Qatar airways problems
Apr 17, 2014, 1:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 32
Qatar airways problems
Hi
i have had lots of problems with Qatar this holiday and think they are being unreasonable.
we booked LHR-DOH-SGN and arrived at LHR to be told our connecting flight had been moved from 0800 7 hours earlier to 0100 in the morning. we had deliberately booked 24 hours stopover to alleviate jet lag so we really did not want this. the change had been made on 30 Jan but no attempt had been made to contact us. the agent at the airport was not exactly helpful and offered us the cost of the hotel accommodation and space available business class upgrade. now space was available for at least 1 passenger but the gate knew nothing about it and failed to honour that offer.
we did get an upgrade to business on the DOH-SGN sector but we were already feeling really tried. qatar have apologised but are not willing to offer compensation and are not even willing to offer the cost of the hotel accommodation they agreed.
any thoughts on this? I am not impressed with their service.
Hugo
i have had lots of problems with Qatar this holiday and think they are being unreasonable.
we booked LHR-DOH-SGN and arrived at LHR to be told our connecting flight had been moved from 0800 7 hours earlier to 0100 in the morning. we had deliberately booked 24 hours stopover to alleviate jet lag so we really did not want this. the change had been made on 30 Jan but no attempt had been made to contact us. the agent at the airport was not exactly helpful and offered us the cost of the hotel accommodation and space available business class upgrade. now space was available for at least 1 passenger but the gate knew nothing about it and failed to honour that offer.
we did get an upgrade to business on the DOH-SGN sector but we were already feeling really tried. qatar have apologised but are not willing to offer compensation and are not even willing to offer the cost of the hotel accommodation they agreed.
any thoughts on this? I am not impressed with their service.
Hugo
Apr 17, 2014, 2:59 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,797
You mean they moved your flight earlier, so when you arrived at LHR you had already missed the flight and had to go on the following day's service?
Apr 17, 2014, 4:14 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Qatar Airways Gold, Singapore air Kris flyer,Emirates Silver, Etihad Gold
Posts: 359
I think what he means is that his connecting flight from Doha was moved 7 hours earlier than scheduled. From his post I could understand that when he bought his ticket his connecting flight was to depart Doha at 8am but when he went to LHR to take his first flight they told him that the connecting flight will depart at 1am instead.
Apr 17, 2014, 4:55 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Miami
Posts: 157
Not sure when the OP bought his ticket but it appears that QR 966 that he was booked on from DOH to SGN went from a daily to a thrice weekly to being eliminated in the last six months. Which left QR with one daily non stop departing at 1 a.m. Checking the reservation often to ensure that flights have not been changed is especially important the earlier one buys the ticket. Airlines make frequent schedule changes for a variety of reasons. Doing so would obviously give one options including (in the case of a 7 hour schedule change) with some airlines at least the ability to cancel without penalty. My experience with airlines is that they have a varying track record on informing you of the changes via email. A case in point my next flight on QR has gone through some minor schedule changes as well as an aircraft change causing seat re-allocations with no email. I had to check MMB to find that out.
While inconvenient since both flights are approximately the same duration an upgrade on DOH-SGN is not bad. Too bad they did not reimburse you the cost of the hotel but how much does seven hours less in DOH (on a 24 hour layover) affect jet lag after what is a 7 hour LHR to DOH flight. Plus J would clearly have left you more rested than any Y class seat on your DOH-SGN trip. I would ask for some miles in lieu of the promised hotel and move on. And check your return schedule since a service reduction could have affected your return also.
While inconvenient since both flights are approximately the same duration an upgrade on DOH-SGN is not bad. Too bad they did not reimburse you the cost of the hotel but how much does seven hours less in DOH (on a 24 hour layover) affect jet lag after what is a 7 hour LHR to DOH flight. Plus J would clearly have left you more rested than any Y class seat on your DOH-SGN trip. I would ask for some miles in lieu of the promised hotel and move on. And check your return schedule since a service reduction could have affected your return also.
Apr 17, 2014, 1:32 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ Diamond/*G, IHG Diamond Amb, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,239
Not sure when the OP bought his ticket but it appears that QR 966 that he was booked on from DOH to SGN went from a daily to a thrice weekly to being eliminated in the last six months. Which left QR with one daily non stop departing at 1 a.m. Checking the reservation often to ensure that flights have not been changed is especially important the earlier one buys the ticket. Airlines make frequent schedule changes for a variety of reasons. Doing so would obviously give one options including (in the case of a 7 hour schedule change) with some airlines at least the ability to cancel without penalty. My experience with airlines is that they have a varying track record on informing you of the changes via email. A case in point my next flight on QR has gone through some minor schedule changes as well as an aircraft change causing seat re-allocations with no email. I had to check MMB to find that out.
