My recent trip to Thailand took me from Philadelphia (PHL) to Bangkok (BKK) via Doha (DOH), round-trip. On my return journey, due to the electronics travel ban in place on select flights to the United States, I was required to check my laptop and tablet for the Doha–Philly leg.

I must admit, I was anxious — perhaps a bit of separation anxiety, but also nerves at checking expensive equipment full of important information. My experience on Qatar Airways, however, put my mind at ease.

From beginning to end, service on Qatar Airways is phenomenal. As my flight from Bangkok was delayed, I was met at the gate in Doha and personally escorted to my next flight, which was already boarding. Despite the time crunch, the gate staff still took extreme care to wrap my equipment, which had to be powered down, in bubble wrap, pack them carefully in a box, secure the box, place the box in a bag and zip-tie the bag closed, all in front of me. I filled out the required paperwork and received a separate locator sticker and priority tag for my checked laptop and tablet. As I boarded, staff took my packaged electronics from me. On board, myriad entertainment options existed to keep me entertained, and I still had my iPhone to make use of the in-flight WiFi.

On the ground in Philadelphia, a Qatar Airways gate agent was on hand to direct passengers to the appropriate baggage claim, where more agents assisted in picking up the checked electronics, comparing tickets, reviewing the paperwork and requiring a signature before handing over my laptop and tablet, still tightly secured. While it was an extra step, dealing with Qatar Airways and the staff turned what could be a major pain into only a minor inconvenience.

I will say, if you hope to open your laptop and work immediately, think again. The packaging is extremely secure, and I couldn’t open it until I was home using scissors.

— Kim Krol, editor in chief