Tag Archives for qatar airways.
Right now there are some great opportunities to use your miles for the whole family on Qatar Airways QSuites from San Francisco to travel to the Mideast, Africa, or region around India as well as to travel on the new Qantas Chicago – Brisbane flight. Space is generally available throughout 2021, and by the second half of the year we could be past the current unpleasantness.
The International Court of Justice just ruled that the air blockade of Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (but primarily by the UAE and Saudi Arabia) is illegal, by determining that the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization – which already found it illegal – has jurisdiction.
Australian Jessican Tam reports that when she cancelled a Qatar Airways roundtrip business class ticket from Jakarta to London, and they accidentally refunded AU$28,179,789.36 – or about $19.7 million at today’s exchange rates. She’s even shared a screen shot of her bank balance.
Qatar Airways has a really interesting status match opportunity. I flag this because mid- and top-tier elite members of Qatar Airways Privilege Club do not just get American Airlines Admirals Club access even on domestic itineraries, they receive access to American’s Flagship lounges, too (once those re-open of course).
The insane Qatar Airways airfare deal is one of the most generous I’ve ever seen, at least where there hasn’t been a mistake. You can book the cheapest flight you can find from the U.S. and then change the city you fly from and change where you fly to – just pick somewhere within 5000 miles of your originally booked destination.
Qatar Airways has two new restrictions – which is actually a good thing, it shows the basic policy is working as intended and this is not a mistake.
You can fly Qatar Airways business class – one of the best products in the world – from any city they serve in the U.S. to nearly anywhere in Europe, Asia, or Africa for less than $1650 roundtrip. Lots of readers are having success with this. Here’s how it works.
Qatar Airways is giving more value to customers than I can recall ever seeing an airline offer without it being a mistake. It even lets you buy a ticket on one of the least expensive routes, and use the ticket on one of the most expensive. And the airline has been pretty clear that this is for real.
Here’s a dismissal notice one pilot reported receiving from their airline. Qatar Airways terminated them effective immediately, and is paying seven days of severance in lieu of notice.
If that was the end of the story it would be unfortunate, but part of the grim reality that aviation and the world are facing today. However that wasn’t the end. Qatar sent the pilot a bill for $162,000.
The lede to a piece in the New York Times on the bungled initial response to the novel coronavirus appears to suggest that the virus was first brought to New York by a Qatar Airways flight. It even further appears to suggest that if only New York had done a better job containing that first case, things would be different today. These claims make little sense.
Airlines are worried about surviving. They have your cash. It may not be legal to keep it when flights are cancelled, but most customers will take what they are offered (future travel credit) and very few will complain to authorities.
Qatar Airways though has a better approach. They, too, want your cash. They want your future travel purchases when travel is again in the cards. They are honoring refunds but if you’ll take a credit instead they’ll give you a 10% bonus for taking a voucher. That’s creative and honors the customer.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
