Jun 5, 2017, 6:48 am
Last edit by: plunet
Wiki last updated: 21 July 2017 18:00 UTC
Summary of key traveller experiences and feedback on this forum since Mid-June
Some specific data points from other travellers:
(but there is a lot more valuable information if you can trawl back through the thread)
#753 CAI-LHR-DOH been offered as alternative for ex-CAI 4 days prior to 1st sector.
#772 KUL-DOH-LXR reroute to CAI and IST refused
#792 AUH-DOH-DPS by QR rebooked to DXB-HKG-DPS by CX
#794 Australia-DOH-HBE rebooked as DOH-BEY on QR on 2nd attempt.
#808 CAI>DOH>BOS>DOH>CAI rebooked to KRT and date change
#818 SYD-DOH-CAI changed to SYD-DOH-KWI-CAI, layovers optimed and +Qatar stopover
#830 and #840 Economy ICN-DOH-DXB rebooked onto CX ICN-HKG-DXB
#849 ex-CAI ininaries changed to ex-AMM but needed to HUACA a few times.
#856 CAI-DOH-BKK changed to FCO-DOH-BKK all on QR
#868 DFW-DOH-HBE changed to DFW-DOH-LCA all on QR 2 weeks out.
#906 Unable to get LXR-DOH-HKG-BNE rerouted until 72 hours prior
#927 CAI-DOH-BKK rebooked onto CAI-BAH-AMM on Gulf DOH-BKK (on QR) and return back to AMM
#966 DXB-DOH (award ticket) was changed to DXB-KWI-DOH on Kuwait+QR 48hrs in advance
#966 DOH-CAI (2 award tickets) were changed to DOH-BEY on QR 48 hours advance
#966 CAI-DOH-MUC (paid business) were changed to BEY-DOH-MUC 72 hours advance
#981 HKT-DOH-DWC (J/F tix) change to HKT-DOH-KWI all on QR 10 days out.
#985 ex-LXR ticket rerouted by OTA as CAI-BEY-DOH outside the 72 hr window
#1004 BKK-DOH-CAI in F rebooked as BKK-DOH-BEY in QR F, BEY-CAI in C on ME
#1005 HEL-DOH-DXB rebooked HEL-DOH-MCT on QR and MCT-DXB on Oman once ticket status went to unconfirmed.
#1057 MAN-DOH-DXB rebooked as MAN-LHR-DXB on BA (had to HUACA 3 times)
#1141 Multiple ex-CAI itineraries CAI-DOK-BKK return in J, CAI-DOH-LHR return in J, CAI-DOH-BKK single in F changed to all be ex-KWI. Had to HUACA 3 times.
#1157 LXR-DOH-NRT booked in January, flight changed to CAI-DOH-NRT
#1172 Rebooked CAI-(F)-DOH(J)-BKK to CAI-(C/ME)-BEY-(F)-DOH-(C)-BKK at 77hrs from departure
#1173 Rebooked at QR office HBE-DOH-DPS to HBE-IST-DOH-DPS on TK/TK/QR and improved timing on DOS-DPS segment
Offical guidance from QR website as of mid July:
What Happened
On the 6th of June flights from Qatar to Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (and vice versa) were suspended.
This includes all Qatar flights between Doha and Abu Dhabi, Abha, Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Bahrain, Buraydah, Cairo, Dammam, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Dubai–International, Gassim, Hofuf, Jeddah, Luxor, Madinah, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Sharjah, Tabuk, Ta'if and Yanbu.
Adding to this at 00:00 (UTC) on the 6th of June restrictions were put in place limiting flights to Doha to one particular corridor through the airspace of Bahrain. This has since been relaxed to two specific corridors through Bahrain airspace with a second corridor up the Saudi Arabia the new addition.
All other flights to other Qatar Airways destinations including the Maldives are still operating although some have delays due to the extended time required to avoid restricted airspace.
