My wife and myself flew from London via Doha to Johannesburg and back recently. The whole experience with Qatar Airways was, to say the least, apaling!
I have a few complaints and would like to stipulate them to you:
1. First and most important, the airline lost our luggage. We arrived back at London Heathrow at 12.25 in the afternoon on Sunday, 14 March. Upon arrival (waiting for our luggage) we were called to the "Lost Baggage" counter. There we were informed that our luggage was misplaced during the transfer at Doha International Airport. Upon questioning the person that informed us, we were promised that our luggage will be on a flight from Doha at 17.00 on the same day. We were given the option to either wait at the airport or go home and get the luggage delivered. We opted for the latter as we have been travelling for nearly 18 hours and wanted to get home. It was then agreed that our luggage would be delivered before 10pm on the same day. We signed a paper and was given a reference number. On this paper was a telephone number to contact with any queries or to track our luggage delivery. The nuber we were given was 08702208136. This number does not work at all. We then searched online for "customer service" or "customer care" numbers and dialled the following without any success: 02087975001, 02073992577 and 08703898090.
We eventually got hold of someone when we dialled 02087457464. This person told us to call back in an hour as the person who dealt with lost luggage was not there at that moment. After an hour we called back, just to be told the same again. We called back an hour later just to be told that the person in question is not on duty anymore. After explaining our situation, the person at the other end of the line asked us for our reference number. With this information he explained that our luggage was on its way and would be delivered to our doorstep before 10.30pm on the same day. At 23.30 we decided to go to bed and try again today (15 March). I called the same number at 09.15am today. A lady answered and asked me for my reference number. She then said that I will get the luggage today. I just made a call to that same number and now the person at the other end does not know about anything.
We have all of our toiletries and valuebles in our luggage. We already had to purchase the basiscs to be able to get ready for work. My wife had no make-up and no shops are open that late on a Sunday evening.
I am really frustrated with the whole situation and very unhappy that wrong numbers were given out to us.
2. I also want to complain about the in-flight service and airplane conditions on all four of the legs of our journey:
2.1 On the first leg of our flight (London to Doha), two of the onboard toilets were out of order. The one did not even have a door. This meant that 170 passengers had to use only 2 toilets. The standard of cleanliness in the toilets was not very good either.
2.2 The cabin crew had their luggage stored (together with other Qatar Airways property) in the overhead luggage compartments of the last 5-6 rows of the aircraft. These are clearly designated for the use of passengers. This occured on all 4 legs of our journey. Upon requesting about space for our luggage we were told to "Find a place". This is really not on. We ended up with our hand luggage in totally different overhead compartments which usually was 6-9 rows forward from where we sat. This also caused us to utilise space designated for other passengers. This has never happened to us before.
2.3 The cabin crew was at the best of times unprofessional and very unhelpful. On our Doha to London flight, the cabin crew member did not even attempt to smile once. Her demeanour was one of irritation and being very rude. Their serving of drinks and food was questionable and very rarely did they serve any food warm and/or of a good quality. I was appalled with especially the drinks. The airline does not serve alcohol in pre-measured containers. Instead they pour spirits like gin, brandy and whiskey out of a big bottle. Every drink was poured way too strong and I suppose no-one actually got what they asked for.
2.4 My entertainment unit did not work on the flight from Doha to London. Upon requesting assitance I was told that I just have to accept that it does not work. Sitting on a flight for 7 hours without entertainment is really frustrating.
I usually don't complain about anything. I am always happy if an airline has the right way of helping and/or explainig a situation. The experience with Qatar Airways rates as the worst I have ever come across and I feel that my complaints and issues are valid.
I will never fly Qatar again and will advise any friends or family to not fly with them either. They advertise themself as a 5 star airline and boast about being awarded "The Worlds best economy class in 2009". To me, this might just as well be false advertising!
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