I've been trying to get a response from Qatar Airways about an incident that I read about in a number of places, including on this site and in Le Monde newspaper, here in France where I live.

Early this year a director of an Alliance Française travelling in Business Class was thrown into jail for two days on arrival in Doha because he had the temerity to complain about staff members making a noise whilst everyone was trying to sleep. What's more, one of the staff members concerned was apparently the Captain, who had a beer in his hand and was in the company of female hostesses.

This story worried me because in 2010 we had started using Qatar Business Class for going to Hong Kong from Paris and Casablanca. We always had very positive experiences and I was very surprised by this story. However, no-one from Qatar Airways has ever either denied it or spoken about it to say that the problem was dealt with, that the people concerned were sacked - or that the Alliance Française director was a liar and being sued for defamation. Nothing. Which leads me to be very uneasy. If the story was untrue then the airline should at least deny it. If it was true then they should have taken the necessary steps to reassure their clients that this was a 'rogue' captain who has since been reprimanded or sacked and that no client, whether Business Class or not, risks being sent to jail just because they complain about staff misbehaving.

This was the reassurance I was seeking from Qatar Airways. However, after numerous emails during the last 6 months to which no-one bothered to reply I am forced to the conclusion that the story is true and QA is either so arrogant that they don't care, or so incompetent in PR that they don't realise how much damage this kind of incident can do to their reputation. Therefore neither I, nor anyone connected to me or my company will now be travelling on Qatar Airways until I receive a full assurance from them that not only has this matter been resolved but that no client will again run the same risk.