There are a couple of routes that are having to make fuel stops in Athens or Muscat but this seems to be dependent on the type of aircraft as well.
Details on the Airspace can be found here - https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/f...ain-and-egypt/
What about my Flights to other destinations?
Flights to Europe, Asia, Pacific and Norte America are operating as per schedule with minimal delays. There is no need to contact QR regarding these services.
Flights between Doha and Souto America are facing delays due to longer times and/or need for a technical stop-over. Flights to GRU and EZE are 2hr to 5hrs longer.
Flight between Doha and Africa/Middle East have longer flights times due to the airspace restrictions. Some routes like Doha to Khartoum have felt the full force of the restrictions with the flight now taking 2hr 30 mins longer than normal.
Qatar has begun to re-time flights to ensure the network continues running smoothly. Changes have been since Monday 12 June 2017, so it is advised to check your flight status and times on the Qatar website.
What about my flight to a suspended destination?
If you are due to fly in the next few days, search for alternative routings and note them down.
24 hours before your scheduled departure time, contact your LOCAL QR office, and ask for their assistance. Advise them that you have found an alternative routing which you would be willing to accept and see if they will book it for you.
If you are due to fly more than 5 days from today, try and relax. Do not panic and please do not call QR as you are blocking the lines for those flying in the next 24 hours. At this stage, Qatar is only offering options to those who are traveling in the next 24 hours.
Currently, people in the thread have suggested that Qatar is rebooking on flights through Muscat, Kuwait, Amman, Istanbul, Mumbai, Beirut, Athens and Tunis.
You can only get a refund if your booking is to one of the destinations listed at the top! (The number of people asking QR on Twitter for a refund of other flights is amazing)
What about other airlines?
Most other carriers in and out of Doha are still operating except for Air Arabia, Air Arabia Egypt, Air Cairo, EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad, FlyDubai, Rotana Jet and Saudia.
Most other carriers are using the new restricted routes into Doha although provided the aircraft is not registered in Qatar they are allowed to use the Saudi Arabia or Egypt Airspace.
Timeline of Events:
5 June 2017
- UAE, KSA, Bahrain and Egypt withdraw licenses and close airspace
- All MS flights between CAI and DOH was zeroed out
- All GF flights between BAH and DOH closed for sale
- All QR flights between DOH and CAI closed for sale
- All QR staff travel was canceled
6 June 2017
- Airspace Restriction came into effect at 00:00 (UTC)
- All QR flights between DOH and UAE/Bahrain/KSA closed for sale
- QR flights between DOH and MLE still bookable
- QR Charters 3 aircraft from Jeddah to Muscat
7 June 2017
- QR Charters an aircraft from Jeddah to Kuwait
8 June 2017
- Qatar Airways website blocked in the UAE
- Qatar Airways offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain close
11 June 2017
- Second flight corridor added along the Saudi Arabia Coast
13 June 2017
- UAE Relaxes rules allowing non Qatari registered aircraft to use their airspace to/from Qatar but they are still not allowing flights between the UAE and Qatar from any operators.
- Egypt Relaxes rules allowing non Qatari registered aircraft to use their airspace to/from Qatar. The new rules also allow for non Qatar or Egypt registered aircraft to operate flights between the two countries.
14 June 2017
- Agreement between QR and BA/A3 on reticketing passengers (link below)
Further information:
- QR Travel Alert http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...bile_site=true
- QR FAQs http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...002369667-FAQs
- QR Charter flights arranged from Jeddah KSA to Muscat Oman http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...Muscat-to-Doha
- QR agreement with BA & A3 to reticket their flights http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...r-help-qr.html
- Political background and latest updates: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40155829
Summary of key traveller experiences and feedback on this forum since Mid-June
- Policy statement (link) for the travel industry issued 15th June 2017
- Refund is always an option, but very varied experiences of how quickly the refund is processed, from a few days to "still waiting". Some experiences of passengers being pressurised into taking refunds when this is not necessary if you can wait.
