I am quitting with Qatar air.

[Scouse123]

Guys,

 

I have been a silver/Gold member with Qatar air for 10 years now but this will be my last year I think.

 

Slowly but surely they have chopped and chopped at service levels, especially in Economy. The meals are not as good, the drinks don't flow like they used to, it took them a great effort to find me a toothbrush on a recent flight and they let me know they didn't provide these on day flights. The point was, I had one of course in hand luggage, but the cabin crew had found it necessary to move my hand luggage further down the plane from my overhead bins to accommodate other hand baggage. I allowed it because I didn't want to be thought of as a ' grumpy passenger '

 

The three things that have cheesed me off, is that we were told during the building of the new airport in Doha, that the buses were a temporary thing and we would be back to using air bridges when the new terminals were fully operational. This has not happened, We still have a ridiculous bus journey and then we have to go through baggage  inspection control again at Doha.So, you get off a Qatar flight, to connect to second Qatar flight and then you have security all over again after a 7 hour 30 minute flight from Bangkok to Doha.

 

Second, one of the few perks was to join the business class line and then the premium line at Suvarnabhumi, this has now been stopped and we can check in but the premium lane no longer is allowed at Immigration. Yes, I know Suvarnabhumi immigration has stopped this ( unless you pay Immigration through an agent ) but it is a further eradication of the benefits of Silver membership.

 

The final perk of being a silver member, was to get to the airport early and request an exit row seat as I have done for the last ten years.

 

I just booked a trip to go at the end of this month and then because of the COVID-19, booked another flight straight away for June, two flights in total. I then looked online and found that if you wanted exit row seat it could be done immediately by paying 40GBP for each leg of my journey, thus increasing each flight costs by 160 GBP almost for an exit row seat.

 

Qatar is already the most expensive out of the three Middle Eastern airlines with both Etihad and Emirates now offering better deals.

 

I am awaiting the new Economy premium class being made available by Finnair later this year, if it is timely for the roll out as previously stated, and then I will move to Finnair for my Bangkok-Europe direct flights with a lot of the above unnecessary hassle removed..

 

 

I do not think I will be alone.

[Chivas]

Oman is slowly eradicating its product as well.

3 days ago effective no longer any checked bag included on the cheapest fares.

Only thing thats keeping me active is that Oman Duty free at Muscat is the cheapest of all the UAE areas and dont query how much you buy lol

 

They to have red carded the fast track immigration cards for Silver/Gold Sindbad holders (might still get in Biz class)

 

In addition all seats pre booked at the 48 hour opening of check in now are chargeable for the lower economy classes. First time ever last week I paid a fee for an aisle seat (on any airline)....even middle seats are chargeable if seat class is low.....only reverts to free at airport check in

Edited March 7, 2020 by Chivas

[HashBrownHarry]

Emirates is the same, to use miles to upgrade from cattle to biz DXB to BKK used to be about 45000, not it's just shy of 70000.

 

I do see the flight prices dropping recently as expected, 2 pax BKK to EDI return in Biz in August is approx 150K which is very reasonable.

[Scouse123]

10 hours ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Emirates is the same, to use miles to upgrade from cattle to biz DXB to BKK used to be about 45000, not it's just shy of 70000.

 

I do see the flight prices dropping recently as expected, 2 pax BKK to EDI return in Biz in August is approx 150K which is very reasonable.

 

 

They seem to forget or take for granted the fact that frequent flyers check things like this and that the public are not stupid and notice these types of changes and this will certainly influence their future choices.

 

It will mine.

[Scouse123]

The frequent flyer cards now are getting to the stage where they are so poorly rewarded, you might as well just look for the best flying deal as and when it comes with any respectable airline and ditch any loyalty.

 

On many occasions and even as I write this post, Emirates are offering deals to the UK , 200 GBP cheaper returns than Qatar air.  When this occurs on three or four return flights a year, it's well worth switching and saving.

 

I will be better scouring the websites, cutting my trips to twice a year, and flying economy premium or business on a promotion and still save money.

 

US Travellers seem to get cracking air miles deals on some credit cards, I may be wrong, but I have not seen these type of deals quoted to travellers to Europe, or especially, the UK.

[petermik]

Loyalty counts for nothing these days,I have held silver cards with Etihad and Qatar in the past but as I,m no longer a frequent flyer all benefits have expired....always have booked the cheapest flights with good times/short stopovers,regardless of which airline...never mind the so called perks

Flown MAN/BKK and return 27 times in the past,cheapest flight with Etihad £368 and dearest with Emirates £564..........and various prices in between.

