separate ticket issue.

Edited September 17 by fbgd

[Zach1213]

I've had Qatar "link" reservations, but to be fair I don't know if that provides any protection on Qatar...just meant my bags could easily be checked through, etc. So I'll just echo the sentiment that separate tickets, even within the same airline, can still cause issues, even if they are "linked". 

 

Doha is seamless and easy, and Qatar is a wonderful airline in J. I fly them as often as I can. 

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

Per a previous post. I'm having difficulty finding business class reward seats on One World flights from SEA to VCE.

 

What I have discovered is that it may be possible to get business class reward seats on Qatar from SEA to DOH. Spending the night at the hotel inside the airport and then get another reward seat in business class into VCE for DOH.

 

Besides the customs & Immigrations thing and then having to recheck luggage the next morning, what other issues might I run into that may cause me to reconsider this potential plan?

 

 

BTW, I have also included in my research looking into pre-positioning and catching departure flights out of the following airports, YVR, PDX, SFO, LAX, SAN, LAS, PHX, DEN, DFW, IAH, ORD, PHL, JFK, IAD, & MIA.  All with very little luck. 

 

Is the hotel IN the airport?  Is it "AIRSIDE"?

If so, you won't need to cross any borders, so no customs/immigrations.

 

We did that in Singapore.  There wasn't enough time for sightseeing, plus it was mostly at night anyway.  It was very convenient.  Very spartan, but a nice clean room, proper bed, nice shower, etc.  Just what we needed!

 

Note that not all "airport hotels" are "airside", so double check so there aren't surprises.

 

GC

[Zach1213]

56 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Is the hotel IN the airport?  Is it "AIRSIDE"?

If so, you won't need to cross any borders, so no customs/immigrations.

 

We did that in Singapore.  There wasn't enough time for sightseeing, plus it was mostly at night anyway.  It was very convenient.  Very spartan, but a nice clean room, proper bed, nice shower, etc.  Just what we needed!

 

Note that not all "airport hotels" are "airside", so double check so there aren't surprises.

 

GC

 

Hopefully OP is looking at Oryx Hotel, which is indeed airside. It's quite nice, I've ended up there a few times. 

[GeezerCouple]

56 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Hopefully OP is looking at Oryx Hotel, which is indeed airside. It's quite nice, I've ended up there a few times. 

 

Good!

OP should do very well, then.

Thanks.

 

I wish more major international airports had *airside* hotels.

We had a quick overnight connection at Hong Kong.  And even though we were Cathay Pacific F [thank you, awards!], and those lounge facilities are *nice*... they are NOT "24 hours".  And at the time, the one lounge we considered using during the CX down time?  It was being renovated or something, and wasn't available.

One of the "hotel airports" was indeed "right there", no transprotation requied.  But you had to exit the airport terminal building and walk a very short distance to the hotel.  (There may have been "direct entry", but this was the way the person helping us with carry-on luggage took us.)

 

And unfortunately, that hotel room was THE WORST we've had in a very long time.

We should had demanded a different room immediately, but we wanted to sleep.  I was getting sick and REALLY needed to lie down.

[I later ended up being carried off the flight from Hong Kong and in hospital on oxygen for 10 days!  No, not Covid, but we still wonder if I had that, too... It was mid December, 2019...]

 

Anyway, the window drapes were closed when we were shown into the room.  No problem, right?

WRONG.

It wasn't long before we opened the drapes to see what type of view we had.

IT WAS A DIRECT VIEW INTO A HOTEL HALLWAY!

That was a first!

But I digress. 😡

 

Anyway, we slept, and were helped right back to the Cathay lounges... after going through Security/etc., again.

 

GC 

[Zach1213]

13 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

And at the time, the one lounge we considered using during the CX down time?  It was being renovated or something, and wasn't available.

One of the "hotel airports" was indeed "right there", no transprotation requied.  But you had to exit the airport terminal building and walk a very short distance to the hotel.  (There may have been "direct entry", but this was the way the person helping us with carry-on luggage took us.)