- If you want to reroute from a closed destination to another middle east destination still served by QR, you might be able to do this as early as 30 days from 1st sector, although we have had reports of rerouting at 6 weeks out.
- Where QR have to reroute onto other carriers, long haul reroutes typically onto BA, CX and TK seem to be quoted most often. In the Gulf region ME, KU, WY are quoted most often. Although RJ is a OneWorld carrier and should be a parter for QR, they are not accepting QR rerouted tickets.
- Status of reservations for travel to affected destinations typically changes to "Unconfirmed" 7 days ahead of travel.
- If your booking was via a 3rd party or agent you probably can't get Qatar to change the ticket until 72 hours before the first sector. 3rd parties and agents seem to be offering refunds rather than rerouting, although there has been some success if you can show them the QR rebooking policy document.
- There has been a very mixed bag of reports of how QR are handling rebooking. Some people have no luck getting itineraries changed before 72 hours before departure, but others do. So some good advice is to always be polite but if you don't get what you want, then thank the agent for their time and HUACA (hang up and call again) - preferably after you have had a drink and have calmed down, and maybe calling a different office.
Some specific data points from other travellers:
(but there is a lot more valuable information if you can trawl back through the thread)
#753 CAI-LHR-DOH been offered as alternative for ex-CAI 4 days prior to 1st sector.
#772 KUL-DOH-LXR reroute to CAI and IST refused
#792 AUH-DOH-DPS by QR rebooked to DXB-HKG-DPS by CX
#794 Australia-DOH-HBE rebooked as DOH-BEY on QR on 2nd attempt.
#808 CAI>DOH>BOS>DOH>CAI rebooked to KRT and date change
#818 SYD-DOH-CAI changed to SYD-DOH-KWI-CAI, layovers optimed and +Qatar stopover
#830 and #840 Economy ICN-DOH-DXB rebooked onto CX ICN-HKG-DXB
#849 ex-CAI ininaries changed to ex-AMM but needed to HUACA a few times.
#856 CAI-DOH-BKK changed to FCO-DOH-BKK all on QR
#868 DFW-DOH-HBE changed to DFW-DOH-LCA all on QR 2 weeks out.
#906 Unable to get LXR-DOH-HKG-BNE rerouted until 72 hours prior
#927 CAI-DOH-BKK rebooked onto CAI-BAH-AMM on Gulf DOH-BKK (on QR) and return back to AMM
#966 DXB-DOH (award ticket) was changed to DXB-KWI-DOH on Kuwait+QR 48hrs in advance
#966 DOH-CAI (2 award tickets) were changed to DOH-BEY on QR 48 hours advance
#966 CAI-DOH-MUC (paid business) were changed to BEY-DOH-MUC 72 hours advance
#981 HKT-DOH-DWC (J/F tix) change to HKT-DOH-KWI all on QR 10 days out.
#985 ex-LXR ticket rerouted by OTA as CAI-BEY-DOH outside the 72 hr window
#1004 BKK-DOH-CAI in F rebooked as BKK-DOH-BEY in QR F, BEY-CAI in C on ME
#1005 HEL-DOH-DXB rebooked HEL-DOH-MCT on QR and MCT-DXB on Oman once ticket status went to unconfirmed.
#1057 MAN-DOH-DXB rebooked as MAN-LHR-DXB on BA (had to HUACA 3 times)
#1141 Multiple ex-CAI itineraries CAI-DOK-BKK return in J, CAI-DOH-LHR return in J, CAI-DOH-BKK single in F changed to all be ex-KWI. Had to HUACA 3 times.