While inconvenient since both flights are approximately the same duration an upgrade on DOH-SGN is not bad. Too bad they did not reimburse you the cost of the hotel but how much does seven hours less in DOH (on a 24 hour layover) affect jet lag after what is a 7 hour LHR to DOH flight. Plus J would clearly have left you more rested than any Y class seat on your DOH-SGN trip. I would ask for some miles in lieu of the promised hotel and move on. And check your return schedule since a service reduction could have affected your return also.
While inconvenient since both flights are approximately the same duration an upgrade on DOH-SGN is not bad. Too bad they did not reimburse you the cost of the hotel but how much does seven hours less in DOH (on a 24 hour layover) affect jet lag after what is a 7 hour LHR to DOH flight. Plus J would clearly have left you more rested than any Y class seat on your DOH-SGN trip. I would ask for some miles in lieu of the promised hotel and move on. And check your return schedule since a service reduction could have affected your return also.
Apr 28, 2014, 1:49 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 32
thanks for your replies.
it was the fact that we had deliberately booked a stopover that was the problem. had we just wanted to transit, we could have done things very differently and would probably have flown with vietnam airlines.
anyway, i am having very little luck with Qatar. The problem is that their staff AT lhr agreed to pay for the hotel at doha but they are not honouring that agreement. what can I do if i am unhappy with their response to lack of it?
it was the fact that we had deliberately booked a stopover that was the problem. had we just wanted to transit, we could have done things very differently and would probably have flown with vietnam airlines.
anyway, i am having very little luck with Qatar. The problem is that their staff AT lhr agreed to pay for the hotel at doha but they are not honouring that agreement. what can I do if i am unhappy with their response to lack of it?
May 4, 2014, 5:29 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,957
unless you have it in writing I doubt you would have much luck in claiming it successfully from QR, from my understanding their customer service record is quite the challenge. if they did upgrade you on the DOH-SGN segment atleast you got something out of it, but the best way to make your voice heard is use a different carrier in the future.
are you dealing with QR in London or QR in Doha?
are you dealing with QR in London or QR in Doha?
May 4, 2014, 6:56 am
#9
Formerly known as FTRox87
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: TX
Programs: AA/US 1M, AS, BA, CX, EK, EY, JL, KE, LH, NH, OS, QF, QR, TG, UA/CO | *$G
Posts: 1,428
try voicing your concerns on QRs FB page. perhaps you might get something of value from the social media/marketing team in terms of favorable customer service experience.
but really I dont understand how this change adversely affected you at all. you purposefully booked a 24 hr layover in DOH for whatever reason (which I dont understand -- I'd much rather *recover* from jet lag at my destination,) anyways so you already made hotel arrangements or w/e (it seems you were already going to pay out of pocket) and the schedule change from 8am to 1am isnt exactly affecting business hours for something you can claim work related, nor could you claim you were gonna explore the city/DOH's nightlife or something that you *needed* those extra 7 hrs.
in every way you slice it, the change was beneficial to you. not only the move to an earlier flight, but also a free upgrade to J on your last leg before you arrived at your destination, presumably well rested esp if it was a QR 787.
but really I dont understand how this change adversely affected you at all. you purposefully booked a 24 hr layover in DOH for whatever reason (which I dont understand -- I'd much rather *recover* from jet lag at my destination,) anyways so you already made hotel arrangements or w/e (it seems you were already going to pay out of pocket) and the schedule change from 8am to 1am isnt exactly affecting business hours for something you can claim work related, nor could you claim you were gonna explore the city/DOH's nightlife or something that you *needed* those extra 7 hrs.
in every way you slice it, the change was beneficial to you. not only the move to an earlier flight, but also a free upgrade to J on your last leg before you arrived at your destination, presumably well rested esp if it was a QR 787.
May 7, 2014, 12:44 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 32
reply
it was the fact that we would have two poor nights sleep in a row and also we booked qatar to have the stopover, otherwise could have flown direct with vietnam airlines.
but the good news is that qatar, after some persuasion, have agreed to reimburse us the cost of the hotel. they have transferred it to our bank account so just waiting to receive it now.
but the good news is that qatar, after some persuasion, have agreed to reimburse us the cost of the hotel. they have transferred it to our bank account so just waiting to receive it now.
May 10, 2014, 9:10 am
#11
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: 30,000ft
Programs: EK, BA, EY, SQ, IHG, HH, SPG
Posts: 670
I don't think they would readily know how to handle a complaint about leaving earlier than scheduled! Seems you got a good deal regardless of the hotel refund (which you now also seem to have got though I do't fully understand why you asked for this), business class to SGN very nice and a good way to relax for the terrible inconvenience of catching your flight 7 hours earlier.