[Anonymous]

You have my sympathies as well…

In the future I would suggest simply ending the phone call with the first customer service advisor and calling straight back again. You would be surprised how many times just by speaking with someone different, you will get a very different (and many times positive) resolution.

Too many cases to recount where I’ve had success doing this but have these have included short hauls in Europe (LHR to ARN, where I was told there would be a 2 day delay due to the hols) and longhauls from both the US and Asia return to Europe.

The most noteable ‘success’ was a longhaul flight (in Club World) from Europe to Sydney where there was an aircraft issue. The first representative offered a seat 24 hours later (I would have missed a full day of meetings), as I was half expecting. I said my ‘thank yous’ and called straight back. The second representative said that she could put me on a flight leaving 3 hours after the orginal flight, on Thai Airways (in Business as well). An absolutely excellent resolution knowing that Thai not only competes head-on with BA on the Europe-Sydney route but also is not even in the same alliance.

Regarding your attempt to get rebooked with Qatar Airways, it shouldn’t matter whether it was 1 or 2 sectors, QR (a One World member of course) fly them both…

Let us know how you get/got along.

[Anonymous]

A bit off topic but I also find Qatar Airways customer service appallingly slow. On the occasional time that I’m sending a 5th reminder regarding an issue and I copy Akbar in my email, I somehow receive an instant reply.

[IstanbulWarrior]

In reply to: Turkish airlines – I just don’t get it

A bit off topic but I also find Qatar Airways customer service appallingly slow. On the occasional time that I’m sending a 5th reminder regarding an issue and I copy Akbar in my email, I somehow receive an instant reply.

[Anonymous]

The training of FA’s in Qatar Airways is much more detailed than EK and EY. Having said that, I don’t believe any of the ME3’s in flight service (good or bad) is representative of the traditional Qatari hospitality. Why? Because none of the local women are allowed to apply for FA jobs. All of the ME3’s FAs (at least women) are from outside the Middle East. So if the service has been good, it’s probably down to picking the right candidate who’s customer oriented, and of course, I know that QR invests in more training than their counterparts. Mind you, the punishment is also more severe than EK and EY for truant FAs.

[MarkivJ]

In reply to: Does Qatar Airways service reflect traditional Qatari hospitality?

The training of FA’s in Qatar Airways is much more detailed than EK and EY. Having said that, I don’t believe any of the ME3’s in flight service (good or bad) is representative of the traditional Qatari hospitality. Why? Because none of the local women are allowed to apply for FA jobs. All of the ME3’s FAs (at least women) are from outside the Middle East. So if the service has been good, it’s probably down to picking the right candidate who’s customer oriented, and of course, I know that QR invests in more training than their counterparts. Mind you, the punishment is also more severe than EK and EY for truant FAs.

[Tom Otley]

In reply to: Opening of new Doha airport

From the Qatar Airways website

“Qatar Airways will continue to fly to/from Doha International Airport until 27th May 2014 at 09:00hrs, after which we will be flying to/from Hamad International Airport (HIA)

During this transition, some of the airport lounges are temporarily unavailable. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and would like to extend to you our unreserved apologies. If you are affected by this situation, please contact the Qatar Airways check in staff at your point of embarkation or the premium customer service desks at Hamad International Airport in DOHA for alternative arrangements. Thank you for your understanding and we hope to welcome you back soon in order to experience the fullest range of our services and memorable Qatar Airways hospitality.”

[Tom Otley]

From the Qatar Airways website

“Qatar Airways will continue to fly to/from Doha International Airport until 27th May 2014 at 09:00hrs, after which we will be flying to/from Hamad International Airport (HIA)

During this transition, some of the airport lounges are temporarily unavailable. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and would like to extend to you our unreserved apologies. If you are affected by this situation, please contact the Qatar Airways check in staff at your point of embarkation or the premium customer service desks at Hamad International Airport in DOHA for alternative arrangements. Thank you for your understanding and we hope to welcome you back soon in order to experience the fullest range of our services and memorable Qatar Airways hospitality.”

