Wish you a safe journey...and your baggage too!

The next day I went to the airport to send off my mother, this time, of course there was no problems as I had collected the boarding pass the previous day itself. But hey, as I passed the QR help desk, I found scores of agitated faces again there and similar scenes like the previous day !!! My friend who works for QAs told me with a smile - today they have overbooked the flights to Europe !!!

Its an everyday happening - I guess.... I may be wrong !!!

Good luck to all those who choose to fly Qatar Airways !!!

I received my baggage today at 12.01 noon.

I had to rummage through maybe 200 pieces of baggage that lay scattered in front of the Baggage Claim section.

But I am so happy/relieved at receiving my baggage that I am ready to absolve QA of any wrong-doing!!!

I had to pay Parking charges at the Airport parking lot for no mistake of mine...But I even tipped the lady at the parking lot.;-) I am as relieved as I can ever be.

All the medical reports/medicines, iPod accessories, CDs, seem to be in place...I will check them for breakage later though...

But QA has a looong way to go. I have no response to my emails sent to their customer service and PrivilegeClub emails.

Anyways, alls well that ends well...i guess...

Nope. I have no association whatsoever with QA. I am not even airline staff for another airline.

I have flown numerous flights over the years though, encountered a fair few delays, lost luggage and so on (in fact, now I try to always take carry on only, I really don't like to check luggage in).

It's just common sense really: if there's some kind of delay, or if the flight is overbooked, shouting aggressively 'what the hell is happening?' at an airline official who you've just met isn't going to resolve the situation. No point whatsoever.

I am not sure but by your posts it seems that you are working with QA. If what you describe is the attitude and understanding of QA staff regarding treatment of passengers, I have to rethink about the carrier I shall be travelling with from now onwards.

I know all about airlines overbooking their flights. I have been in the travel industry for 13 years. I have also extensive experience in dealing with staff of most of the airlines operating in and out of Qatar. I have also seen how other airlines handle overbooking situations and trust me - they deal with the situation much better !!!

BTW , I also many people who work with Qatar Airways and Qatar Aviation Services. I do not say that all of them are rude.

And you said " If you treat them as human beings instead of verbal punch bags, you might find them more amenable and helpful."

Thats precisely my point too... They have no right to stonewall passengers standing in the check in line for almost two hours without giving any sort of information whatsoever. The passengers are ALSO human beings. And its human nature to get angry at times, I guess !!!

You are right. Shouting at someone aggressively and rudely will not solve the problem.

And if we use some common sense and basic airline knowledge, we can try to understand where the actual problem is...

I am talking about my late/lost baggage issue.

When the same thing happens more than once, it should raise concerns. More than 15 times in the last 1 month... in same sector...in the same airline...should cause panic INSIDE Qatar Airways, among the management.

The staff at the baggage claim CANNOT DO ANYTHING. The least they can do is say they are sorry for the incovenience.

The main problem causers or people responsible are sitting in cushy offices in Qatar Airways.

Some guy is majorly screwing up in Qatar Airways overseas offices and is STILL WORKING in QATAR AIRWAYS.

So...

PS: My baggage has still missing in action. No confirmation on whether it will arrive or not. :-)

Kudos to the Best Airline in the region.

There is a difference between agigated/anxious and downright rude and aggressive.

It's my personal opinion that it doesn't fall within an airline official's job description to be shouted at "what the hell is happening?" as an opening gambit from a passenger as described by qatexpat.

You just meet someone, someone who hasn't personally caused your inconvenience, and you're yelling: "what the hell is happening" at them?

There's no excuse for that kind of rudeness or hostility.

How about a bit of civility for a start? How about simply asking this person, in a calm, reasonable tone, for up to date information about the situation, explaining calmly and rationally what the problem is and asking them if there is anything they can do to resolve the problem?