#1157 LXR-DOH-NRT booked in January, flight changed to CAI-DOH-NRT
#1172 Rebooked CAI-(F)-DOH(J)-BKK to CAI-(C/ME)-BEY-(F)-DOH-(C)-BKK at 77hrs from departure
#1173 Rebooked at QR office HBE-DOH-DPS to HBE-IST-DOH-DPS on TK/TK/QR and improved timing on DOS-DPS segment
Offical guidance from QR website as of mid July:
Passengers who have purchased their tickets from Qatar Airways have the following options to refund their tickets:
For tickets booked on qatarairways.com, they can:
Passengers who have purchased their Qatar Airways tickets through a Travel Agency can request their refund from the issuing Travel Agent.
For tickets booked on qatarairways.com, they can:
- Go to Refund requests;
- They can approach their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
- They can call the Qatar Airways contact Centre at +974 4022 0072
- Contact their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
- Call Qatar Airways Contact Centre on +974 4022 0072
Passengers who have purchased their Qatar Airways tickets through a Travel Agency can request their refund from the issuing Travel Agent.
Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt please use: https://refundsapp1.blueivysync.com/...er-refund.html
This is a different web form as the Qatar website is blocked from some of these countries.
This is a different web form as the Qatar website is blocked from some of these countries.
For further information and FAQs please visit: http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...002369667-FAQs
On the 6th of June flights from Qatar to Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (and vice versa) were suspended.
This includes all Qatar flights between Doha and Abu Dhabi, Abha, Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Bahrain, Buraydah, Cairo, Dammam, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Dubai–International, Gassim, Hofuf, Jeddah, Luxor, Madinah, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Sharjah, Tabuk, Ta'if and Yanbu.
Adding to this at 00:00 (UTC) on the 6th of June restrictions were put in place limiting flights to Doha to one particular corridor through the airspace of Bahrain. This has since been relaxed to two specific corridors through Bahrain airspace with a second corridor up the Saudi Arabia the new addition.
All other flights to other Qatar Airways destinations including the Maldives are still operating although some have delays due to the extended time required to avoid restricted airspace.
There are a couple of routes that are having to make fuel stops in Athens or Muscat but this seems to be dependent on the type of aircraft as well.
Details on the Airspace can be found here - https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/f...ain-and-egypt/
What about my Flights to other destinations?
Flights to Europe, Asia, Pacific and Norte America are operating as per schedule with minimal delays. There is no need to contact QR regarding these services.
Flights between Doha and Souto America are facing delays due to longer times and/or need for a technical stop-over. Flights to GRU and EZE are 2hr to 5hrs longer.
Flight between Doha and Africa/Middle East have longer flights times due to the airspace restrictions. Some routes like Doha to Khartoum have felt the full force of the restrictions with the flight now taking 2hr 30 mins longer than normal.
Qatar has begun to re-time flights to ensure the network continues running smoothly. Changes have been since Monday 12 June 2017, so it is advised to check your flight status and times on the Qatar website.
What about my flight to a suspended destination?
If you are due to fly in the next few days, search for alternative routings and note them down.
24 hours before your scheduled departure time, contact your LOCAL QR office, and ask for their assistance. Advise them that you have found an alternative routing which you would be willing to accept and see if they will book it for you.
If you are due to fly more than 5 days from today, try and relax. Do not panic and please do not call QR as you are blocking the lines for those flying in the next 24 hours. At this stage, Qatar is only offering options to those who are traveling in the next 24 hours.
Currently, people in the thread have suggested that Qatar is rebooking on flights through Muscat, Kuwait, Amman, Istanbul, Mumbai, Beirut, Athens and Tunis.
You can only get a refund if your booking is to one of the destinations listed at the top! (The number of people asking QR on Twitter for a refund of other flights is amazing)
What about other airlines?
Most other carriers in and out of Doha are still operating except for Air Arabia, Air Arabia Egypt, Air Cairo, EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad, FlyDubai, Rotana Jet and Saudia.
Most other carriers are using the new restricted routes into Doha although provided the aircraft is not registered in Qatar they are allowed to use the Saudi Arabia or Egypt Airspace.
