Getting value on air travel has become a rare thing. Canadians know that too well. High taxes and airport fees, high airfares and average service. Alternatives do exist, here are 7 reasons to fly Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways Flies to Canada
Qatar Airways QR764 flies Montreal-Doha daily since February 2021. Although it only flies to Montreal Trudeau (YUL), Qatar Airways has an interline agreement with Air Canada and WestJet to connect Canadians from all over the country.
An interline partnership allows passengers to connect seamlessly and through-baggage check-in. You can read more on what is an interline ticket. In the example below, travelers from Calgary can fly to Bangkok by purchasing a Qatar Airways ticket which involves a WestJet segment: Calgary-Montreal.
Therefore it’s doable and interline agreement insure connections and access to Qatar Airways network.
Qatar Airways Network
With 11 destinations launched in 2017, 12 destinations in 2018 and 9 so far in 2019 Qatar Airways network growth is significant to say the least. That’s more than 160 destinations, a lot of which are not your typical mainstream gateways.
With a strong presence in Africa and Asia, the airline allows you to discover new places such a Maputo, Windhoek, Kilimjaro, Baku, Chengdu or Chongqing to name a few.
Solid Economy Class Product
Although many of us dread flying long-haul in Economy class, I have no dissonance sitting in coach on a 12h flight. There are many reasons that make Qatar Airways Economy class a comfortable ride.
I flew the Montreal-Doha 12-hour flight. This is what I got:
- Big seat pitch. I’m 1m90 and my knees never touched the seat in front of me.
- An extensive IFE.
- Best food offering: great food choice, a real warm breakfast and not a sugar bomb (muffin & overly sweetened yogurt);
- Extra attention was given to kids. My 4-year old son received his meal 15 minutes before the main service.
Often times, the airline will forward you upgrade offers to its iconic QSuites business cabin. However, you must be aware of the many rules surrounding the Qatar Airways upgrade offers.
Earn & Burn British Airways Avios
Qatar Airways (QR) is part of the oneworld alliance. For Canadians, this means they can earn British Airways Executive Club (BAEC) Avios miles and Tier Points on all QR flights.
BAEC Avios is the best leverage to earning reward miles to spend on the oneworld alliance network. That’s on top of earning them thanks to churning a few credit cards such as the RBC British Airways Visa or American Express Gold & Platinum cards.
If you fly enough, then you may earn enough Tier Points that will give you an Elite status not only with BA but across oneworld. These benefits are priority check-in, lounge access, bonus miles earning and more in the case of BAEC Silver status.
Using Avios miles opens a lot of low-cost economy and business class reward flights. Although the program has its limitations: huge fees on BA transatlantic flights, you definitely get a lot of value out of Qatar Airways. For example, my Doha-Zurich Business Class flight for only 37,500 Avios and $126. That one-way trip is valued at approximately $5,000.
Experience Qsuite
The QSuites is one of the most sought after Business class seats. Not all Qatar Airways flights have QSuites. However, you can refer to Traveling For Miles updated article on which flights offer the QSuites.
Let’s take an example of what a reward QSuites flight would cost:
A Doha-Beijing [DOH-PEK] QR892 one-way flight in J Class:
Paid ticket @ C$3,783 vs Reward ticket @ 62,000 Avios + C$176.67
This is really a great reward flight opportunity to spoil oneself. Particularly with access to Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha.
Qatar Stopover Program
This is probably the most generous stopover or layover program in the airline business. With super low hotel rates and tour packages, passengers can enjoy Doha as an additional destination.
Here are the 3 steps to enjoy a US$23 stopover hotel with Qatar Airways. For more details you can read how I booked my C$37 Qatar Airways Stopover 5 star hotel. Also, the review of Al Najada Hotel Doha by Tivoli which speaks for itself.
Doha: The Most Underrated Stopover City
Singapore, Hong Kong, Doha are all city states that offer great stopover tourism opportunities. I have been to Singapore and Hong Kong and I can assure you that Doha has its own charm and offering.
Souq Waqif, West Bay, free museums, Al Shaqab, Qatar National Library are just a few venues you can visit during a 2-3-day layover. Whether you’re traveling solo or with your family you’ll be busy and impressed with the level of service anywhere you go.
Conclusion
Part of the travel hacking process is to get the most value of a travel experience. As a Canadian traveler, Qatar Airways has delivered a consistent product and a high level of service that most Western legacy airlines don’t bother with anymore.
It’s time to take advantage of the airline’s current level of service and attractive rates out of Canada while you can. Whether I fly solo or with my family, I will try to fly Qatar Airways as much as possible out of Montreal [YUL].
If you have any questions or want to share your own experience, please share them on Amin On Miles Club on Facebook or in the comments section below.
Great article, Amine! But tell me, where can I redeem Avios miles for a Qatar Airways flight originating in Montreal? BA.com/flights doesn’t show any.
Thanks Gab! I see availabilities early 2021, but nothing until the end of 2020. You might wat to call BAEC.
However, the points and fees are really high out of YUL. It’s great for other flights, like my DOH-ZRH Business class flight:https://www.aminonmiles.com/crazy-reward-deals/doha-zurich-business-reward-flight-avios/
One great alternative is to use AAdvantage miles which you can get via RBC Avion card. How do you earn your Avios points? Do you have oneworld status?
I’m just about to start earning Avios and was precisely looking at RBC Avion. I’m planning a trip YUL-CPT (cheaper via DOH) for early december. Is transfer rate Avios-AAdvantage 1:1?
Apart from that, BMO doesn’t show any flights with Qatar airways either. It’s mainly on BA via London for a lot of points!
I know that Qatar Airways has low fares for Cape Town on paid tickets.
If you want to book as a reward ticket, here are your options (based on one way):
Aeroplan: 50,000 + $83.62
BAEC Avios: 29,250 + $320.41
AA: 40,000 + $100
Paid ticket: $1,041.67
You pay for the Qatar Airways ticket in cash, earn Avios on all 4 flights. Also you can use the Avios you earned prior on South African domestic flights or to go neighbooring countries:https://www.aminonmiles.com/crazy-reward-deals/flying-across-southern-africa-with-your-avios/
What do you think?
Paid ticket: $858 with Qatar
Avion transfer to AA is 10:7
Some dates at 768$, so I think you’re right, Amin: better to pay cash and use the miles later. It doesn’t look like a sweet spot to me, worth redeeming miles.
Using your link is the least I can do! But what do you mean by churning a credit card on the entire trip?
Let me give you an example:
When I flew QR YUL-DOH-SIN last year, I paid the 2 tickets with my newly acquired Amex Gold card ($810 x2). I used it to pay for the travel expenses as well. I hit the $1,500 spend requirement real fast. Therefore earning more than 25,000 Amex MR points, but also close to 5,000 Avios per person (my son and I) on QR tickets. That’s 10,000 Avios in the British Airways Executive Club household account. So that’s another way to churn a card (or more) in the context of a paid trip. I hope this tip helps!
Gotcha!