I am quitting with Qatar air.

[theoldgit]

On 3/8/2020 at 2:15 AM, HashBrownHarry said:

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.

 

We recently booked two flights in J Class on Turkish, flying into EDI in July and returning from LGW in August, 130K, we were quite pleased with that, have flown Turkish a few times, never been disappointed.

[NanLaew]

12 hours ago, twocatsmac said:

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

Which is only truly lie-flat for those less than 6' tall, otherwise not too terribly comfortable. The food selection in the Finnair Lounge at Helsinki is good on the +2 hour layover though. So good that I declined all they offered on the flight to Bangkok bar a cup of coffee just after I woke up somewhere over Burma.

 

On another note: I wonder if anyone who has complained about Suvarnabhumi airport security has ever gone through all that no escalator, downstairs-upstairs, around the corner, down the hall security malarkey at MAN?

[LukKrueng]

On 3/7/2020 at 11:07 AM, Scouse123 said:

 

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

Seems like they're quitting you....

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

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.)

 

 

Great and very interesting read, Thank you.

[Youlike]

21 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

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??? 

 

Yes! I can't understand their english accent so i don't hear the announcements since i have no idea what they're saying.

[Scouse123]

4 minutes ago, oby said:

 

no problem, u cannot fly from thailand with qatar

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/03/09/Qatar-bans-arrivals-from-14-countries-including-Iran-over-coronavirus-fears.html

Nothing about Thailand on Qatar website,  I am confused a bit?

[Orton Rd]

2 hours ago, Estrada said:

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.

Think he may have been joking, last time I flew with BA sat at the back next to the gally. Could hear the staff slagging off various customers!

[Youlike]

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

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).

Where did you see that? I don't see it on their website....

 

Flights to/from	Ticket Issued Date (on or before)	Travel Dates From / To (Inclusive)	Rebooking for New Travel Dates Permitted up to
China	7 March 2020	3 February to 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)
Hong Kong	7 March 2020	3 February to 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)
Iran (Except for Tehran - QR 498/491)	7 March 2020	26 February - 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)
South Korea (Not applicable to transiting  passengers via Doha)	26 February 2020	26 February – 31 March 2020	15 May (Inclusive)
Egypt (Passengers originating from Egypt via any intermediate points)	29 February 2020	26 February - 31 March 2020	New dates of travel must be within 30 days from the original date of travel
Italy	7 March 2020	1 March - 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)

Affected passengers can re-book their tickets to alternative dates or destinations, or request a full refund without charge. For tickets outside of those dates or to countries not covered by this policy, normal fare rules apply for re-bookings or cancellations will apply.

• If you have booked your ticket on qatarairways.com or through any of our offices, you can re-book your tickets or submit a refund request online or by telephoning your local contact center.
• If you have booked your tickets though a travel agent, please contact your travel agent to amend or refund your booking. 

 

[Youlike]

1 hour ago, LukKrueng said:

Seems like they're quitting you....

But they still let them stopover in Doha...here's the list of qatar air.

Flights to/from	Ticket Issued Date (on or before)	Travel Dates From / To (Inclusive)	Rebooking for New Travel Dates Permitted up to
China	7 March 2020	3 February to 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)
Hong Kong	7 March 2020	3 February to 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)
Iran (Except for Tehran - QR 498/491)	7 March 2020	26 February - 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)
South Korea (Not applicable to transiting  passengers via Doha)	26 February 2020	26 February – 31 March 2020	15 May (Inclusive)
Egypt (Passengers originating from Egypt via any intermediate points)	29 February 2020	26 February - 31 March 2020	New dates of travel must be within 30 days from the original date of travel
Italy	7 March 2020	1 March - 30 April 2020	31 May 2020 (Inclusive)

Affected passengers can re-book their tickets to alternative dates or destinations, or request a full refund without charge. For tickets outside of those dates or to countries not covered by this policy, normal fare rules apply for re-bookings or cancellations will apply.

• If you have booked your ticket on qatarairways.com or through any of our offices, you can re-book your tickets or submit a refund request online or by telephoning your local contact center.
• If you have booked your tickets though a travel agent, please contact your travel agent to amend or refund your booking. 

 

[Dustdevil]

22 hours 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.

 

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.

Yes, at least I used to get good miles with a JP Morgan Chase premium United Airlines VISA card, although the annual fee was $395. Still, after six years of those  8-hour then 14-hour flights to and from the U.S. from Saudi Arabia via BKK (split vacations), I racked up lots of miles and snoozed in lots of nice Star Alliance biz-class cocoons. The lounges were OK too; a bit overcrowded sometimes in some places.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Dustdevil

[Scouse123]

I have checked website and my flight which is on March 30th. As of now, ( I am well aware things are constantly changing ) my flight leaves as normal via Doha, where I am only in transit.

