On 14 and 16 December 2018, Qatar Airways (QR) acted in breach of its representations and failed to deliver the product purchased by its consumer. I just completed business class flights QR817 and QR816 between Hong Kong and Doha. I booked Qsuite for both flights. My booking was confirmed by QR's ticketing office and QR's online seating plan gave the same indication. However, I eventually was "downgraded" and got a normal business class seat without adequate prior notice. QR claims to have the world's best business class but my experience does not support that claim. The company engages in a practice of changing planes at last minute. It takes consumers' money and delivers an inferior product. This happened to me on repeated occasions on 14 and 16 December 2018. I paid around US$5,300 to book Qsuite for both flights but got a 2-2-2 configuration business class seat with less privacy, less space and different seat structure. On both instances, QR unilaterally changed the plane without adequate prior notice. On 14 Dec, I was informed of the plane change at the check-in counter with no apologies. On 16 Dec, I only found out when I boarded the plane. As a result, the menu was inaccurate and some food items on the menu were not available. There were complaints from numerous passengers in the cabin. This practice of switching products at last minute is highly inappropriate, unprofessional and not acceptable. If QR had to change planes, they should have changed to a plane with seats that are identical to the one being replaced (i.e. Qsuite to Qsuite). Advertising a particular type of seat to the public, taking customers' money and then failing to deliver what was on offer without adequate notice seriously violate customers' rights and interests. This should not be the experience from an airline that received the 2018 Skytrax Award for the World's Best Business Class. I did not get the "best business class" experience on both flights. The money I spent should not be subject to the airline's sole discretion to change products. Consumers should be given proper notice of any such change and been given an opportunity to decide whether to proceed with the flight. QR's behavior leaves passengers with no choice but to board the plane they allocate at last minute. This is outrageous and appalling. I have not experienced this with any other airlines. While my intended first Qsuite experience, together with my money, was taken away by QR, I think readers of this post and any future passengers of QR should be aware of these incidents and QR's repeated failure to deliver the products it offered through its website and staff. The simple rule is that consumers should get the product they paid for. If QR is not able to recognise and follow this basic rule, consumers should be aware of that and make an informed choice as to whether to take the airline again.
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