Timeline of Events:
5 June 2017
- UAE, KSA, Bahrain and Egypt withdraw licenses and close airspace
- All MS flights between CAI and DOH was zeroed out
- All GF flights between BAH and DOH closed for sale
- All QR flights between DOH and CAI closed for sale
- All QR staff travel was canceled
6 June 2017
- Airspace Restriction came into effect at 00:00 (UTC)
- All QR flights between DOH and UAE/Bahrain/KSA closed for sale
- QR flights between DOH and MLE still bookable
- QR Charters 3 aircraft from Jeddah to Muscat
7 June 2017
- QR Charters an aircraft from Jeddah to Kuwait
8 June 2017
- Qatar Airways website blocked in the UAE
- Qatar Airways offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain close
11 June 2017
- Second flight corridor added along the Saudi Arabia Coast
13 June 2017
- UAE Relaxes rules allowing non Qatari registered aircraft to use their airspace to/from Qatar but they are still not allowing flights between the UAE and Qatar from any operators.
- Egypt Relaxes rules allowing non Qatari registered aircraft to use their airspace to/from Qatar. The new rules also allow for non Qatar or Egypt registered aircraft to operate flights between the two countries.
14 June 2017
- Agreement between QR and BA/A3 on reticketing passengers (link below)
Further information:
- QR Travel Alert http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...bile_site=true
- QR FAQs http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...002369667-FAQs
- QR Charter flights arranged from Jeddah KSA to Muscat Oman http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...Muscat-to-Doha
- QR agreement with BA & A3 to reticket their flights http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...r-help-qr.html
- Political background and latest updates: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40155829
Qatar Airways - UAE, KSA, Bahrain and Egypt withdraw licenses and close airspace
Jun 10, 2017, 3:41 am
#707
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,405
Re: rerouting, you'll probably have the same alternatives than all those other passengers travelling to/from Egypt, i.e. mainly AMM or BEY.
Jun 10, 2017, 3:54 am
#708
Join Date: May 1998
Location: australia
Posts: 5,762
Jun 10, 2017, 4:26 am
#709
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
With apologies for repeating a question I raised earlier in this thread (post # 406) what are the experiences of people who have successfully changed the first departure and/or last arrival point of their QR itineraries from the likes of CAI (or any other impacted airport) to a suitable alternative (e.g. AMM, BEY) as far as which party (i.e. the passenger or QR) picks up the tab for the necessary positioning flights (e.g. CAI-AMM and AMM-CAI)?
Does QR bear the cost of these additional flights, or are they telling the passenger to pay? Is QR more amenable to bearing this cost if the additional flights are on OW airlines (e.g. RJ)?
Thank you.
Does QR bear the cost of these additional flights, or are they telling the passenger to pay? Is QR more amenable to bearing this cost if the additional flights are on OW airlines (e.g. RJ)?
Thank you.
Jun 10, 2017, 5:30 am
#710
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New York
Programs: AA Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 592
Cpt - doh - jfk
I am flying CPT - DOH - JFK but not until August. The issue I have is that CPT - DOH and DOH - JFK are booked on separate tickets. Looking at the arrivals of CPH - DOH flight it is now around 90 - 120 minutes late. I Have only a 2.5 hour connection in DOH so this would cause a problem. Do you think that QR would move me to the later DOH - JFK flight? I don't think I need to worry about it too much now since the situation could resolve itself by August, but I want to be prepared if it doesn't. Or should I start looking at alternative routes with other airlines. I doubt that I would be protected the day of if my flight arrived late and I missed my connection. I am flying in C on award tickets if that makes any difference.