Shouting at someone aggressively and rudely will not solve the problem. Airline staff are paid to serve passengers, yes, they are trained to deal with akward and irate customers, yes, but they are not paid to be subjected to rudeness and hostility and outright aggression.

i know exactly what are u saying ... i used to work in the hotel industry ... i am trained to always smile to angry guests.

Unlike passengers, airline staff are paid for the service they are giving. If they are posted at airport to attend to agitated passengers whose flight is missed due to some airline problem, do you expect sweet words from passengers. It is part and parcel of their job to pacify agitated passengers and not to be more agitated than the passengers.

If any airline staff does not like this job, he/she should leave the job because he/she does not have the temperament to do justice with the requirements.

both on our return flight last year in March to Amman were delayed without any notification.

last year i went to Jakarta with QR ... somehow both flight on the way there and back the inflight entertainment system not working. No music, no movie ... And i flew with 4 yrs old.

Never know that they are not compensating any lost luggage for Qatar resident. We will make sure not flying with them anymore.

Best thing would be to contact the CEO directly.

Sometimes the airlines give preference to their cargo rather than human beings. Why? Becaus they get better returns from this.

With regards to flights to/from India I think you can go to consumer redressal forum. About other countries I have no idea.

"If your number one goal is to make sure that everyone likes and approves of you, then you risk sacrificing your uniqueness and, therefore, your excellence."

3 pieces of my baggage were to arrive today.

I called and was informed that they have not arrived today and WILL not arrive today.

So I can say g'bye to my 'expensive medicines' and other 'valuables'.

Can anyone advise on a legal proceeding on this issue?

I am serious. Any contact numbers of lawyers who can advise or any Govt Entities/ consumer forums which I can take my grievance to?? Please call me on 5382120 if required.

Thanks a ton.

beware of air france with luggage as well,5 years ago i sent my two sons who where then 12 and 9 years old to my brother in strasbourg for a two week vacation,air france lost their luggage on the way out and as this is apparently commonplace they have a ready made emergency pack which they gave to these two children, containing 1 xl tee-shirt,1 xl underpants and apack of 3 condoms very handy when you are 12 and 9 years old. after eventually locating the luggage two days before they where due to come home they again proceeded to lose it again on the return trip

I have a few friends who work for Qatar Airways and they are treated like dirt. Underpaid, understaffed with no initiative to work, unfortunately we take it out on the wrong people. If they had the opportunity they wouldn't be working for this useless airline, which by the way are the most expensive airline in the Middle East and are still the worst. I suggest you email or talk to management and/ or head of customer service, that's what I'm doing, instead of getting angry at the poor employees of this useless airline.

peace x

Sure airlines overbook - but most get it right, and apologise competently when they stuff up. My guess is the planes were filled with Indians and Philipinos, who we all know are treated like sh1t - so no surprise there.

When I flew QA to the Seychelles they sat my wife on the other side of the plane/row with two single men between us - how stupid do they have to be to put two single people together and split a couple.

Love Emirates airline though - superb planes and fantastic service...

"please speak to our Customer Relations"

This phrase is most often used by QR staff.

Sounds like "You have the right to remain silent..." statement by police when they arrest you.

Customer Relations is NEVER there in the airport when you need them.

Qatar Airways has a looong way to go in Customer satisfaction.

Anyway, I tried to make a point in relation to the below comment, but my computer froze and I lost my post:

qatexpat said:

"... The best part is yet to come. I took my mother’s ticket and went to the QR help desk where quite a few agitated faces were waiting eagerly. But no signs of the “officer.” Finally, when he came, I raised my voice in frustration and asked him what the hell was happening. His response was in an equally if not louder voice, asking me to lower my voice first, which I refused to do until he explained why my mother was being denied a seat in the flight. His immediate reaction was to walk away from us and approach a police official sitting at one of the X-ray machines..."

Shouting aggressively at an airline official isn't going to achieve your desired outcome of getting your mother a seat on the flight. All you're going to achieve is to alienate the airline staff further.