[jojothai]

so they have now cut out the free seat booking for silver class.

i stopped using them a few years ago for a few reasons, one being when they said they were improving privilege club.

instead they doubled the award miles required by making you book two legs through doha.

so their award miles to get one way to uk became around 70,000 when  it used to be just under 40,000 and, the star alliance rates of others are about 40,000.

if you still have miles left you need to try to use partner airlines to get some value from them.

 

they also changed it so that you can no longer readily telephone their service centers.

but, their response to issues through the privilege club contact service (email - wait seven days) are dreadful. so they totally messed me about on a few issues. each time they responded incorrectly, and in the end basically did not help at all.

when they respond they automatically class your issue as closed, regardless.

then you create a new query each time even when they respond incorrectly.

so they are increasing the number of queries while making it look that they all get cleared. 

 

Absolute scandal of a customer service that i dont want to have any dealings with again.

 

[Eindhoven]

17 hours 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

 

As an aside, they just cancelled my return flight for 'operational reasons'. So I extended my stay, changing the flight date to one convenient for me, with no extra charges

[thaipo7]

I have to agree with most of the comments.  We really loved Qatar the first couple of times.  Now the food is poorer and the seats leave me no room with long legs.  The only good thing is that we fly from the east cost from the US and only have one stop at Doha and save about 6 hours total buy not stopping more than once.  I hate getting of a Qatar flight for a connecting Qatar flight and having to go through Immigration again.  They are more expensive than other airline but saving up to 6 hours on a very long distance is worth a little more.  Another big complaint which is not the airlines fault be we land in the US at PHL which is only 17 miles from home in NJ but getting through Immigration takes too long.  On one flight it was 3 1/2 hours.  I could have walked home in 3 1/2 hours.  The airport's only comment was to "Complain to the Mayor."  They only had one lane open for the whole plane load.  People in line were calling their employers about how late they were going to be.  But then again I flew on United and ANA into SFO and processed through Immigration and get to the United desk with my itinerary and they told me there was no such flight from SFO to PHL.  Had to wait for 3 hours to a flight to Boston and another 6 hours for a flight to PHL.  From the time we got up at out home in Thailand until getting to our home in NJ was 60 hours.  We are not young and you don't sleep that well on a plane.  Rant is over.

[SiSePuede419]

"So, you get off a Qatar flight, to connect to second Qatar flight and then you have security all over again ..."

 

Apparently you are not a sophisticated world traveler.

 

Other airlines require this too.

 

Korean airlines.  Japanese airlines.  Chinese airlines.

 

Probably all airlines.

 

If you worked in Security in another country airport would YOU trust Thailand to thoroughly screen luggage?  DUH.

 

Totally 100% normal.

 

BTW, I've flown Qatar.  The food is just as good as Japanese, Chinese and Korean airlines.  And all were better than United Airlines.

 

And yes, they gave me TWO free glasses of wine.  I don't fly in order to get wasted.

 

Drama Queen much? ????

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by SiSePuede419

[CuriousKen]

I had to sue Qatar.

I changed my flight, they send me an acknowledgement by email, and when I tried to check in - no flight!

I had to pay British airways 400 pounds for a one way ticket to the UK.

I sued them for that and another 200 pounds for additional expenses.

I have never flown on them since.

[MrBanks]

After about 12 years of frequently flying business class on Qatar air, both to the USA and Europe, I gave up on them last year. I had no problem with their comfort, food, staff on the planes or check in.

My problem has been that I have had some awful experiences with their terrible customer service.

I decided to not bother about accumulating miles any more, now price rules the day, added to schedule.

 

[Scouse123]

16 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

"So, you get off a Qatar flight, to connect to second Qatar flight and then you have security all over again ..."

 

Apparently you are not a sophisticated world traveler.

 

Other airlines require this too.

 

Korean airlines.  Japanese airlines.  Chinese airlines.

 

Probably all airlines.

 

If you worked in Security in another country airport would YOU trust Thailand to thoroughly screen luggage?  DUH.

 

Totally 100% normal.

 

BTW, I've flown Qatar.  The food is just as good as Japanese, Chinese and Korean airlines.  And all were better than United Airlines.

 

And yes, they gave me TWO free glasses of wine.  I don't fly in order to get wasted.

 

Drama Queen much? ????

 

 

 

Ah, as usual, a baiting post.

 

I see you have ignored a lot of points just to get your silly GIF in there and try to be smart and a tad rude.

 

I have flown many different airlines in all classes from economy to first over a number of years and on board many types of aircraft..

 

If it was the case of always double checking the customer at Qatar airport, how come it is a new rule when they never used to do it before?

 

Also, your point about not trusting Thailand to screen luggage is rather lame, if it was the point you mention and lack of trust in security screening in Bangkok, what about all the luggage transferred directly to your ongoing flight?

 

Food and drink has deteriorated and the way your post is phrased it looks like you haven't flown with them for quite some time.