Jun 10, 2017, 6:29 am
#711
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 909
I am flying CPT - DOH - JFK but not until August. The issue I have is that CPT - DOH and DOH - JFK are booked on separate tickets. Looking at the arrivals of CPH - DOH flight it is now around 90 - 120 minutes late. I Have only a 2.5 hour connection in DOH so this would cause a problem. Do you think that QR would move me to the later DOH - JFK flight? I don't think I need to worry about it too much now since the situation could resolve itself by August, but I want to be prepared if it doesn't. Or should I start looking at alternative routes with other airlines. I doubt that I would be protected the day of if my flight arrived late and I missed my connection. I am flying in C on award tickets if that makes any difference.
Over the next couple of weeks, my guess is they'll start to re-time services to ensure connection work as planned. This may be a problem as airlines will generally move the re-timed/changed flight rather than another one but then again QR have been rather flexible throughout the whole process.
Who did you book the award tickets through? Cause if it's Qatar then they'll be able to help but for any other partners then you'll need to talk to them.
Jun 10, 2017, 7:01 am
#712
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,944
ekartash it is still early days and as you say the crisis may be over by then. QR are still working on routing and timing for the CPT-DOH flight and you should expect the times to reduce as experience is gained.
Oficially QR have a 72 hour before departure limit on when to apply for changes to existing reservations so it is way to early to even think about it.
Consider that if you change now you will not qualify for STPC and will be on your own as far as the 8h40m transit time is concerned. SInce you can check-in all the way from CPT to JFK. If you leave well alone then if the first leg is delayed then QR should put you on the later flight and look after you as with any missed connection due to late arrival.
Oficially QR have a 72 hour before departure limit on when to apply for changes to existing reservations so it is way to early to even think about it.
Consider that if you change now you will not qualify for STPC and will be on your own as far as the 8h40m transit time is concerned. SInce you can check-in all the way from CPT to JFK. If you leave well alone then if the first leg is delayed then QR should put you on the later flight and look after you as with any missed connection due to late arrival.
Jun 10, 2017, 7:41 am
#713
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: BG
Programs: BAEC Silver, TK Elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 827
Looking at the arrivals information, it looks like Qatar are doing a good job at keeping the majority of flights ontime or even early.
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/a...s/doh/arrivals
I also have 4 trips, each with 4 flight segments coming up over the course of this year and will be keeping a close eye on flight times and schedule changes. Lets hope any changes to difficult to get to airports don't have a knock on effect to the less affected routes.
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/a...s/doh/arrivals
I also have 4 trips, each with 4 flight segments coming up over the course of this year and will be keeping a close eye on flight times and schedule changes. Lets hope any changes to difficult to get to airports don't have a knock on effect to the less affected routes.
Jun 10, 2017, 9:24 am
#714
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Asia
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 186
I'd let QR deal with it, and probably try to let it be dealt with at the airport around the day of travel if time permitted. But that may just be me.
QR at the airport is more likely than CX to rebook a disrupted award ticket passenger into a mileage-earning booking class -- so that's like getting a rebate of sort on your award ticket.
QR at the airport is more likely than CX to rebook a disrupted award ticket passenger into a mileage-earning booking class -- so that's like getting a rebate of sort on your award ticket.
Jun 10, 2017, 1:53 pm
#716
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,944
When you consider that this crisis started on Monday of this week and for many hours the extent was unknown I think you will find that QR are handling this extremely well.
To start with they would only deal with journeys starting in the next 30 hours. This was to give those passengers the best possible service. This has later been extended to 72 hours and further extensions are to be expected as soon as is feasible.
Besides organising the reroutes with the other airlines involved in a fluid situation staff have had to cope with thousands upon thousands of calls from those whose flights are many months away or are not on itineraries that include the suspended routes.
Yesterday via another source I heard of one man who up to FIVE times a day since Monday has phoned his local QR office wanting to confirm that the requested wheelchair assistance for his elderly mother was still available when she transited DOH NEXT EASTER!!
In the circumstances I think that QR are offering the best possible service to those most in need of assistance and trying to stop the many spurious calls blocking the telephones.