[Anonymous]

1. Why is the Qatar Airways Lounge not going to be open until September? pretty Amateur I would say.

2. Why are Al Maha (also part of Qatar Airways) not providing services for Departures yet NOT advising their Customers.

3. Why have they bothered the whole thing is a shambles.

4. And STILL no start made to the 2022 stadia – country is a CON

[Dreamliner]

In reply to: New airport Doha

1. Why is the Qatar Airways Lounge not going to be open until September? pretty Amateur I would say.

2. Why are Al Maha (also part of Qatar Airways) not providing services for Departures yet NOT advising their Customers.

3. Why have they bothered the whole thing is a shambles.

4. And STILL no start made to the 2022 stadia – country is a CON

[Anonymous]

LHR-DOH

Qatar Airways operate five flights a day between Heathrow and Doha, three of the flights offer first, business and economy class service and they are operated by A330s or A340s. The remaining two flights, one currently operated by a 773 and the other a 787 offer two class business and economy service. Generally on an Airbus I fly in first but am quite happy to fly in business class if the most convenient service is operated by a Boeing. Both variants of the Boeing have fully flat seats in business class and the 787 has a configuration very similar to the new Cathay arrangement. That said although I’ve been on the 787 I have been avoiding it since all the problems and would like to see it a little more bedded in before I fly on it again. When Qatar takes delivery of the A380 next year it will also have first class and at the moment there are plans for it to operate on the London route.

I arrived at LHR T4 at 19.05 for the 20.30 departure to DOH, it was slightly later than I usually am for this flight but there were road works that I did not expect en-route. Mrs JH kindly dropped me right outside the entrance closest to the Qatar Airways check in. I had already checked in and had my boarding pass on my phone courtesy of their excellent app so I just had my bag to drop. I am a Privilege Club Platinum Member (OW Emerald) and was travelling in first class so check in was completely hassle free as there was no one waiting. People were being checked in at each of the Business Class desks and one person was waiting. As I completed check-in that gentleman was called to the First Class desk so his wait was minimal too. The staff were helpful and friendly and the lady on the First desk greeted me by name as I approached as they tend to know their frequent flyers there.

Off to security. T4 tends to be nothing like as busy as the other terminals during the evening rush; I think this is because there is less long haul traffic from there at that time of day than from the other terminals, particularly T3. The priority lane had six people ahead of me which was a vast improvement on my experience the previous week of T5. It was the usual laptops and kindles out, I had no liquids and as the shoes I was wearing tend to set off the scanners I took them off too. On putting them in the tray the goon on duty snarled at me that he didn’t tell me to take them off, I smiled back and said I was quite aware of that. I moved through the scanner which didn’t go off and on to collect my belongings. My bag was pulled for secondary screening, my laptop, kindle, shoes and jacket all passed. I was told there were liquids in my bag, I expressed surprise and said that there weren’t, my comment was met with a roll of the eyes. The bag was thoroughly searched and of course no liquids were found. I reminded the goon doing the searching that he had told me there were liquids in the bag and asked where they were. He didn’t answer and walked away. This is of course a fairly typical experience of security at LHR. The whole process including the bag search took over fifteen minutes, far too long for fast track.

By now it was almost 19.30 with an hour to go before departure. I had planned to have dinner in the lounge but it was now rather late for that so I decided to wait and eat on board. I made my way to the Qatar Airways Lounge which is available to their own First and Business Class customers. OW status card holders travelling in economy class are accommodated in the Sky Team lounge which is very good and above average for LHR, they also have the option to use the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge which again is way above the LHR average.

