Delta or Qatar?

Would you choose Delta Okc >Atlanta>Johannesburg, or Qatar DFW>Doha>Johannesburg? Also, how much time do you prefer for layovers in order to minimize the risk of missing your connecting flight and reducing baggage issues? I’m thinking 3-4 hours but could be way off.

Thanks

I have done both. They both have some upsides and downsides. I'll try to be brief.

QA Upsides
They are excellent with guns. A bit of a paperwork process, but they don't let you get on the plane if your guns aren't on also. They check this at the gate. I know this as I have been momentarily paused at the gate until they confirmed my rifle case was on board.

The QA flight to JNB from Doha can scheduled to arrive as early as 4am and the next being at about 9am or so. I like arriving in Africa in the morning and forcing myself to stay awake that first day. This gets me on Africa time quicker I find.

QA folks are generally much more customer service focused than Delta.

QA Downsides
The extra flight does take time. On the way to Africa I'm not bothered by it. On Delta, you'll likely spend an evening in JNB whereas with QA you won't. So in the end the actual travel time is about the same. But on the way back home, those extra hours in an airplane catch up to you, more so as you get older

They make you weigh your carry on and restrict that to 7kg and their rules on their website are a bit fuzzy. You'd be surprised how quickly you put 7kg of stuff in carry on.

Delta Upsides
No extra paperwork for your weapons. Just go to check-in and the subsequent TSA routine and your off.

It is quite easy, just get yourself to Atlanta which is easy to do.

Shortest trip to JNB in regards to air time.

Delta Downsides
Delta staff treat your more like livestock than people in general. There's always the exception but the general feel is not as nice as when flying on QA.

Delta's on time schedule I believe is not as good as QA's. Ask @Royal27, he's been up in the air twice out of Atlanta and got turned back......twice!

The arrival time in JNB is what I dislike most about Delta. Late in the evening, you need to make it to a lodge. By the time you get to the lodge, checked in and maybe a bite to eat, it's about 11pm when your head hits the pillow. In about 3 hours give or take, your head will pop right up and be ready to go for the day. And there you will lie just praying to fall back asleep as you watch the clock move. Every time I do that flight, that is the result.

So, pick your poison is the best I can say.

Qatar business class is hands down better(and cheaper) than DeltaOne imo. I'd personally rather connect through Doha then deliberately avoid Jo'burg when at all possible. The Qatar terminal at Doha is outstanding. Presently, however, the obvious issue w Middle East unrest makes this a more dicey selection.

I've done both routes with good service. Yes I would allow 3-4 hours connection time, especially with the Delta route through Atlanta to allow for any flight delays into ATL. Delta is probably a quicker flight time overall, Qatar usually has a longer layover in Doha. The Delta flight gets into Joburg in the evening so you will be looking at staying overnight in Joberg unless your PH picks you up and drives into the night to camp, depends on how far away from Joberg to your outfitters lodge but means a long day and getting in late night. The Qatar flights usually arrive into Joberg in the early morning so no overnight needed.

If the price is same, no question delta for me. It’s fastest route and avoids a third country. I also really like landing in evening and getting a hotel to rest for the night.

Some people here seem to love flying Qatar. I’ll fly Qatar again for certain routes, but I think the benefits are overstated. Flying coach it feels like any other airline to me. The gun check in procedure is time consuming compared to other airlines. The layovers in Qatar are also generally long to get you to spend money during the layover. It’s a very reliable airline to get you from point A to B but not more than that to me.

Not sure what class of services you are traveling. But both Qatar and Emirates from DFW and IAH cater to Indians traveling back to their homeland. They mainly travel in Coach. That means your food choice in Coach is going to cater to Indians. If you like Indian food not a problem (think chicken everything). If in Business, they have Steak. The Booze in Business will be top shelf. Don't fly Qatar during Ramadan, Emirates is not a problem during Ramadan, if booze is important during flight and lounge experience.

Normally, direct is best. However, the Delta and United service on that route can be troubling with cancellations and re-routing. You may not experience a problem.

That said, Coach is Coach no matter what airline you choose. From DFW you have a couple of other good choices - BA and Turkish. However, both of those charge extra for transport of firearms.

As others have pointed out Delta arrives in the evening requiring an overnight at or near JNB.

Living near Atlanta, it's a "no-brainer" for me.


On my last trip, the safari company had a guy and his wife take us to a hotel and dealt with my rifles.





If I had to layover, I would want at least 3 hours to make sure everything makes it to the next plane.



Air Tags can be very helpful.

JNB to either Atlanta or Newark is 14-15 hours of actual flight time.

JNB - Doha - Atlanta will be, 8 hour flight time from JNB to Doha, 2-3 hour layover, then 14 hour flight time from Doha to Atlanta. 15 hours of flight time compared to 22 hours of flight time plus the layover.

For me it has more to do about whether you are going business or coach. The vast majority of my flights to Africa have been flown on coach, specifically SAA when they were a thing. I have flown Qatar 3 or 4 times simply because I could afford their business class. United or Delta is generally way more expensive, and their quality of service is no where near as good as Qatar.

On my recent trip back through Doha I had a 2 1/4 hour layover, I had plenty of time to get to my next gate, and, I had enough time to stop by the Al Mourjan lounge to eat breakfast.

