I just got milked for $1187.48
Im in Doha Airport, Qatar after my flight from London. From what I understand, Qatar Airways is aggressively pursuing business and is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines. Later this month, they are adding flights from New York and Washington to Doha. Both my parents have started flying Qatar Airlines and have silver status on their frequent flyer program. It appears they are doing a lot right. Qatar’s rate from London to Denpasar, Bali was competetive at GBP 570 (USD 1140). It was actually cheaper when I tried to book it initially, but my credit card company cleverly stopped the transaction due to “suspicious activity”. When I tried again the price had gone up!
No Consistency in Air Travel
Well, here’s something interesting to keep in mind - there is no consistency in air travel. The rules and regulations change from airport to airport… I remember seeing people in Stockholm having to dump out duty free they had purchased in Newark while going through transit to Kuala Lumpur, but that is another story.
Read on to find out how I got screwed!
Table of pain
| Flight |
Travel Time |
Luggage Allowance |
| Virgin Atlantic (Boston - London) |
6 hrs |
Two pieces of luggage per passenger, each weighing up to 23kg (51lbs) |
| Qatar Airlines (London - Denpasar) |
21 hrs |
20 kg |
The more astute among you will notice that the longer flight has a lower baggage allowance. So, let’s just say I have a full load coming across from Boston - which I did…
2 bags at 22.5 kg each. Unbeknownst to me, I arrive at the airport in London with the same bags I checked in in Boston for my flight to Bali. Put them on the scale…
Lady at check in: Oh, you’re 25 kg overweight sir… where are you going? Oh Denpasar… that’s GBP 40.11 (USD 70.17) per extra kilo…GBP 1002 (USD 1977) please.
Me: Holy shit! That’s more than my ticket - a lot more.
Me: Argue… argue… argue
After some negotiating, they ignored 10 kilos of it and agreed to only charge me for 15, but they wouldn’t waive the whole bunch. So, I paid the 600 pounds - I was already late for the flight and rushed to board.
Flight Quality
The flight from London to Doha was very comfortable. The flight attendant made me a proper bloody mary with worcestershire sauce, and tabasco! No celery though. Overall, one of the better economy experiences I have had.
Doha Airport
Doha airport is probably booming… there is a lot of dirt around it, and it was dark so I can’t tell if that is the landscape or a construction site. It is one of the few transit airports where you walk down the stairs rather than up a jetway. It’s ok. They have wireless, a busy duty free shop and costa coffee. Very few people are going to Doha but a lot of people seem to transit through.
Customer Service
In the airport, it’s quite interesting. Service staff seem to be from all over. The two girls at Costa Coffee were Filipino, the lady at the customer service counter was indian and I’ve seen many other nationalities too.
What the lady at customer service couldn’t do was refund my GBP 601.65 (USD 1187.48). Im going to keep trying and will vent my frustrations in this venue! So far, it appears it will be a saga. We’ll see if I have to pay another GBP 601.65 to get my bags on the return flight!
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