The lounge staff greeted me by name as I approached; again they recognise their frequent flyers and told me that departure would be on time and that we would board about 20.00. Departures are not announced in the lounge; staff come round discretely about five minutes before you need to leave and ask you to begin to get ready, passengers in first are then if they wish escorted to the final check at the head of the jetty. I wondered again about eating but decided that there was not enough time so I settled for a glass of champagne and a delicious lobster mousse with a little salad while catching up on the day’s news. I do really do enjoy this lounge and usually arrive with more time to spare. The food offerings are extensive with almost everything prepared to order, the bar has almost anything you can imagine to drink and the staff are attentive and helpful. The menu changes regularly and I don’t keep copies of it. All too soon one of the staff approached me and told me it was time to get ready, I noticed that most of the business class passengers had already left which is also the norm. I gathered up my things and one of the staff I know quite well was ready to escort me to the gate. Usually I don’t bother with the escort but as it was someone I enjoy chatting with I was pleased to see her.

Arriving at the gate the area was clear and as is the norm almost all economy and business class passengers were already on board. My boarding pass was checked and I made my way down the jetty to 1L which was open for first class only, everyone else boarding through 2L. I was greeted at the door by name, I was slightly surprised by this as Qatar don’t check boarding passes at this point but it turned out to be a process of elimination, the other three passengers in F on the flight that evening were already aboard. I was shown to my seat and two crew members introduced themselves.

There are eight seats in F arranged 1-2-1, I had 2A my preferred seat and as soon as I was ready my jacket was taken and hung and there was an offer to stow my bag. Everyone flying had chosen a window seat so the centre section was empty. The cabin is furnished in dark red, some may say maroon and grey, I find it relaxing. Drinks were offered and I just asked for orange juice orders were also taken for after take-off. It was brought along with some macadamias and both were topped up regularly as preparations were made for departure, amenity kits were also given out. The usual coffee and dates was also offered but I declined as I wished to get off to sleep quickly as it was a relatively short flight. The doors were closed at 20.20 and the pilot made his customary announcement giving information about the flight and routing which would be to Dover, towards Frankfurt then Salzburg, Zagreb, Thessaloniki, skirting Rhodes, Alexandria and down the Red Sea before turning toward Riyadh and then Doha. It was a more southerly route than they often use but he explained it was due to strong winds. He expected to arrive in Doha on schedule. The usual safety demonstration followed and the crew made their final checks for departure.

Pushback started at 20.24 and we taxied for 27L, very handy from T4 within a minute and take off roll began on the dot of 20.30. We made a fairly sharp turn to the left very quickly after take-off and course was set for Dover. As is my habit, I tend to put on the map display and read, I rarely watch films although there is an extensive range but it doesn’t quite match EK or SQ.

Once released at 10 000ft the crew began service very promptly, drinks were served with an amuse bouche which was pleasant. I decided to stick with orange juice and water as the flying time is only 6:45 but we would land in Doha at 06:15 local time so a very short night and no room for even the slightest headache.
Dinner orders were taken and I opted for the mezze plate which is a great favourite of mine and quite filling in itself. There was an option of a salmon dish which I didn’t see as no one near enough to me chose it. I was tempted by the herb roasted chicken as a main but as I wanted to get to sleep I decided to skip the main and enjoyed a little cheese sadly without the port preferring to stick to orange juice and water.

It was by now 21.45 and I wanted to settle down, I made my way to change and while I did the crew made up my bed. As the load was light and I think I was the only platinum card holder on board they made up one of the middle ones for me assuring me that they would not make up the adjoining seat which had the advantage of me being able to leave everything out in 2A. The seat is very comfortable as a bed and with my usual ear plugs in. Although dinner service was still going on for those who wanted it individual lights were put on and the main cabin lights dimmed. I fell asleep quickly and slept well.

I woke with about ninety minutes to go, we were flying over Saudi Arabia which as most readers will know is just mile after mile of sand. Immediately I sat up a crew member was to hand with a hot towel and she offered me a choice of drinks. I swapped to tomato juice this time having had enough orange to last me a while. I was offered the breakfast menu and chose a fruit plate with some yoghurt and a cheese omelette that was accompanied by mushrooms and roasted tomatoes. I had a pot of coffee to wash it down. It was then time to get changed and tidy up my belongings for landing at Doha and with about thirty minutes to go I settled back into 2A to watch the approach which I always enjoy. Having flown for miles over nothing but sand the city suddenly appears on the coast, it is of course extremely modern and set against the sea looks exciting.