If you do fly Qatar, when you step up to the ticketing agent, have these 4 things to give them, copy of 4457, copy of passport, copy of Invitation letter and copy of 'letter of gun surrender', hand them to the ticketing agent, tell them they are copies, they will have you pull your ammo out and weigh it, they may or may not ask to see your gun. And you'll be on your way in 15 minutes. It is not a difficult process if you have copies of those 4 things.

If flying business Qatar. If coach it isn’t as big a difference.

375Fox said:

If the price is same, no question delta for me. It’s fastest route and avoids a third country. I also really like landing in evening and getting a hotel to rest for the night.

Some people here seem to love flying Qatar. I’ll fly Qatar again for certain routes, but I think the benefits are overstated. Flying coach it feels like any other airline to me. The gun check in procedure is time consuming compared to other airlines. The layovers in Qatar are also generally long to get you to spend money during the layover. It’s a very reliable airline to get you from point A to B but not more than that to me.

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I agree, if flying coach, Qatar is probably not worth it. Nice airline and great service , but I’d rather get there quicker. Not sure who I’ll fly when going to Zim next

Thank you for all your recommendations and thoughts. Great info!

It's Delta for me. I like the direct flight and fewer total hours of travel. I like arriving in Johannesburg in the evening and staying right there at the airport if catching a flight the next morning. Last month when I got there I told my PH I wanted to go ahead and drive to camp the evening I arrived. Normally that's a 5+ hour drive, but we made it in 4 because of no traffic at night. A short night of sleep and up and at em at 7 the next morning. This got me on normal sleep schedule on day one.

In 2014, after bumping me down from economy plus to regular economy and having to go through multiple emails to get a refund for the difference I will never fly Delta.

Now that I am older, I fly business or first class only and can't beat Qatar or Emirates for business. I also like the fact that I can take a long nap and a shower at the airport hotel so having 8+ hour layover is a plus in my opinion.

Tanks said:

In 2014, after bumping me down from economy plus to regular economy and having to go through multiple emails to get a refund for the difference I will never fly Delta.

Now that I am older, I fly business or first class only and can't beat Qatar or Emirates for business. I also like the fact that I can take a long nap and a shower at the airport hotel so having 8+ hour layover is a plus in my opinion.

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Ditto. Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has private rooms first come first serve if you have 6hr layover or more. Nap, shower and good food (and service) mean a lot as we age.

I am a Delta guy. Fly a lot of international flights to Europe and Asia every year so I am biased. I don’t fly Delta One. Premium Select or Comfort. It’s a long flight to JNB no doubt, but I can’t imagine adding the extra time through Qatar even saving a few bucks. I never really sleep anymore on a flight. My only message to my wife or friends flying with me is read a book or two, watch movies, don’t drink or eat a lot just fly. I think we all over think it.

Tanks said:

In 2014, after bumping me down from economy plus to regular economy and having to go through multiple emails to get a refund for the difference I will never fly Delta.

Now that I am older, I fly business or first class only and can't beat Qatar or Emirates for business. I also like the fact that I can take a long nap and a shower at the airport hotel so having 8+ hour layover is a plus in my opinion.

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Qatar changed their firearm policy in early 2026. The entire itinerary must now be on Qatar flights. You can’t use partner airlines to get you to a Qatar hub on the same ticket like before the change. My tickets were purchased before the change. They refused to cancel and refund the partner airline segments. They advised cancelling the itinerary, paying the penalty for partial refund, and rebooking. My point with that is no airline is perfect. We are just a number to any of them.

I have done United 1 time, never again. Qatar buisness 2 times, 2021,2023 when found deals on business. It’s a longer flight and layover and I don’t like it.
I have settled on Delta now and prefer 31C comfort. For next year I played the Delta seat game I call it. Comfort was ridiculous price when shopping for flights. Booked the cheapest coach I could find. Then kept watch on my Delta App for upgrade offers. Using points or for money. I worked my way up in about 3 weeks to the seats I wanted originally for $1200 less than listed originally and they have just kept going up for next May since I booked about 2 months ago.

I’ve done QA via Dallas > Doha (8 hour lay over) > Windhoek.

And United via Newark > Joburg (spend the night at lodge and rest up for morning flight) > Windhoek.

I preferred United and the extra night spent in Joburg to rest and arrive at my final country mid day and rested.

Doing 16 hours to Doha, then long long layover (yes I had day room, shower, and lounge) then another 9 hour flight to follow was a long travel ordeal.

I was I’ll be flying Delta comfort with my wife via Atl to JNB from Houston . I have a short 2 hour layover in Atl and plan for my PH to drive to camp the same evening, probably at 2.5 hr drive.

I’ve flown LAX-SYD and DFW-Melbourne in coach so I’m no stranger to long flights; however the DFW-Doha - JNB via QA coach in 2024 was the longest and least enjoyable travel experience of my life.

It’s took me 3.5 hours to get checked in at DFW with my rifles because they changed the form the day before; once on the plane it was evident that 90%+ of the people on the plane were Indian workers going home.

The flight crew and QA personnel were amazing; the other travelers in coach were the horrible part, the bathrooms on the plane became disgusting almost immediately and by the time we landed in Doha the floor of that plane looked like a street in Bombay and I genuinely felt sorry for the cabin crew that had to clean it up.

if your in QA business class it’s no problem, if your in cattle class…. I’d consider other options.