Etihad or Qatar - Which flight to choose?

[aradhakr84]

Qatar Services in economy class is way better than any other airlines (Except Singapore of course), hands down. I have used various airlines to travel between states and India since 1998 and would agree that Qatar is a class of its own, beats Etihad in services. Its Singapore first, Qatar close second and the rest. In your case, you definitely need to get on with Qatar to experience the 5 star service. Food was good if not great, excellent IFE in DOH-US routes, somehow it was comfortable and this is despite travelling on a 95% load in economy.

I used the BLR-DOH-JFK route and it was 777 that was used for JFK route and DC route from DOH. As for BLR it was an Airbus, this was the way when I used them in 2011. But for pete sake, avoid Air India. Even Jet Airways seemed good when I used them in 2009 (EWR-BRU-MAA) compared to Air India, which has terrible services.

My parents travelled in Etihad and they felt the service was not up there with Qatar. They were travelling MAA-AUH-ORD route and it was Airbus 340 for AUH-US routes, this was in 2012.

 

[m-jeri]

Next time I planning to use some of my bonus miles to get upgraded to business class in Qatar. All my miles will get used ofcourse. but lets see

 

[logistopath]

I guess I can expect a good experience with Qatar, going by the posts here and elsewhere too. Thanks all. Will be booking the tickets within the next couple of days. More queries will follow, obviously.

 

[deepakvrao]

Qatar has also increased the allowance to 30kgs, and the new terminal is in action so no more bus ride. We have flown Qatar, Emirates, Jet and Lufthansa over the last few years, and Qatar is the best from point of view of service, planes, and connections. Cheaper too. Overall I would go with Qatar. No experience with Etihad though.

 

[mrnikhilsudo]

Qatar Airways. Amazing safety record. I think it is a 100% record to date. Good pretty cabin attendants and better food. Not to mention. ... Puntual to the dot.

 

[logistopath]

Tickets are booked. Cheapest rates were available with the airline site itself. So booked from www.qatarairways.com

On a side note, booking was very convenient with the "Book online, Pay offline" option. All I had to do was plan my itinerary, and on payment page, select to pay later. The reservation was on hold, while I did an NEFT to their account. In 24 hrs, the payment got reflected in their system, and my booking was confirmed automatically. People with credit cards that have less limits can opt for this option. Benefit of booking directly from the airlines and avoiding an agent, while at the same time, convenience of paying through NEFT (debit cards have a daily spend limit, as do withdrawals from ATM).

Now, time for new threads.

 

[manu1991]

They don't support netbanking for payment?

 

[logistopath]

They don't support netbanking for payment?

No internet banking option. Debit cards are supported, but debit cards have a daily withdrawal limit.

 

[smnrock]

First time when i booked i had CC limit issue(max 1L), fare amount was 1.3L. So i transferred the amount in advance to my CC and then later booked.

 

[logistopath]

First time when i booked i had CC limit issue(max 1L), fare amount was 1.3L. So i transferred the amount in advance to my CC and then later booked.

Faced the same problem. My card limit was 1.1L, but ticket cost 1.9L. I asked SBI CC about the option to pay in advance and then book. But then they said there are chances that the gateway will reject the transaction, because my card limit was 1.1L. I guess if you have the overlimit facility active, your card won't be rejected.

 

[rdst_1]

Also daily opurchase limits have been raised for a few debit cards. I have an HDFC Platinum debit card and they raised the limit from 1L to 2.75L recently. Cash withdrawl limit remains the same at 1L.

 

[logistopath]

^^ Must be for privileged customers or something like that, I guess.

 

[rdst_1]

^^ Must be for privileged customers or something like that, I guess.

Nopes. I guess it must be only for the Platinum Card which comes with a yearly 500 bucks fees.

 

[AMG]

So, how did it go?

 

[AMG]

@logistopath how did it go? How was it?

 

[logistopath]

@AMG Travel with Qatar was uneventful, and pleasant mostly. The onward journey from here to US was really good. Food was quite good. As a vegetarian, that was really important to me. My kid got a bag with colouring pencils, crayons and activity books. His food was packed in a special box..
Flight was punctual.. Neatly maintained.
The return journey was equally good, except that the food was average at best. I guess the quality of food depends on the place of origin.

 

[smnrock]

@logistopath have you gone through new airport in Doha? Is the infamous bus journey during transfer still exists?

 

[logistopath]

@logistopath have you gone through new airport in Doha? Is the infamous bus journey during transfer still exists?

Yeah. The new airport is very much functional, and I guess all international flights use the new airport only. Absolutely no problems at all. Very smooth transition. I too had read about the bus journey within airport before my trip, but that no longer exists.

 

[smnrock]

^Thank you. Earlier they were not allowing baby strollers till the flight gate due to the bus ride/staircase entry. Any idea on this? do they allow now or still we need to check in? QR website having outdated information on this

 

[logistopath]

Sorry mate, I have no idea about the same. I didn't carry a stroller, so I guess you will need to find out from the airport help desk only.