[Chazar]

It  really  started to change about 7  years  ago,  I used to come 4-5  times a  year and the perks  were good, then they virtually halved everything, now I just use any airline  for  business  class. AIr  France to Uk now going May31st  just paid 61k  baht A350 planes

[henry2109]

22 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

The frequent flyer cards now are getting to the stage where they are so poorly rewarded, you might as well just look for the best flying deal as and when it comes with any respectable airline and ditch any loyalty.

 

+ 1. This is what I am doing since years. The collected miles are only worth anything for me if I can book an economy ticket and then upgrade it to business class. This is getting unbelievable difficult. Last time, it was a real hassle with Finnair, with the back flight only confirmed 2 days before the flight day.

 

I had many flights with Finnair to Europe and back, but this year I will be using Oman and Emirates, because they offered reasonable business class tarifs.

 

To be fair, you have to confess that the competion in the airline business usually is very big, and ticket prices overall pretty low.

So often when you buy a cheap economy ticket, you get what you pay for.

[Youlike]

I'm also done with Qatar Air....small seats, old planes, the buses, bad food, silly accents from Bangladeshi staff....

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, Youlike said:

I'm also done with Qatar Air....small seats, old planes, the buses, bad food, silly accents from Bangladeshi staff....

Silly accents from Bangladeshi staff ???? really, one of the reasons you will refuse to fly with an airline is because of the accents of some of the flight crew??? 

 

All M.E. Airlines are pretty much the same, they’re not great, but they are not bad either, they’re all just a glorified bus and travelling is a PITA even in business class - it is was it is. 

 

I’ve only ever flown based on Price / convenience... I’ve been Gold on Etihad / Emirates and flown numerous times in business and economy on 3 of the ME airlines (Qatar / Etihad / Emirates), most recently on Emirates (at least monthly) - in business class its all a bit average, I dread to think what Thai Airways, Eva and BA are like in comparison. 

 

We as consumers want the best deal for the cheapest price, we can’t cry when the service diminishes because of cost savings. 

 

 

[Eindhoven]

20 hours ago, Chivas said:

Oman is slowly eradicating its product as well.

3 days ago effective no longer any checked bag included on the cheapest fares.

Only thing thats keeping me active is that Oman Duty free at Muscat is the cheapest of all the UAE areas and dont query how much you buy lol

 

They to have red carded the fast track immigration cards for Silver/Gold Sindbad holders (might still get in Biz class)

 

In addition all seats pre booked at the 48 hour opening of check in now are chargeable for the lower economy classes. First time ever last week I paid a fee for an aisle seat (on any airline)....even middle seats are chargeable if seat class is low.....only reverts to free at airport check in

 

Erm...you shouldn't have paid anything. They tried the same with me and their reply a month later was just idiotic. That rows 20 & 21 are chargeable with all others being free. Morons. I already explained to them that ALL seats were showing as chargeable.

 

But what I think occurs is that the seats are shown as chargeable online, but if you actually select them and continue, the charge comes up as zero.

I did this, even though it initially showed as chargeable. Paid nothing and my seats were already reserved on arrival.

 

Qatar's backroom customer service is absolute pants. For that reason they will always be a last resort.

 

[Chivas]

1 hour ago, Eindhoven said:

 

Erm...you shouldn't have paid anything. They tried the same with me and their reply a month later was just idiotic. That rows 20 & 21 are chargeable with all others being free. Morons. I already explained to them that ALL seats were showing as chargeable.

 

But what I think occurs is that the seats are shown as chargeable online, but if you actually select them and continue, the charge comes up as zero.

I did this, even though it initially showed as chargeable. Paid nothing and my seats were already reserved on arrival.

 

Qatar's backroom customer service is absolute pants. For that reason they will always be a last resort.

 

Errrrr no. From January 23rd (because I rang Oman themselves in Leeds) the lower classes of economy when online check in opens at 48 hours pre wheels up are now chargeable....I will emphasise again lowest classes of economy ticket. All seats are chargeable but if you wait till airport check in opens all seats left are then free.

Now if you had a work around fine but nonetheless they're chargeable at outset and flying back Muscat London 12 days ago thank christ I paid the 335 Baht for aisle as it was jammed packed solid flight

[JustAnotherHun]

I used to fly Oman from 2012 and the following years. First they had BC 1-2-1 seats and by far the best service I ever had. The airport was as small like a provincial train station, short ways to the gates and just one hour stopover. And the prices were reasonable.

