Except for true VIPs, coming off an international flight is a great equalizing experience. It doesn't matter whether you parked yourself in seat 1A or seat 51B; once you've landed and are trying to exit the terminal, the experience is much the same. Airlines put a lot of thought into the airport pre-departure experience but rarely put much thought into the airport arrivals experience. But occasionally, some airlines do step back and rethink the passenger arrival process.
A meet and greet service that takes the sting out of the airport arrival experience
Most passengers arriving at Qatar's Hamad International Airport are transit passengers who don't leave the airport. But for those passengers heading into Doha, Qatar Airways has available a meet and assist arrivals service. Recently I tried the service out, and it provided a superb arrivals experience - especially for a non-Qatari national. That said, it has also destroyed me forever. When I'm an old man, standing in a long immigration queue at some ratty airport somewhere, I'll be missing those nice people in Doha who did all the arrivals heavy lifting for me.
The Al-Maha arrivals service comes into categories - gold and platinum. The point of difference is the platinum service has a hostess meeting the passenger as they come up the jetbridge, whereas the gold service sees passengers making their own way to the Al-Maha arrivals lounge. I was trying out the gold-grade service, so I had to make my way to the arrivals lounge. I know, sometimes I feel sorry for me as well. But once at the lounge, the kid-glove treatment starts. The core service is an expedited immigration process. It's also nice to know a porter is looking for your luggage on the carousel while the lounge hostess sorts your clearance.
All I have to do is walk to the arrivals lounge
I may have been fresh off an overnight flight, but I wasn't feeling particularly fresh at five in the morning after an overnight flight. After I found the lounge, a hostess took my boarding pass while I found a strong coffee and a soft chair. This isn't a lounge where you spend much time, however, it still features WiFi, bathrooms (including showers), a range of comfy chairs, and a passable selection of food and beverages. At this early hour, the lounge was pretty quiet, and I was making a beeline to my hotel, but if you had to wait until later in the day to check-in, the showers and bathroom facilities here would be super handy.
Before I've finished my first much-needed coffee, a hostess comes up to me and asks if I'm ready to go. Just behind where I was sitting, but unnoticed by me, was the lounge's immigration counter and no customers. An official asks me where I'm staying, stamps my passport, and waves me through. The hostess walks me into the baggage area where a porter has a trolley with my bag already loaded onto it. I'm walked out to the pickup area, where a car is waiting to drive me to my hotel. I don't have to do anything other than say thankyou.
A fabulous to arrive
The Al-Maha arrivals service is a fabulous service. It's also totally unnecessary because no one is truly too posh to collect their own bags, and immigration at Doha is usually quick and efficient. However, having someone else manage your way through the arrivals process smooths out a jagged edge when traveling. I could get used to it very quickly.
The Al-Maha gold arrivals meet and assist service is complimentary to gold grade Privilege Club members. The platinum service is complimentary to platinum grade Privilege Club members. Other passengers can pay to access the service, and family packages are also available. The gold-grade service costs roughly US$90 for a solo passenger and can be purchased at the Al-Maha arrivals lounge or as an add-on to a Qatar Airways flight booking via the manage your trip tab on the airline's website.
Is it worth it? That will depend on every passenger's circumstances - how far you've come, what time of the day it is, how busy the airport is, and just how over it all you are. Still, the Al-Maha arrivals meet and assist service is a terrific optional extra and great to see an airline paying some attention to the passenger experience after landing and disembarking the plane.
The writer used the Al-Maha arrivals meet and assist service as a guest of Qatar Airways. The car transfer was not a part of the Al-Maha meet and assist service.