KQ IRROPS (M-F-K )

Now, the fun bits. KQ 886, a flight number stuck in my mind for the past 48h.

Schedule: NBO (23:59) - BKK (13:20 +1), BKK (15:05) - CAN (19:00)

Reality:
23:14 At the original boarding time, the gate board displayed some "delay" sign. GA said maybe 30min. So I went back to the lounge.
On a side bar, KQ have this odd "GATE CLOSES 30 MINUTES TO DEPARTURE" thing. I never for a second believed they'd execute that. Boarding at T-45 and Closing at T-30 does not make sense. Prob to scare/prep up some late arses, but I do not want to be the one to "find out".

23:55 Still no plane at the gate. At that point, I started to be precautious and get ready on the Plan B(s). NBO does not get many midnight flights out. I checked Google and EF, QR1342 (01:00) is the only viable option, as the other handful flights are all regional that won't get me back to East Asia. Let's keep it simple that my final destination was ICN. (More on that later).

00:05 (+1) I approached the lounge attendants at KQ's flagship "The Pride Lounge". Was being naive thinking they might be able to assist. WRONG. They are powerless (or useless, depending on your mood). I proposed QR NBO-DOH-ICN and that I get out of NBO asap with limited connectivity. They weren't able to do anything at that point, since the flight was not delayed in the system. Fair enough. This is also how it works with US and most other airlines. I did push it by mansplaining the cutoff for that QR flight at 01:00, and that later even with a confirmed delay status, I could've missed the flight. No luck.

00:30 Mind you, this is beyond the scheduled departure time. However, the flight is still "on time" in OAG and other public sources. And also on-time according to KQ computers (!)

00:45 KQ staff could confirm the delay status at that time. Surprise! Since other meaningful ex-NBO flights wouldn't leave until 15:00, I more or less hoped KQ 886 was experiencing only a few hours of delay.

01:00 KQ886 CANCELLED. Mechanical. I waved QR1342 goodbye on FlightRadar24, heart broken and defeated. Another cup of tea down, I started to look for more options. Don't like EK for the mediocre J seats and lack of contribution to my AA/UA requal. CZ, mmm, even more limiting in terms of mileage earning partners. QR's afternoon departure turned out a least bad alternate. QR1336 NBO (18:10) - DOH (23:25), QR858 DOH (02:40) - ICN (17:35).

01:15 Lounge agents "sent the accommodation request to the back office" since they didn't have any authority to rebook pax. In the meanwhile, I had to wait. "Hope they will respond soon, Sir."

02:00 Nothing happened. No response from the back office. No, nothing.

02:30 No update from the back office. However, I happened to be checking my ticket detail on Saudia's website (which many used to check the validity of their KQ sale tickets). I noticed QR segments being in my PNR!

02:40 A few more clicks later, I noticed the fare code as "S" for QR segments. That means Economy. I went back to the desk. Agent agreed that I should be rebooked into Business, and she also found it puzzling - abnormal. Again, she used all her will, and power, to move the earth send a request.

03:20 No updates. I figured, since it's rebooking by the sales/reservation, why couldn't I take the matter into my own hands. I asked for a general res line, and phoned up myself, paying $0.25 per minute. After 25min of greeting, understanding, typing, more typing, agent sighing, confirming, I got the ticket fixed, into "I" class.