The crew began their final clear around and checks and with ten minutes to go were in their seats. The approach took us out over the sea before making an approach to runway 33 which in my experience is the usual runway in use. Landing was smooth and we taxied pulling on to the stand fifteen minutes early at 06.30. Until the new terminal opens there are lots of bus transfers or if you are in first BMW transfers at Doha. Steps were in position within a couple of minutes of the engines stopping and my driver was waiting. Again I thought I was the only platinum member on board as I was driven off quickly on my own. Doha was on this occasion my destination. Clearing immigration took only a couple of minutes and my bag was on the carousel when I got there. I cleared customs and was in my taxi on the way to the office by 06.55.

Qatar offer an excellent standard of service on this route and their offering is unmatched. Although I ate little of the food on this occasion what I had was excellent in line with my normal experience. The premium lounge at LHR is on a par with the LH F terminal at FRA in terms of offering and service though perhaps it is a little more personal as it is smaller, the staff at LHR know their frequent flyers and always greet them by name and with a smile. On board service was faultless and the crew seem to have the same intuition that SIA crews have about when to offer you something, when to chat and when to leave you alone. Arrival at Doha was smooth and again you are treated very well as a premium passenger. Once the new terminal opens and the need for so much busing is over I’m sure it was be an excellent experience for all.

[JohnHarper]

In reply to: Qatar Airways A330-300 (238 seats) First

LHR-DOH

Qatar Airways operate five flights a day between Heathrow and Doha, three of the flights offer first, business and economy class service and they are operated by A330s or A340s. The remaining two flights, one currently operated by a 773 and the other a 787 offer two class business and economy service. Generally on an Airbus I fly in first but am quite happy to fly in business class if the most convenient service is operated by a Boeing. Both variants of the Boeing have fully flat seats in business class and the 787 has a configuration very similar to the new Cathay arrangement. That said although I’ve been on the 787 I have been avoiding it since all the problems and would like to see it a little more bedded in before I fly on it again. When Qatar takes delivery of the A380 next year it will also have first class and at the moment there are plans for it to operate on the London route.

I arrived at LHR T4 at 19.05 for the 20.30 departure to DOH, it was slightly later than I usually am for this flight but there were road works that I did not expect en-route. Mrs JH kindly dropped me right outside the entrance closest to the Qatar Airways check in. I had already checked in and had my boarding pass on my phone courtesy of their excellent app so I just had my bag to drop. I am a Privilege Club Platinum Member (OW Emerald) and was travelling in first class so check in was completely hassle free as there was no one waiting. People were being checked in at each of the Business Class desks and one person was waiting. As I completed check-in that gentleman was called to the First Class desk so his wait was minimal too. The staff were helpful and friendly and the lady on the First desk greeted me by name as I approached as they tend to know their frequent flyers there.

Off to security. T4 tends to be nothing like as busy as the other terminals during the evening rush; I think this is because there is less long haul traffic from there at that time of day than from the other terminals, particularly T3. The priority lane had six people ahead of me which was a vast improvement on my experience the previous week of T5. It was the usual laptops and kindles out, I had no liquids and as the shoes I was wearing tend to set off the scanners I took them off too. On putting them in the tray the goon on duty snarled at me that he didn’t tell me to take them off, I smiled back and said I was quite aware of that. I moved through the scanner which didn’t go off and on to collect my belongings. My bag was pulled for secondary screening, my laptop, kindle, shoes and jacket all passed. I was told there were liquids in my bag, I expressed surprise and said that there weren’t, my comment was met with a roll of the eyes. The bag was thoroughly searched and of course no liquids were found. I reminded the goon doing the searching that he had told me there were liquids in the bag and asked where they were. He didn’t answer and walked away. This is of course a fairly typical experience of security at LHR. The whole process including the bag search took over fifteen minutes, far too long for fast track.

