makrom

I don't think anyone debated whether an emergency landing was justified. Regardless, it's still ok to complain about how well such an IRROP as a whole, beyond the primary objective of saving the patient, is handled.
That being said, from what I gather it doesn't sound like QR did a bad job. Passengers tend to forget that behind the customer friendliness airlines set up there is a very strict organization with clear procedures and protocols, and following these is of utmost importance. And for contingency processes, customer friendliness is usually not a priority. I think it's quite nice that no one ended up having to sleep in the terminal. The delay sure sucks, but I don't think that's avoidable by reasonable means.

yabadoo

ruby&carlos

This is the response I got from customer care requesting reimbursement for flight change fees. Pretty livid with their nonchalance given I had to pay upwards of $500 and got home 39 hours later than I was supposed to. Especially since I paid full price for a business class seat... Any suggestions? Any point in going through other channels trying to reach someone else?



Dear Mr. X,

We thank you for taking time to write to us.

We refer to the delay of QR701 on 12th November 2018 which was scheduled to operate from Doha to New York.

We understand the inconvenience that you encountered and can fully appreciate how unsettling this situation must have been. Although every effort is made to achieve on time departures/arrivals, there are occasions when flights are disrupted due to circumstances beyond our control as it unfortunately happened with QR701.

Our record indicates that the flight was diverted to Quebec due to medical emergency onboard. Qatar Airways puts paramount importance on the safety of our passengers and staff in our daily operation. As such, you will appreciate the fact that we will only operate our flight when it is safe to do so.

We do understand how much delays can affect our customers and their plans, and we always try to minimize their inconvenience. In such cases, the length of the delay is unknown from the beginning and whilst we take all necessary measures to minimize the delay, the flight and passenger’s safety is paramount and must take precedence.

Regrettably, however, considering the circumstances leading to the flight delay we are unable to offer any compensation on this occasion. Also, may we share with you that we are not liable for the lost pre-paid arrangements that are not a part of your Qatar Airways e-ticket or itinerary, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to consider your request with regard to costs to travel or other ancillary costs which is not part of the Qatar Airways e-ticket or itinerary.We can only advise that if independent travel insurance is held, this may be the only possible avenue for restitution.

We appreciate the time you have taken to highlight your concern and once again sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced as we do certainly hope that your future travel will be under more pleasant circumstances.

Yours Sincerely,

X
Customer Care Officer

fotographer

Sorry, but that is a really sad response.. can you take this further?

ruby&carlos

I agree, and that's what I'm wondering. I wonder if responding to that email or trying a different channel is the right way to go though.

msm2000uk

I'd keep it on email, so that there is a solid channel of communication.

Without being an apologist for QR, do you have Travel Insurance? It may well be that they would pay out, whereas QR may not (as per their Terms of Carriage).

M

skywardhunter

OP said they don't earlier in the thread. It's unfortunate but QR owe nothing here

msm2000uk

Agreed - frustrating, but true.

M

Zol

True they are probably already counting the cost of the diversion and if they do compensate, they will have to do that to the whole manifest.

Dr. HFH

Fully aware that I'm undertaking a risk of being flamed....

Is the medical emergency really QR's fault? What if you're delayed for a few hours due to a road closure while a fatal accident is attended to and investigated? Would anyone here put in a claim to the insurer of the at-fault driver (assuming that someone is actually at fault) for missing a flight and having to pay a change fee or rebook at a higher price or both? While an incident like this one is not the fault of the passengers, it's not QR's fault, either. Sometimes unfortunate things just happen, through no one's fault. I continue to be both disappointed and amazed at the extent to which some cultures, the U.S. in particular, try to find someone to blame for everything that doesn't go as planned.

makrom

What irritates me though, didn't the aircraft go tech, which is the actual reason for the extensive delay? Or was it the kind of fault that regularly happens after having an additional compression cycle?

N1Rotate

If it was a brake fault that happened after landing then it wouldn't have affected the flight to JFK, and there are technicians and parts at JFK so most likely it wouldn't have affected the departure ex-JFK besides a small delay. Basically the medical diversion is the cause, as without it the passengers would have made it to JFK.

makrom

yabadoo

Having been onboard this flight and seeing how things unfolded, it is debatable as to what was the cause for the extensive delay. Given that we were near the final 90 minutes of flight when we landed in YQB, any delay, regardless of cause, would have eaten into the legal duty hours allowed for flight and cabin crew. As it turns out, the entire process of offloading the passenger, performing customary checks, possibly refueling if needed etc. would have pretty much pushed the crew past the duty hours limit. The brake system software issue was a cog in the wheel of events that had a ripple affect during that delay, but the initial cause of everything was the Medical Emergency and hence that is what the primary cause was and the other issues that became apparent were a consequence, directly or indirectly of this. As N1Rotate indicated above, had there been no Medical Emergency diversion, then the flight would have continued to JFK and that is where the brake issue would have been discovered.

Generally speaking, and I may be wrong here, but weather related delays and cancellations and medical emergency diversions are among some of the prime events that most airlines do NOT cover as part of their compensation program to passengers. If you read the Conditions of Carriage of most airlines, they do not guarantee time and date you will arrive, just that they will transport you to your destination. In practice, mechanical failure and delays usually warrant compensation to passengers, though some airlines are more wiley than others to admit this and therefore arrange for pay out to customers. The EU regulations help address this issue, but overall, this is the precise reason Travel Delay & Cancellation insurance exists, it's to provide remedy to customers for situations like this. More importantly, in all my time flying for many decades, if you have onward hotel or airline reservations on separate itineraries and other airlines, and not part of your original booking with airline, then you're mostly out of luck, the airline is not liable for losses for missed onwards flights and hotel reservations deposits etc. as the airlines contract with you is to take you to your destination that you paid them for, not for any onward travel etc. If the airline does give you anything, it will be unusual and probably just a voucher for credit towards future travel.

In the end, this was an unfortunate event and the delays were extensive indeed, but that is part and parcel of travel these days, once in a blue moon these events do happen and travel insurance coverage is the best cure.

ruby&carlos

Here's how I responded to the first customer service email:

Dear Mr. X,

What a disappointing response.

First of all, Qatar ground staff in Quebec told me told me that these flight change fees would be reimbursed.

Perhaps I did not make it clear how much inconvenience this event caused me. I returned home 39 hours later than I was supposed to causing me to miss a day of work. I cannot believe that you are not bending over backward to provide reimbursement as well as additional compensation.

Yes, the flight was initially diverted because of the medical emergency which is understandable, but then it was delayed for mechanical issues.

When we finally arrived in New York after 28 hours in Quebec, it was an absolute mess on the ground, and I don't think I've ever seen passengers being treated as rudely as I saw them being treated by Qatar ground staff at JFK. I had to wait over an hour for my voucher for a hotel room, and was blatantly lied to by a Qatar agent who said they were "working on it in the office." This was completely false, because when finally they brought a pad of vouchers from the office, they filled one out right in front of me.
Three Qatar Airlines employees who had also been flying business were given priority at the interline desk, which is absurd, as paying passengers should be helped first.

Mr. X, I go out of my way to fly Qatar Airlines even when the routing is longer because I so enjoy the service, but I have been extremely disappointed by the response to this event.

I would like to request that my email be elevated to a supervisor. I have confidence that Qatar will live up to it's branding as a five-star airline and do the right thing.

Sincerely,