Jun 10, 2017, 2:55 pm
#717
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: AMS>GRU/GIG
Programs: KL/AF Platinum
Posts: 1,417
QR GRU flights seriouly affected
QR flights DOH-GRU-EZE have been seriouly affected by the sanctions. They are now routed 1) via ATH with a tecnical stop-over increasing flight time in more than 4h; or via 2) Oman and Ethiopia increasing flight time in more than 2h.
This perhaps is QR route which has been hit more severely due to the sanctions.
This perhaps is QR route which has been hit more severely due to the sanctions.
Jun 10, 2017, 5:09 pm
#718
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 642
tlott welcome to the QR forum. Do look at the QR dashboard. You may find it a valuable tool for finding information.
When you consider that this crisis started on Monday of this week and for many hours the extent was unknown I think you will find that QR are handling this extremely well.
To start with they would only deal with journeys starting in the next 30 hours. This was to give those passengers the best possible service. This has later been extended to 72 hours and further extensions are to be expected as soon as is feasible.
Besides organising the reroutes with the other airlines involved in a fluid situation staff have had to cope with thousands upon thousands of calls from those whose flights are many months away or are not on itineraries that include the suspended routes.
Yesterday via another source I heard of one man who up to FIVE times a day since Monday has phoned his local QR office wanting to confirm that the requested wheelchair assistance for his elderly mother was still available when she transited DOH NEXT EASTER!!
In the circumstances I think that QR are offering the best possible service to those most in need of assistance and trying to stop the many spurious calls blocking the telephones.
When you consider that this crisis started on Monday of this week and for many hours the extent was unknown I think you will find that QR are handling this extremely well.
To start with they would only deal with journeys starting in the next 30 hours. This was to give those passengers the best possible service. This has later been extended to 72 hours and further extensions are to be expected as soon as is feasible.
Besides organising the reroutes with the other airlines involved in a fluid situation staff have had to cope with thousands upon thousands of calls from those whose flights are many months away or are not on itineraries that include the suspended routes.
Yesterday via another source I heard of one man who up to FIVE times a day since Monday has phoned his local QR office wanting to confirm that the requested wheelchair assistance for his elderly mother was still available when she transited DOH NEXT EASTER!!
In the circumstances I think that QR are offering the best possible service to those most in need of assistance and trying to stop the many spurious calls blocking the telephones.
However, I made my first call two days ago to inquire about the current policy. Then, I was told that I could re-route to another destination in QR's network near to HBE without penalty. Trying the same call center today it appears the policy has changed and I must be within 72 hours - even to re-route within the QR network to any other nearby destination.
My flight is in a few weeks to HBE (the return of a round trip ticket). I have other plans & costs dependent on my flight schedule. QR tells me I can wait until 72 hours, or cancel - however as the outbound has already been flown and the refund would be repriced against a one way itinerary, I would not receive any real refund.
All I am trying to do is re-route within the QR network, and continue to HBE at my own expense. This should not be a big deal. My hold times have all been less than 5 minutes - they do not seem overloaded at this point. What it seemed like the policy was (or was at least articulated to me...) - 1 free change to another QR destination nearby if the flight is coming in the next few weeks, and a rebook to any partner airline within 72 hours seems reasonable. The alternative flight options into HBE are not great, so I would like to firm up as much as I can. I'm irritated that they seem to have moved backwards in flexibility.
Hopefully there are positive developments coming soon, and/or more clarity.
Last edited by tlott; Jun 10, 2017 at 5:23 pm
Jun 10, 2017, 8:05 pm
#719
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 254
My ticket was changed from CAI to HKT reissued with no problems. Upon arrival at airport ticket was cancelled completely. Was told I could only go to ME , so got it reissue to Doha- now I'm seeking a full refund, do you think I have a case for a refund since it was ticketed to hkt originally?
Jun 11, 2017, 1:55 am
#720
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
+1 ^ (and I write this as someone who has a number of ex-CAI QR F/J itineraries over the next three months.