Later the changed the seats, the service declined and from one day to the other they increased the prices by 4 or 500 Euro for return.

So I switched back to Thai with their even worse service because they're the only ones except LH offering nonstop flights to Muc plus a very comfortable departure time in BKK.

BTW: Do they use the new Muscat airport now?

[Eindhoven]

31 minutes ago, Chivas said:

Errrrr no. From January 23rd (because I rang Oman themselves in Leeds) the lower classes of economy when online check in opens at 48 hours pre wheels up are now chargeable....I will emphasise again lowest classes of economy ticket. All seats are chargeable but if you wait till airport check in opens all seats left are then free.

Now if you had a work around fine but nonetheless they're chargeable at outset and flying back Muscat London 12 days ago thank christ I paid the 335 Baht for aisle as it was jammed packed solid flight

 

 

Erm...yes. They cannot retrospectively charge on tickets purchased prior to that date.

So mine should have been and were free. The problem is that is gave the impression they were chargeable, when they were not.

It's not a work-around, you simply assumed.

[baansgr]

Can't beat BA on price or service, and if your from West London, T5 can be home in 20 minutes

[Eindhoven]

...and mine is/was the Super Saver for which they now have removed the luggage component and charge at Online Check-in. The issue is that the old T&C applies to my ticket.

[Eindhoven]

1 minute ago, baansgr said:

Can't beat BA on price or service, and if your from West London, T5 can be home in 20 minutes

Some might disagree.

Have they upgraded their equipment? 

 

[sharktooth]

12 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Can't beat BA on price or service, and if your from West London, T5 can be home in 20 minutes

BA Service??? Aye 20 years ago maybe. Now they are dog <deleted>.

[twocatsmac]

12 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

Some might disagree.

Have they upgraded their equipment? 

 

More than a few will disagree. A despicable airline company now.

I agree with the op, I ceased using Qatar years ago after enjoying free flights every now and then through loyalty but no longer.

Now it’s a case of which flight times and stopover times suit you best.

Strongly agree with the poster who uses Finair biz class. The Manchester-Bangkok leg is a treat with the latest lie flat configuration.

 

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Can't beat BA on price or service, and if your from West London, T5 can be home in 20 minutes

 

 

I used them twice in Economy premium or as they call it World traveller plus. Seat OK, Service passable, delay London to Manchester was a pain. Given a choice in Premium Economy I would go with Cathay Pacific. Prices similar.

[Orton Rd]

Saw Finnair business class 1700 quid return to Heathrow, better than the middle eastern ones? never tried it

[Dumbastheycome]

Ah!  So  sad. People are  noting the impact of the  corporate   squeeze.

Profitability the desirable unless subsidized  to  the  gills !

If  you are willing to walk away  tell them why !   Not us!

 

 

[daveAustin]

Only reason I'd fly Qatar again is if couldn't go direct. If coming from UK, the whole changing planes rigmarole -, esp if buses are involved - is a massive pain. Decent planes and service etc, though found the food naff.

[Scouse123]

37 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Saw Finnair business class 1700 quid return to Heathrow, better than the middle eastern ones? never tried it

 

Me too from Manchester, I am keeping an eye out for both Finnair new economy premium and business class fares.

[Orton Rd]

Economy premium always seems like bad value to me, twice the cost for a bigger seat and a bit more wine!

[Chazar]

7 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Saw Finnair business class 1700 quid return to Heathrow, better than the middle eastern ones? never tried it

Last  year Turkish to Birmingham Uk 1460 quid business, prices  like  that appear  occasionally and not for  long

[topt]

9 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Economy premium always seems like bad value to me, twice the cost for a bigger seat and a bit more wine!

One of the biggest benefits for me with premium economy is the normally doubled, or at least substantially increased, baggage allowance. 

 

Disappointed to hear about Oman as they used to also give free carriage to golf clubs even on the cheapest ticket.

[Estrada]

12 hours ago, baansgr said:

Can't beat BA on price or service, and if your from West London, T5 can be home in 20 minutes

I flew direct Bangkok to London and back and the flight was awful. The aircraft was so old the TV screens were too small, scratched, foggy and unwatchable. Seats were old and seemed like they bought the aircraft from Air India. I still prefer Qatar Airways after 100+ trips over the past 16 years.

[Estrada]

18 minutes ago, topt said:

One of the biggest benefits for me with premium economy is the normally doubled, or at least substantially increased, baggage allowance. 

 

Disappointed to hear about Oman as they used to also give free carriage to golf clubs even on the cheapest ticket.