By now it was almost 19.30 with an hour to go before departure. I had planned to have dinner in the lounge but it was now rather late for that so I decided to wait and eat on board. I made my way to the Qatar Airways Lounge which is available to their own First and Business Class customers. OW status card holders travelling in economy class are accommodated in the Sky Team lounge which is very good and above average for LHR, they also have the option to use the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge which again is way above the LHR average.

The lounge staff greeted me by name as I approached; again they recognise their frequent flyers and told me that departure would be on time and that we would board about 20.00. Departures are not announced in the lounge; staff come round discretely about five minutes before you need to leave and ask you to begin to get ready, passengers in first are then if they wish escorted to the final check at the head of the jetty. I wondered again about eating but decided that there was not enough time so I settled for a glass of champagne and a delicious lobster mousse with a little salad while catching up on the day’s news. I do really do enjoy this lounge and usually arrive with more time to spare. The food offerings are extensive with almost everything prepared to order, the bar has almost anything you can imagine to drink and the staff are attentive and helpful. The menu changes regularly and I don’t keep copies of it. All too soon one of the staff approached me and told me it was time to get ready, I noticed that most of the business class passengers had already left which is also the norm. I gathered up my things and one of the staff I know quite well was ready to escort me to the gate. Usually I don’t bother with the escort but as it was someone I enjoy chatting with I was pleased to see her.

Arriving at the gate the area was clear and as is the norm almost all economy and business class passengers were already on board. My boarding pass was checked and I made my way down the jetty to 1L which was open for first class only, everyone else boarding through 2L. I was greeted at the door by name, I was slightly surprised by this as Qatar don’t check boarding passes at this point but it turned out to be a process of elimination, the other three passengers in F on the flight that evening were already aboard. I was shown to my seat and two crew members introduced themselves.

There are eight seats in F arranged 1-2-1, I had 2A my preferred seat and as soon as I was ready my jacket was taken and hung and there was an offer to stow my bag. Everyone flying had chosen a window seat so the centre section was empty. The cabin is furnished in dark red, some may say maroon and grey, I find it relaxing. Drinks were offered and I just asked for orange juice orders were also taken for after take-off. It was brought along with some macadamias and both were topped up regularly as preparations were made for departure, amenity kits were also given out. The usual coffee and dates was also offered but I declined as I wished to get off to sleep quickly as it was a relatively short flight. The doors were closed at 20.20 and the pilot made his customary announcement giving information about the flight and routing which would be to Dover, towards Frankfurt then Salzburg, Zagreb, Thessaloniki, skirting Rhodes, Alexandria and down the Red Sea before turning toward Riyadh and then Doha. It was a more southerly route than they often use but he explained it was due to strong winds. He expected to arrive in Doha on schedule. The usual safety demonstration followed and the crew made their final checks for departure.

Pushback started at 20.24 and we taxied for 27L, very handy from T4 within a minute and take off roll began on the dot of 20.30. We made a fairly sharp turn to the left very quickly after take-off and course was set for Dover. As is my habit, I tend to put on the map display and read, I rarely watch films although there is an extensive range but it doesn’t quite match EK or SQ.

Once released at 10 000ft the crew began service very promptly, drinks were served with an amuse bouche which was pleasant. I decided to stick with orange juice and water as the flying time is only 6:45 but we would land in Doha at 06:15 local time so a very short night and no room for even the slightest headache.
Dinner orders were taken and I opted for the mezze plate which is a great favourite of mine and quite filling in itself. There was an option of a salmon dish which I didn’t see as no one near enough to me chose it. I was tempted by the herb roasted chicken as a main but as I wanted to get to sleep I decided to skip the main and enjoyed a little cheese sadly without the port preferring to stick to orange juice and water.

It was by now 21.45 and I wanted to settle down, I made my way to change and while I did the crew made up my bed. As the load was light and I think I was the only platinum card holder on board they made up one of the middle ones for me assuring me that they would not make up the adjoining seat which had the advantage of me being able to leave everything out in 2A. The seat is very comfortable as a bed and with my usual ear plugs in. Although dinner service was still going on for those who wanted it individual lights were put on and the main cabin lights dimmed. I fell asleep quickly and slept well.