 

And unfortunately, that hotel room was THE WORST we've had in a very long time.

 

 

I hate that hotel. I always go with the Novotel Citygate if staying at HKG...it's a bit of a shuttle ride but worth it. 

 

Also, regarding your "inside view" room...it's not unusual, actually. Heck, even the Sofitel at LHR, which is one of my absolute favorite airport hotels in the world, has most rooms looking inside and not outside. 

[GeezerCouple]

2 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

I hate that hotel. I always go with the Novotel Citygate if staying at HKG...it's a bit of a shuttle ride but worth it. 

 

Also, regarding your "inside view" room...it's not unusual, actually. Heck, even the Sofitel at LHR, which is one of my absolute favorite airport hotels in the world, has most rooms looking inside and not outside. 

 

😲

Well that's news!  Good to know, so thanks!

 

We had never seen anything like it, but then, we don't usually stay at hotels quite *that* close to the airport.  Usually transportation of some sort is needed, be it a *very* short distance, or occasionally a surprisingly long distance. (Denver, I'm looking at you, before that hotel right at/next to the airport opened.  Given all the wide-open spaces in that general area, they couldn't have found a place closer for those "airport hotels"?)

 

So the Sofitel at LHR: those "inside views" are of... what?

 

DH used to stay at Sofitels a lot and tended to like them (me, not so much, but it was "okay").  So we would have expected, well, "a regular hotel and hotel room and window...!"

I've asked for "city view" rooms, "garden view" rooms, "water view" rooms, and even "airport view" rooms, etc., but never, ever, for a view of the "outside area" that is "NOT inside the hotel"! 😉 

 

Live and learn, I guess.

It's sort of funny, of course.

And of course, it's really NOT all that bad in terms of travel inconviences as such things can go sometimes.

If/when one bothers to think about it, most of us are truly remarkably advantaged, etc. so it's good to notice and think about that at times, and to appreciate it.

 

But it was certainly a surprise!

 

GC

[Zach1213]

57 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

So the Sofitel at LHR: those "inside views" are of... what?

 

 

In my experience, most of the rooms just look over interior courtyards/lobbies of some kind. Or their "Zen Garden". It's not bad, because you're still several stories up and there's a lot of light coming in from the interior spaces but...I still don't like it. If I'm staying for anything more than a sleep, I try to get an exterior view if at all possible. 

[klfrodo]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

Issue resolved itself. Was able to book the entire trip on one PNR and Yes, I booked a room at the Oryx Airport Hotel on the transit side at Hamad International Airport.

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

Issue resolved itself. Was able to book the entire trip on one PNR and Yes, I booked a room at the Oryx Airport Hotel on the transit side at Hamad International Airport.

Good, glad that worked out.

How about a comment about the Oryx Airport Hotel after your stay...?

Thanks, if you can.

 

GC

[Zach1213]

4 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

Good, glad that worked out.

How about a comment about the Oryx Airport Hotel after your stay...?

Thanks, if you can.

 

GC

 

I can comment. It's nice. It's nothing amazing, but it's a lot better than most airside hotels that are essentially boxes. This one feels like an actual hotel and you wouldn't really know it's not just a normal hotel unless you looked out the windows and saw the inside of a terminal. Gym, small pool, restaurant, room service all available if I remember right. 

[ilovesalchows]

Be careful with Qatar, there are at least 3 people who have posted on FlyerTalk stating they were involuntarily downgraded on partner awards.  Compensation ranged from nothing to $250.  If you search "involuntary Qatar downgrades" you can find the posts.