The trouble was that they realised that people like me pack all our heavy excess baggage into the golf bags. A trick I learnt from the Malaysians.

[Kerryd]

I used to fly Dubai-Bangkok-Dubai a lot when I was working in Afghanistan. For the last few years I was there I used Gulf Air (through Bahrain)

Started off using Air India (as they had flights from Kabul to Delhi and Delhi-Bangkok). They sucked wang though. One time I showed up for my return flight - on a confirmed ticket - and they told me to wait off to the side, then a couple hours later closed the check-ins and informed me that they'd put me on stand-by and the plane was full !! Had to reschedule that flight and then the connecting flight to Kabul. Plus you had to get a 3 Day Visa unless you had a connecting flight within a few hours of arriving and they wouldn't let you in the terminal at all until 3 hours before your flight !

After that I flew Ariana Afghan Airlines to Dubai (on ancient B-727s). Then used Thai Air (the company was booking the flights so I didn't care). Then I was able to take an Emirates Business Class flight and that was like a dream compared to the others.

I started booking my own flights after that and treated myself to another Business Class flight on Emirates. Got to Dubai, went to check-in and was told I had to use the Thai Air check-in in the main terminal, even though I was holding an Emirates ticket, because it was a code share "operated by Thai Air". Couldn't use the Emirates Business Class lounge either ! (Didn't get the Emirates Air Miles credit either.)

I then found Gulf Air, which, at the time, was offering Business Class seats for slightly more than Emirates/Thai were charging for Economy. As well, the Gulf Air flights left Dubai earlier, meaning I didn't have to spend the extra 8+ hours sitting in the terminal in Dubai as the Emirates/Thai flights often didn't leave until 10-11pm.
 
The Gulf flights departed Dubai much earlier and connected in Bahrain but the flight is barely an hour and they served a nice snack (and drinks). Their terminal was quite small and they had to use buses quite often as they had limited air bridges/gates but it was a short ride and they used the air bridges for the flights to/from Thailand.

Limited smoking rooms too (only 2 and one was part of a coffee shop so you had to be a customer to use it). The other one was a single small room and there'd often been 3 times more people outside the room than inside it. They were doing a lot of renovating every time I went through there. Wasn't an issue in the years after I quit though and the Gulf Business Class lounge was pretty good (their small lounge in Dubai was OK as well - they use the CP Business Class lounge in Suvarnabhumi).

I'd arrive in Bangkok at almost the same time as the Emirates/Thai flights, but on a much nicer flight and then could use the Priority Immigration lane as well.

One time Gulf had a special promotion as they'd just leased a new 777 Dreamliner. A 1st Class seat to Bangkok was only about $200 (US) more than a Business Class ticket.
It was awesome - especially as there were only 2 people in 1st class (but they were staffed for a full load).
However, when I went to check in for the return flight the staff started to apologize almost immediately as Gulf had taken that plane off that route and the replacement (A-330) didn't have 1st class seating.

So what did Gulf do ? They put me in Business Class and told me when I got to my destination to request a refund for the return ticket. I did that and they refunded the entire value of the return ticket ! So I flew back (Business Class) for free and got the return portion of my ticket refunded as well ! Awesome customer service.

I ended up with their "Black" Frequent Flyer card, the highest level they had. Never really used any of the benefits other than the luggage allowance.

But, like everyone else, towards the end (2013/2014) their prices started to climb, a lot. Got to the point where it really wasn't any cheaper to fly them than any of the other airlines in the region. It came down to mainly being a choice made on convenience or scheduling. One advantage they used to have was that their Frequent Flyer miles would never expire but eventually that changed as well.

Loved using the e-gate in Dubai though ! Never a line and it took 10 seconds to clear Immigration (scan the card, enter the lane, scan a finger, exit the lane). 
And we used to get a 90 Day stamp on arrival (down to 30 for Canadians the last time I checked).
(The card cost 200 Dirhams and was good for 2 years - well worth it for frequent travellers.)

The g/f used Qatar the last time she flew home (from Germany) as they were the cheapest option. Just saw that they were going to ban arrivals from Thailand though so she might have a problem going back to Germany though (unless the ban doesn't apply to Transit passengers).

What is most frustrating is that when oil went up to $150 a barrel, all the airlines raised their prices and added Fuel Surcharges. But when oil dropped back down to $50/barrel (or less) flights didn't get cheaper ! If anything, the prices went up even more !
(Kind of like governments, once they implement a new tax it's almost impossible to get them to give it up again or do anything other than raise it even more.)