Thanks for all the replies. So - Qatar has a 24 hr call line - only it is in Qatar itself - good to know . But what purpose does it serve to a passenger in the US ? Even a flyertalk member like me did not know this - so how do you expect a common man and the big majority of the folks out there to know this ?

Again seriously - Qatar lists their US call times as 9am-7pm & you expect all flying folks to figure out that they have a 24 hr call line based in Qatar - look it up online - and then place an international call to Qatar for help. Well - dont know about others - but neither me nor most of the passengers would think this is such a great idea. And yes - if you advertise yourself as the world's 5* airline - you are held to higher standards than other airlines.

Emirates has a 24 hr call line in the US & their phone customer service is pretty good. A lot of folks keep comparing Qatar here to other long haul European & American airlines - well that should not even be on the horizon. European & American long hauls are almost universally inferior to the Big 3 Middle East airlines or Singapore.

And I am comparing the Qatar economy product against others. I personally feel Emirates is much much superior to Qatar - better customer service - on the phone + on ground, similar aircraft age , IFE that is miles ahead of Qatar and better connectivity & facilities at Dubai, similar food service . Leg space in economy slightly better in Qatar - this is their only advantage in economy - atleast for me.