I woke with about ninety minutes to go, we were flying over Saudi Arabia which as most readers will know is just mile after mile of sand. Immediately I sat up a crew member was to hand with a hot towel and she offered me a choice of drinks. I swapped to tomato juice this time having had enough orange to last me a while. I was offered the breakfast menu and chose a fruit plate with some yoghurt and a cheese omelette that was accompanied by mushrooms and roasted tomatoes. I had a pot of coffee to wash it down. It was then time to get changed and tidy up my belongings for landing at Doha and with about thirty minutes to go I settled back into 2A to watch the approach which I always enjoy. Having flown for miles over nothing but sand the city suddenly appears on the coast, it is of course extremely modern and set against the sea looks exciting.

The crew began their final clear around and checks and with ten minutes to go were in their seats. The approach took us out over the sea before making an approach to runway 33 which in my experience is the usual runway in use. Landing was smooth and we taxied pulling on to the stand fifteen minutes early at 06.30. Until the new terminal opens there are lots of bus transfers or if you are in first BMW transfers at Doha. Steps were in position within a couple of minutes of the engines stopping and my driver was waiting. Again I thought I was the only platinum member on board as I was driven off quickly on my own. Doha was on this occasion my destination. Clearing immigration took only a couple of minutes and my bag was on the carousel when I got there. I cleared customs and was in my taxi on the way to the office by 06.55.

Qatar offer an excellent standard of service on this route and their offering is unmatched. Although I ate little of the food on this occasion what I had was excellent in line with my normal experience. The premium lounge at LHR is on a par with the LH F terminal at FRA in terms of offering and service though perhaps it is a little more personal as it is smaller, the staff at LHR know their frequent flyers and always greet them by name and with a smile. On board service was faultless and the crew seem to have the same intuition that SIA crews have about when to offer you something, when to chat and when to leave you alone. Arrival at Doha was smooth and again you are treated very well as a premium passenger. Once the new terminal opens and the need for so much busing is over I’m sure it was be an excellent experience for all.

[Anonymous]

Some excellent observations and insights. I fly enough to maintain top tier status on at least 3 ME based airlines. I already use Gulfair for most of my travel within the region. Etihad have matched my EK and GF status so are a good candidate for long haul travel. Both Omanair and Qatar Airways offer excellent services as well. As things stand, am voting with my feet. What I find tragic is my experience of EK inflight service has generally been excellent. Staff on board both sectors I recently flew (when the “last straw” incident occurred due to ground staff) were shocked and genuinely embarrassed at the way I was treated by the EK check in staff in KL – I showed them a video clip of what actually happened which I would be pleased to share with EK customer affairs if they bothered to contact me!

[RBrown9]

In reply to: How do I get Emirates to care about me as a customer?

Some excellent observations and insights. I fly enough to maintain top tier status on at least 3 ME based airlines. I already use Gulfair for most of my travel within the region. Etihad have matched my EK and GF status so are a good candidate for long haul travel. Both Omanair and Qatar Airways offer excellent services as well. As things stand, am voting with my feet. What I find tragic is my experience of EK inflight service has generally been excellent. Staff on board both sectors I recently flew (when the “last straw” incident occurred due to ground staff) were shocked and genuinely embarrassed at the way I was treated by the EK check in staff in KL – I showed them a video clip of what actually happened which I would be pleased to share with EK customer affairs if they bothered to contact me!

[Anonymous]

Given that BA is about to hop into bed with Qatar Airways (swapping one Q for another 😉 ), BA customers to Australia will perhaps be changing onto QR services in Doha by the time QF passengers are being routed via DXB

[syclik0]

In reply to: Qantas considers end to Singapore Stopover

Given that BA is about to hop into bed with Qatar Airways (swapping one Q for another 😉 ), BA customers to Australia will perhaps be changing onto QR services in Doha by the time QF passengers are being routed via DXB