The Interesting Qatar X Garuda Partnership

Intro

Hello from Addis Ababa, where I have been trying to find my way back over to Bali after a trip to Yemen (upcoming). While this has been tough to find mileage space out of Djibouti, I came across something unique.

Qatar Airways, the flag carrier of Qatar, has a partnership with Garuda Indonesia, and I am curious about this. Here's what I can find (ish).

The Details

Qatar has been the carrier to serve Indonesia (long-haul wise) more than almost anyone else. Offering 3x daily flights to Jakarta and 3x daily flights to Denpasar, they have found something in the market which seems to be working extremely well.

Hence, last August, the airline came out and announced that they would be launching a 4th daily flight from Doha to Jakarta, which would be operated by Garuda Indonesia. While these flights have just launched last month, here is the statement that Qatar Airways put out.

New Qatar x Garuda Partnership

However, I have so many questions regarding this partnership.

What About The Passenger Experience?

Due to how random this flight is, since Garuda doesn't offer that many flights outside of 6 hours, I decided to go ahead and book. Plus the fact that it was only 45,500 miles 😮 in business... However, I have a few questions:

• Due to the partnership, can they interline tickets?

• Can you credit this flight to Qatar Avios if you are NOT on a mileage booking?

• What lounge do Garuda passengers use in Doha? Skyteam elite members go to the Al Mourjan?

• If so, can one still buy access to the Al Safwa First Class Lounge?

• Most of all, I am curious as to why Qatar did this. Garuda has obviously fallen off a little bit as an airline (as much as I love them), so I am wondering what the financial gain is behind this.

Garuda 777-300 Business Class

Final Thoughts

While booking a flight today from Doha to Jakarta, I came across a very interesting partnership that I did not know existed: Qatar Airways X Garuda Indonesia. I certainly have more questions than answers, and I cannot wait to report back shortly. Stay tuned for the review!