tokyolyon

I just had a flight from London heathrow to Osaka and then to Tokyo. I left from London on the 29th of May and arrived to Tokyo on the 31st of May.
I was on QR 12 which arrives to Doha at 23:59 then my connecting flight QR820 to Osaka leaves at 00:45. Knowing that I will only have 45 minute connection I decided not to take any luggage with me, only my lap top. I am staying in Tokyo only for 5 days. What happened is that my flight from London was delayed so we arrived to Doha at 00:14 I run to the boarding gate after going through the security check. When I arrived the gate agents told me: “sorry sir we waited for you and you didn’t come so we can’t make 150 passengers wait for only one passenger” I was so angry and told them my flight was delayed what can I do?? The plane was still there in Doha as I arrived to gate at 00:35 so 10 minutes before departure but I was denied boarding. I insisted to take the flight but in vain. They said please go to transfer desk on 2nd floor in front on gate N10. I went there but was told to wait. I waited for an hour they told to go to the transfer desk downstairs and talk with Mr Ali. I did so and was looking for this mr ali. Then I was sent to customer service upstairs in front of gate 12, no one could decide anything. Finally I was told sorry sir you have to wait till tomorrow and you have to stay at the transit area. Then I was so frustrated and told them I will not stay in transit area and I need to see any responsible person there, then they sent me to another office where they took me to the silver lounge( I am a silver member anyway) and asked me to wait. I waited till 3:30 am when they provided me with hotel. I had to explain that it was not my mistake and my flight was delayed for more than 10 people. Why is all that? Why did I have to go through all this???
The next day when I took the flight to Osaka, the flight was delayed to wait for connecting passengers. In my case they didn’t wait. So when I arrived to Osaka I complained and asked for compensation or my money back. I will have to take the same flights on July 17th from London to Tokyo so it’s so possible to face the same situation. I am now waiting for their answer. I told them they have to answer me before my next flight with them on May 5th back to London. Otherwise I will ask them for a refund and I will book with any other airline. I wonder what will happen now.
This company seems an irresponsible company, I was coming from a flight operated by them and yet they didn’t wait for me. They didn’t know anything about the status of my flight from London as I was told we waited for you sir but you didn’t come. So strange and the way how they treat passengers is so horrible. Ground service is a big 0. I am really thinking seriously of not flying with them anymore. That’s my experience so please take care.

FlyerTalker7654

I dont know what the general rule is when this happens? If Qatar should give you a hotel etc but that is wrong. Maybe someone else can shed some light on the rules regarding this??? That said.....it is a joke that they have treated you like that, however, seems to be a general thing

tokyolyon

Hey. Thanks for your comment. The thing is that they denied my boarding and yet no one in Doha knew about my flight being delayed from LHR which is so strange. I had to explain about that to everyone. Plus I didn’t want to stay in Doha anyway. The other thing is that I was told by the gate agents, sorry sir we waited for you but you didn’t come. This is ridiculous.

In 2005 I had a ticket (discounted economy) with Japan airlines to Tunis via Frankfurt for the out bound flight and via Paris for the inbound flight. I bought it from august to travel in December. 2 days before my departure I got a call from Japan airlines saying that the Tokyo- Frankfurt flight was overbooked and they asked if it was ok for me to fly via Paris instead of Frankfurt. It was the same departure day. They told me if it was ok with me they will give me 20 percent off the price I paid plus a business class seat from Tokyo to Paris. They just changed my transit point and look what they did for me.

dmunz

First, ground service in the main terminal at Doha is abysmal.

I was booted off a flight to LHR and rescheduled for the next day’s Manchester flight while I sat in the lounge. (The only thing I can figure is that I had the lounge agent change my seat and that somehow turned me into a no-show.) I was not told and had to hotfoot it back to the transfer desk. Fortunately, there was no line and I was able to get back onto the flight to connect to my final leg home to Houston.

Having said that 45 minutes should never be a legal connection in Doha and anyone who connects through there should look for a better option. Even if they let you book it, it is a recipe for disaster.

FWIW
DLM

tokyolyon

The problem is that I will be flying with them from London back to Tokyo on July 17th. With a very possible delay from London this means that I will face the same situation which I won’t accept anymore.
One thing else I wanted to point out to, is their in-flight entertainment. On the way to London from Doha on May 20th the system was not working. We were in an A340-600 which is relatively a new aircraft. The flight purser came to the back side of the plane( my seat was the last one) and was shouting and saying to other cabin crew that the aircraft is awful, no in-flight entertainment and first class seats didn’t work. On the way back from Doha to Osaka we had no in-flight entertainment too due to some problems. The aircraft was so old and ugly with fixed remote controls. We didn’t need them anyway.
I used to fly with them from Osaka to Tunis or Dubai mainly so didn’t really notice the differences in service. The Doha London service is a 5 star service but that’s not true to all their destinations. Why is that? Why they differentiate in service? Really so strange.