 

Now go play with your computer and see if you can find any more hilarious GIFs to show us how clever you are.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Scouse123

[SiSePuede419]

5 minutes ago, CuriousKen said:

I had to sue Qatar.

I changed my flight, they send me an acknowledgement by email, and when I tried to check in - no flight!

*All* airlines have the right to cancel any flight for any reason.  It's in the contract that you acknowledged reading before they issued the ticket.

 

You did read the contract before you signed on the dotted line, right?  

 

Did you lose the case?  Of course you did.  You signed a contract.  The judge ruled against you.  Ignorance doesn't let you off the hook of a legal contract.

[jojothai]

8 minutes ago, CuriousKen said:

I had to sue Qatar.

I changed my flight, they send me an acknowledgement by email, and when I tried to check in - no flight!

I had to pay British airways 400 pounds for a one way ticket to the UK.

I sued them for that and another 200 pounds for additional expenses.

I have never flown on them since.

how did you manage to sue them and were you successful/

i think many people would be interested to know thanks

[SiSePuede419]

If it was the case of always double checking the customer at Qatar airport, how come it is a new rule when they never used to do it before?

 

Security rules were changed WORLD WIDE after something called 9/11 where terrorists blew up multiple airplanes and killed thousands of people.

 

You didn't know that?

 

Yeah, back in 1977 I got on an airplane flight with bicycle tools in my carry on, including screwdrivers.

 

And prior to 9/11 they used to let you board with POCKETKNIVES.

 

And plastic BOX CUTTERS.

 

You didn't realize that the 9/11 terrorists used BOX CUTTERS?

 

If you are a sophisticated world traveler you would already know all this plus cargo stored under the plane is held to a different security standard than carry on baggage?

 

Screeners routinely miss guns and ganja in carry on bags all the time.  Ask me how I know. ????

 

In America they have Federal Agents who put guns and other weapons in their carry on bags just to test the security screeners at airports.

 

Wow.  Just wow.

Edited March 9, 2020 by SiSePuede419

[SteveK]

17 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 wouldn't go with BA unless they were free.

[Chazar]

28 minutes ago, CuriousKen said:

I had to sue Qatar.

I changed my flight, they send me an acknowledgement by email, and when I tried to check in - no flight!

I had to pay British airways 400 pounds for a one way ticket to the UK.

I sued them for that and another 200 pounds for additional expenses.

I have never flown on them since.

did  u  win?

[SiSePuede419]

4 minutes ago, SteveK said:

wouldn't go with BA unless they were free.

Beans on a crumpet with a sausage isn't gourmet enough for you, mate?

 

BTW, all beans except Fava and soy come from MEXICO originally.

 

Brits didn't eat beans for breakfast before the Spanish came to America and brought them back to Europe. ✓

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

QATAR , and all other arab airlines, offer mlow level

of services and are dangerous to fly with,

and no low price will justify using them.

that is besides the low quality of attitude you get there.

i tried QATAR few times and understood quickly it is not for me.

most of the crew there is working on very low wages and temporary contracts, hence

they don't care much.

i got there few strange remarks, like when i once booked into a flight with them  :"are

you working for the airlines"...as if i am a spy for other airline...

other time when i asked an air steward how did she got this job, and she started answering

when a higher rank steward interfered and shouted at me: "GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT".

and even the terminal there looks like a mess...

[StevieAus]

On 3/8/2020 at 1:15 PM, Youlike said:

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

Old planes?

You must be thinking of Thai, Qatar has one of the youngest fleets of any airline in the world average age of aircraft 5 years.

Have flown with them business class many times if you fly economy with any airline the seats are small..

[Chivas]

22 minutes ago, SteveK said:

I wouldn't go with BA unless they were free.

I did over 50 returns on BA as brother of staff on ID90 tickets and can say they're absolutely fine and always have been. I dont get on a flight to see delightful flight attendants I get on a motor to get safely from A to B

 

If you were on a motor that went tech at 35,000 feet which airline would you want to be on to get you on the ground safely.....simply British Airways not Thai International with Somchai and his bike spanners and flight deck attitude of Mai Pen Rai when three of the four engines cut out

[FritsSikkink]

47 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

*All* airlines have the right to cancel any flight for any reason.  It's in the contract that you acknowledged reading before they issued the ticket.

 

You did read the contract before you signed on the dotted line, right?  

 

Did you lose the case?  Of course you did.  You signed a contract.  The judge ruled against you.  Ignorance doesn't let you off the hook of a legal contract.

Absolute nonsense. Law goes above a contract. European law says when they delay your flight they have to pay you up to 600 euros compensation added to the fact they have to get you to your destination. Only for extra ordinary things they can cancel your flight.

[Ireland32]

Japan Airlines offers a Great Economy just like Economy plus but no extra charge  for Seat 

[Andycoops]

On 3/8/2020 at 12:28 PM, 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.

 

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.

I have up on the rewards programs years ago for the very reason of reduced benefits and now just book the cheapest ticket.