Airline staff work under a lot of pressure and come in for a load of flack for problems that aren't necessarily their fault personally.

By shouting at them aggressively, you're not going to endear yourself to them, and they are not going to be inclined in any way whatsoever to go out of their way to help you out of your predicament.

You might achieve a more favourable outcome if you understand that their mission in life isn't to inconvenience you and your mother, they don't wake up every morning thinking: "Ooh, great, I'm really looking forward to annoying a whole bunch of passengers and getting shouted at today!"

If you treat them as human beings instead of verbal punch bags, you might find them more amenable and helpful.

The customer may be right. But the customer does not have 'a right' to shout aggressively at a company employee for a situation that may be totally beyond their control. They are humans too, y'know.

I have never heard a more stupid argument in my life. Remember, customer is always right.

I believe your comment to rightfully concerned displeased customers of Qatar Airways is falling on completely deaf ears....

Airlines routinely overbook flights. It's because people often cancel or change at the last minute, and if the airlines didn't overbook, they would be left with many empty seats, and the flights wouldn't be so economical, and the airlines would have to raise their prices.

There's a lot of complex statistics involved, sometimes they get the numbers right, sometimes they get it wrong; that's what happens when you take mathematical formulae and try to apply them to the random and ultimately unpredictable behaviour of humans.

Would you rather that they *never* overbooked flights? It would mean that your tickets would be so much more expensive as they would have to factor in the flexible ticket holders who could change at the last minute and decide to take a later flight. If you want absolutely guaranteed no overbooking, you'd have to pay a substantial premium on your ticket. Are you prepared to pay that premium?

I think most passengers would rather the tickets were as economically priced as possible, even if occasionally that might mean some inconvenience.

And why the extreme anger? Was your mother on her way to some once in a lifetime event, like someone's wedding, or to say goodbye to a loved one with a terminal illness? In the whole scheme of things, is it really so bad? Just think: What if someone who *did* get a seat on that flight was relieved because they were in that once in a lifetime situation? Maybe your mother losing a seat on that flight enabled someone else to do something important and/or life-changing.

Remember the chaos theory, if a butterfly flaps it's wings in South America, that has an effect on something else. Your mother missing that flight was meant to be, for some random unfathomable reason.

try contacting the CEO. Maybe he can provide a solution for all this.

"If your number one goal is to make sure that everyone likes and approves of you, then you risk sacrificing your uniqueness and, therefore, your excellence."

My mother, a 60 year old lady, was booked to travel on Qatar Airways Flight No. 240 to Thiruvananthapuram departure 0125 hrs on 08JAN2007. On reaching the airport check-in counter at 10.50 ( 2 hours 35 minutes prior to departure), she was told to wait. Her ticket, reissued by the Qatar Airways main office for a change in booking class which also involved an additional collection of QR.280/- was supposedly confirmed and reconfirmed by the airline. The “waiting” continued for ever - literally. My sister, who had gone in with my mother to help her check-in lost patience eventually and demanded to see the duty officer/supervisor. The “officer” kept appearing and disappearing, with no information being given to the waiting passengers. (My mother was not the only one – there were more passengers in the same situation). Finally, the “verdict” came from the “officer” – the flight is fully booked.

At this juncture, my sister called me inside and when I went to the check-in counter, a very courteous QAS staff explained the situation to me that the flight had been overbooked as usual and they had already transferred a number of passengers to another airline flying to another destination !!! Then he made me the offer – of course under the direction of the Qatar Airways duty officer.

The counter-offer was the final icing in the cake after the hour and a half long wait – a seat in the Indian Airlines flight going to Kochi and “assured” surface transport from there to Thiruvananthapuram. I didn’t quite know whether to laugh or cry.

