Rapid Travel Chai

Qatar has announced a host of new routes, including a new world’s longest route: Doha – Auckland.

The one that caught my is Doha – Windhoek. Wind-what, you say?

Windhoek is the capital of Namibia, one of the world’s great destinations. From wildlife in Etosha, where I saw my first lion in the wild, to the adventure sports and seal colony of the Skeleton Coast, to the towering sand dunes of Sossuvlei, Namibia is spectacular and safe. The persnickety German heritage is so strong that Hertz charged us fuel for the distance from the city where we re-fueled and the airport. Drew wrote about our roadtrip and someday I will catch up, too.

Flights are limited and mostly through Cape Town or Johannesburg. Air Namibia is not an airline alliance member.

Here comes Qatar with service starting 28 September 2016 with four flights per week. Last year American Airlines revised its routing rules to allow award flights US – Africa via Middle East as one award, meaning this trip is 37.5k/75k/100k each way in economy/business/first., which from March 22, 2016 become 40k/75k/120k each way.

Remember you can change dates for free though prospectively booking anything other than first doesn’t make much sense with economy slightly increasing and business staying the same. You would have to use the ticket within a year and already lose half a year waiting for service to start.

This routing will save time and connections for many. I have only flown Qatar once, a short-haul flight at their old bus terminal cum airport. I hear things are improved, they now have what they call ‘touch gates,’ which to you and me mean real gates, not bus gates in some of most inhospitable heat in the world. The flight I had was short and good.