I get quite a lot of emails asking me the same questions regarding weight, rules etc… especially when people are traveling from their home country to Qatar. (I guess ILQ provides faster answers )

Here’s a quick quide

Qatar’s Airport

Qatar’s airport was updated from it’s old one, but even now it’s called the ‘old airport’ because of the new airport that’s being built and which is said to be one of the biggest in the world. At the moment though, Qatar has a Premium Terminal for people flying business or first class. It’s pretty nice because there’s games, good food, massages, etc…

Visas

There’s a total of 34 countries that can get visas at the airport (Japan being one of them and it annoys me that as a Qatari I have to go through a huge visa process to visit Japan, but that’s another story). Check out ILQ’s visa section for more information: Qatar Visa

Feeling lost? Then use Al Maha Meet and Greet Service

You can request that Qatar Airways arranges this for you. They’ll handle everything from you from the moment you land to your exit

E-gates

I’ve written about these a lot. I love them. Makes my life easy and smooth. Expats can also apply for an e-gate pass with their residency permit which means that you don’t need to cue in immigration. If I remember correctly, the card costs QR150 a year for expats or QR350 for 3 years. All you need to do is get one from the Airport Immigration Office with your ID card (Qatar ID). It’s very close to the Airport.

Online Check-In

Again I explained my adventures in another blog post, but you can check in online through Qatar Airways website which means you only need to be there 30 mins before your flight and there’s a fast track for you.

Baggage Allowance

The biggest question of them all. I have to admit, on Qatar Airways website it’s not that very clear, so here I am clarifying it all!

First there’s the standard baggage allowance. If you have  buy a ticket with them, you get 20kg for economy, 30kg for business  and 40kg for first class.

However, if you apply for a Privilige club you get extra weight. I seriously recommend getting one because even burgundy (the lowest level) get’s extra weight. It’s 10kg for Burgundy, 15kg for Silver, 20kg for Gold.

So if you’re a Burgundy traveling economy you can get 30kg

Qatar Airways have been busy updating their site to make that little bit better. Hey! Who knows, perhaps ILQ will be influencing some change.

I just noticed that their new ‘Send to Mobile’ option is now active on the online check in section. I selected iPhone 3g as my model and it gave me a link with this.

All you need to do is show this at the gate. That’s your ticket! Pretty nice.

It’s typical, you book a flight and then some great deals just drop from the sky… in this case, it might just be literal.

Qatar Airways are offering flights for $600 from the following departure countries:

Paris, Moscow, Rome, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Manchester, Munich, Milano, Stockholm, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich (it’s $900 for New York and Washington).

Sales Period: 12 November 2008 to 15 December 2008.

Travel to Qatar: from 01 Dec 2008 to 20 Dec 2008
Minimum Stay in Qatar: 05 Days
Latest Return Travel to Country of Origin: 10 Jan 2009

Better grab those seats before it’s too late.

Updated: 25/10/2008

Right so I’ve gone and got my E-ID, electronic identification card, henceforth known as an EID card. It really a wallet space saver due to the fact that it’s your ID, License, Medical card, and e-Gate pass in one.

What I was particularly excited about was the e-Gate pass which uses a QR Code. I was happy that I wouldn’t be standing in cues any longer with my frequent trips. Then comes along Qatar Airways online checkin, which is another time saver.

It was now time to see if the airport experience has been simplified to the extent that I could breeze through.

1. I purchased my ticket online at www.qatarairways.com. Easy.
2. I attempted to Check in online on the website (maximum 36 hours before departure).
3. It worked and I was also able to select my seat. I chose the one closest to the exit.
4. I went to go print the boarding pass (or copy it to my mobile phone) however since I paid with my card, I could only print out a confirmation pass which I had to display at the Quick Check in.

So that was my first stumbling block. Yes its still faster since they just print it out for me, and I guess I had to go to the Quick Check in anyway IF I had some luggage, but I just had carry on. Also note that if you don’t purchase the ticket with a credit card (at a desk or travel agency), you can print out your boarding pass and can skip this (if you don’t have luggage).

Updated: So I entered and went through to the quick checkin desk. The man looked at my paper and issued my ticket. To my left I heard security guards asking “Do we accept this?” while looking at printed out tickets. The airport had obviously NOT bothered to let the whole staff know about the new method.

I walked through security, swiped my egate pass, took a finger print digital scan and thats it. I was lounging around the airport

Verdict? Online check in’s the way to go!