The best part is yet to come. I took my mother’s ticket and went to the QR help desk where quite a few agitated faces were waiting eagerly. But no signs of the “officer.” Finally, when he came, I raised my voice in frustration and asked him what the hell was happening. His response was in an equally if not louder voice, asking me to lower my voice first, which I refused to do until he explained why my mother was being denied a seat in the flight. His immediate reaction was to walk away from us and approach a police official sitting at one of the X-ray machines. The “intelligent officer” of the “five star airline” must have thought that agitated passengers talking in loud voices would be immediately jailed by the authorities in Qatar. What a joke !!! He came back and a couple of others took up from where I had left off. His responses to our queries were outrageous, impractical and out of this world !!! When I showed him the ticket issued from QR office and their confirmation printout, he showed me the QR reservation office situated at the arrivals !!! “Go and check there” – response with a deadpan face !!! Another query from the distraught guy standing next to me – “Is this your customer service and you call yourselves a five star airline ?” Our deadpan faced friend, responds in his customary nonchalant manner “ you can contact our customer relations department” . I am now almost falling on the floor laughing, because I just glanced at my watch which shows me the time to be15 minutes past midnight. I ask him incredibly “you want us to contact your customer relations at midnight ?” Again our deadpan faced friend gives us his empty face – this time minus any more golden words. The next question “you will compensate us for this ? “ Mr. five star officer says “write to the customer relations and they will…”

At this juncture, he is joined by one of his pals – one more “officer” and they get into discussing some other flight, some other issues. The airline “who takes you more personally” just can’t see the “persons” “personally standing in front of their counter !!! Our two “stars” of the show continue their discussion and go about life as usual. Through the whole episode, I could not see any effort from the “star officer” of the “five star airline” to pacify the agitated population standing in front. Maybe he expected us to whine and lick his boots “please get us a seat in the flight, we will do anything” kind of approach !!!

Only after this I found out that all the agitated populace were not from the same flight. Half of them were from the another flight !!! Ha Ha Ha. Just goes to show that its not a one off incident for the “five star airline” !!! In the middle of all these happenings, I noticed a check in counter staff come huffing and puffing and murmuring something about a passenger for the Bangkok flight who is holding a confirmed ticket but no seats in the aircraft !!! Our two “stars” immediately told the distraught check in staff – put him in the business class !!! So, three flights – departing to three destinations – all over-booked !!!

You don’t become “world class” or “five star airline” by just bagging some awards and smiling at glittering ceremonies. Doing the basic customer service right is what will eventually make you the best. All the best – “Qatar Airways – the five star airline !!! “

By the way, I have one suggestion for the “five star airline” – Instead of putting a guy behind the counter, you can install a box – something strong like the ATM machines, so that the agitated passengers may kick on it without any loss to QR property, but risking considerable physical injury to themselves !!! The box can have push buttons which upon pushing will reel out robot voiced messages like “ the flight is overbooked” “contact the reservations at the departure lounge” or “write a letter to our customer service department and wait at the check in desk till you receive their reply”. And when the guy in front kicks the box in frustration, “this machine is out of service, thanks for flying Qatar Airways – the five star airline, it was a pleasure being kicked by you.”

I saw some of the other customers taking the names of the officers on duty which they happily gave, but I didn’t do it, even though I read their name tags. For me, the persons are not important, it’s the company culture that they represent which is more important. Duty officers will come and go, but the company has to change its attitude that helpless passengers are just that – “helpless”. I cannot take them to court, because I will loose, they know it very well. In our own small ways, we can only react like this – write out our frustrations , boycott them for the rest of our lives. Small measures, but gratifying though.

Me and my husband have a same problem like you. We are PrivilegeClub member and when we checked in they put tag first class or business class on our luggages. Thought we will get our bag at the first run. But it never happened. We have to wait like everybody else which is always took us min. half hour or so to get our bag. Is so frustated. And we never experience on time take off not to mention the arrival. Whats wrong with Qatar Airways??

Thought they are the best airline in the middle east with first class experience as the advert said.