u/ThrillingChase

Good morning! I don't know much about the Navy, and I'm just a civilian who got lucky to get a ticket to attend the event. I have two random questions about the Navy based on the event:

• Acting Secretary Cao appeared to have two bodyguards (and possibly more that I didn't notice). Are his bodyguards also Navy personnel? Like someone joined the Navy and they were told their role is to protect the Acting Secretary? Or do his bodyguards come from somewhere outside the Navy?
• At the Commissioning there was a live band playing formal military music that was appropriate for the event. Then after the commissioning there was a reception with food and drinks, and there was a Navy band at the reception playing your normal modern pop songs and whatever else you'd expect to hear at a party. I wasn't paying enough attention, but would those be the same bands or different bands? What is it like being in a Navy band like that? Do the bandmembers play instruments in addition to their typical role in the Navy? Or is their Navy role to be a guitarist or a singer or whatever? Does the band just get sent around the world to wherever there is a Navy event that needs entertainment?

I have to be in Malé, Maldives, from Monday, October 12th, through Monday, October 19th. Alaska Airlines is my typical airline, and I am Atmos Gold (oneworld Sapphire).

Based on my time constraints for travel, it looks like my best bet is to depart on Saturday, October 10th, on the AS440 ANC-SEA to QR720 SEA-DOH to QR676 DOH-MLE, with a return on Monday, October 19th of QR675 MLE-DOH to QR719 DOH-SEA to AS99 SEA-ANC.

I have never flown Qatar nor done this type of partner booking before, so I have some questions for the group:

1. As far as flight experience and/or receiving points, does it make a difference whether I book it through Alaska or Qatar? (I am interested in receiving Atmos points, not Avios.)

2. If I book on Alaska the price is showing at $2,156 in Main, whereas if I book on Qatar the price is showing as $1,832 in Economy Classic or $2,515 in Economy Convenience. The big difference between Qatar's Economy Classic or Economy Convenience for me is the ability to select my seat in advance. If I book Main on Alaska, how does that translate to Qatar? Is Alaska's Main equivalent to Qatar's Economy Convenience? Would I be able to select my seat on the Qatar flights? And would it be a legitimate selection, or is it "would you like this terrible middle or that terrible middle seat"?

3. I am not splurging on upgrades for this trip, nor am I holding my breath that my lowly Sapphire status will grant a complimentary upgrade on a 15-hour partner flight. But in case I were to get lucky on an upgrade, would it make a difference between booking it on Alaska or Qatar?

4. Is the answer to the last three questions the same if I'm using cash or Atmos points? It's showing as 130,000 points plus $229 to book on Alaska, which also seems like the better deal than cash. I have enough points, but that would clear most of them out.

5. The outbound route has a connection of eight hours and 50 minutes in Doha from 5:00PM-1:50AM, and Qatar has complimentary transit accommodation for connections over eight hours. Has anyone here used this service? Would it even be worth it for this time length and time of day?

Thank you for the help!