MH017

Were you parked next to the Terminal or opposite the runway at the 'new' apron ? In that case you even have to take a bus'trip' (busses can only go 40kph according to the traffic signs), so, this alone will take you 15-20 mins, if flight is on time...so, with a 45mins transfer, this will only give you 20 mins to clear the horrendous security check and proceed to your new gate...

I always take at least 1hr30mins minimum transit-time @ DOH to create some buffer; suggest you take an earlier LHR-DOH flight for your DOH-TYO connection (and check also your TYO-DOH-LHR transit time)...

dmunz

This brings up another thought - how are QR's published arrival times set? Is the arrival the time the aircraft is parked, the doors opened, or when they expect the bus to drop off pax at the terminal? I've never given it much thought or checked my watch. I'll try to remember for my arrival this Saturday.

FWIW
DLM

tokyolyon

when we landed from London it was close to the Terminal. when I took the flight to Osaka the next day it was so far, i mean the plane so i guess it was the new apron.

MH017

Times in the timetable are always on-blocks for arrival- and off-blocks for departure-times (hence the 45mins prior to departure boarding-time)...so, for DOH, if you arrive at the 'new' apron and depart again from the 'new' apron via the Terminal (= long bus-trips both ways), you definitely will be in trouble with less than 1 hour IMHO...

It's about time, QR updates their booking-tool/(internet)reservation system, as I've seen connections to/from DXB (via DOH) of only 35 mins
(I know they operate more than once per day there, but still...........)

sutrakhk

[QUOTE=MH017;11848003]Were you parked next to the Terminal or opposite the runway at the 'new' apron ? In that case you even have to take a bus'trip' (busses can only go 40kph according to the traffic signs), so, this alone will take you 15-20 mins, if flight is on time...so, with a 45mins transfer, this will only give you 20 mins to clear the horrendous security check and proceed to your new gate...QUOTE]

That bring back my memory to 2006, I was doing HKG-DOH-LGW, when I arrived Doha, my A340-600 is parked quite near to the premium terminal, so it took 5 mins to the PT, however, when going to the DOH-LGW flight, the bus departed from 10 mins before the departure time of the flight from the PT, after 15 mins ride, I can see nothing around us (no other vechicle nor any aircraft, and it was around 1am), I started to worry as where were we going to...... 10 mins later, I can bearly see a A330 in front of us finally and it was my flight to LGW.

So till this moment, my impression of Doha Airport is.....a Dark Desert...

westernguyriyad

It really is very easy. You are in London....book a direct non-stop flight from London to Tokyo and forget trying to save a few bucks with a connecting flight...as you have seen, saving money is not always the best route to go, pardon the pun. Qatars ground service is horrible, always was and probably always will be.

PhlyingRPh

It's really only american carriers that pitch a hissy fit about putting people up in hotels when things go wrong. I have never been refused a hotel, meals, etc when things went tits up on a Middle Eastern or Asian carrier, even for weather issues. I've mis-connected on QR before and have always been taken care of expediently. However, QR CS can be inconsistent so I can see how the OP could wind up in QR Hell.

tokyolyon

Hey. Its not question of money. this ticket was more expensive than a direct flight by Japan airlines. Its just that I really like their services, i mean onboard and I have never had any problem with them before. May be because my flights were always on time.

westernguyriyad

If you've had good experience with JL and less so with QR, stick with JL. QR's service (as you've experienced both on board and off) isn't worth getting so upset about. They really aren't concerned with any sort of passenger complaints. Their attitude basically is, if you don't like it, go somewhere else. Welcome to QR's world. I can't imagine anyone knowingly paying a higher price for longer flight times, connecting service and questionable service, but there you go.

moocherx

It's sad that the ground staff in DOH suck... i've found in both BKK and CDG, they are really quite excellent. In fact, I was once stuck in Paris during a train strike, thinking I'd not make it to the airport. Called QR at CDG, told them my problem, they checked me in on the phone and when I got to the airport at the last minute, the main check-in guy/supervisor brought me my boarding pass and did all he could to make sure everything was ok.

It's not a QR thing though... it's a Middle East (well, Gulf states) thing, this whole approach to take-it-or-leave-it customer service.