Edited Wednesday at 09:07 PM by ilovesalchows

[SelectSys]

On 9/17/2024 at 7:42 AM, klfrodo said:

BTW, I have also included in my research looking into pre-positioning and catching departure flights out of the following airports, YVR, PDX, SFO, LAX, SAN, LAS, PHX, DEN, DFW, IAH, ORD, PHL, JFK, IAD, & MIA

It seems super difficult today to find flights early on in the booking process at least using AAdvantage miles.  My anecdotal experience is that it really takes determination and persistence to find an award in anything above economy.  After checking more times than I care to admit, I was finally able to score business class award tickets to Tokyo on JAL for 60k from SEA with another pre-positioning flight from SAN for 20k.  This latest ticketing reflects the 3rd time I selected an award for this trip moving up in class each time from economy, to premium economy and finally business.  

 

@klfrodo I did have a question for you.  You have been super aggressive in looking at positioning flights in the US.  Have you tried something similar on the European end? Venice is certainly easy to reach from Milan.  Others cities might work well too.  Of course it seems you have already settled on Qatar which is a great choice.

 

@Zach1213 or anyone else with knowledge of JAL - Do you like the business window seats on the JAL 777?  Are they easy to get out of?  We usually take the middle seats as a couple, but they aren't available on our flight and we need to sit separately and have a choice of the window seats or the isle seat that is on the side next to the window seats.  Thanks in advance for any information

Edited Friday at 01:42 AM by SelectSys

[Zach1213]

11 hours ago, SelectSys said:

 

@Zach1213 or anyone else with knowledge of JAL - Do you like the business window seats on the JAL 777?  Are they easy to get out of?  We usually take the middle seats as a couple, but they aren't available on our flight and we need to sit separately and have a choice of the window seats or the isle seat that is on the side next to the window seats.  Thanks in advance for any information

It's a bit of a squeeze to get in/out, but unless you're overly big or have mobility issues, you should be fine. They do feel a bit narrow and claustrophobic to me, so I pretty much avoid the window and stick to the aisle as much as I can. 

[FlyerTalker]

17 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

It's a bit of a squeeze to get in/out, but unless you're overly big or have mobility issues, you should be fine. They do feel a bit narrow and claustrophobic to me, so I pretty much avoid the window and stick to the aisle as much as I can. 

 

Definitely a squeeze.  I haven't seen actual dimensions, but I would put it at about 10 inches by my eyeballs.  Good fit for small Asian frames, not so much for full size Americans.  I too have stuck to the aisle seats and found them to be fine.

[SelectSys]

@Zach1213, @FlyerTalker - thank so much for both of your input.  I am fairly tall and went with the aisle.  Just looking at the pictures and seat map online made me a bit nervous about these seats.

[Zach1213]

4 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

@Zach1213, @FlyerTalker - thank so much for both of your input.  I am fairly tall and went with the aisle.  Just looking at the pictures and seat map online made me a bit nervous about these seats.

 

Good choice. I found this trip report that shows the seats and how narrow/claustrophobic both that entrance and the seat itself could be to someone taller and/or bigger. I know some people do like the coziness of that window seat but...those people are wrong 😉

[klfrodo]

Follow-Up

 

So, I used AS miles to purchase our tickets on One World Partner Qatar.

All information during the purchase went thru Alaska. 

I now have ticketing, PNR, seat assignments, etc.  on QR

 

What didn't transfer was the full name. Everything on Alaska and on travel documents is (on First Name line) First Name Middle Name  and on last name line is Last Name

When I look at my booking on Qatar site (which is where we'll check-in and print boarding documents)  Only First Name and Last Name (No middle names which are on our passports) 

 

1. Since I have a number of months before travel, should I get this changed?

2. If so, do I go thru Alaska, since they transmitted the names? Or, do I go directly to Qatar?

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

1. Since I have a number of months before travel, should I get this changed?

 

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't bother. There is no need for the airline reservation or ticket to show your middle name(s). If they have passport first name and passport family name, that will be fine.

 

However, if the airline asks you to input your details for advance passenger information purposes before travel, that is a process which requires accuracy. But it's a different set of data from what the reservation or ticket have.