Terrible Experience on Qatar Airways Flight QR579 - Seeking Advice

Question

Hello fellow travelers,

I recently had an incredibly unpleasant experience on Qatar Airways Flight QR579, and I'm reaching out to this community for advice and insights from those who may have faced a similar situation.

Context:

Yesterday, my wife and I embarked on a journey with high hopes for a smooth travel experience. However, our experience with Qatar Airways turned out to be quite the opposite.

Upon arriving at Delhi Airport to board QR579 (and connecting flight QR081), we had four check-in bags totaling 60 kilograms and three handbags weighing 14 kilograms in total (2 laptop bags of 3.2kg and 3.8kg respectively, and one small trolley bag of 7kg). To our dismay, we were met with rude and hostile behavior from the airline staff, even though we were within our luggage limits. The situation took a drastic turn when we reached the boarding gate.

The Problem:

At the gate, we were informed that we could only carry two pieces of hand luggage, not three, which was perplexing given our 10+ years of travel experience. We had consistently carried our laptops in separate bags from our hand luggage. However, we were told to check in a small trolley weighing 7 kg, and pay an exorbitant fee of 24,418 Indian Rupees.

Despite presenting evidence of other passengers with similar bags, the staff remained unyielding, acting in a derogatory and abusive manner. We were left with no option but to pay and board the flight under duress. We told them to dispose off the bag as the content of 7kg is not worth of 24,418 INR. We requested that we take out our apartment keys and 1-2 more minor items that are important to us and the remaining content can be trashed. But they forced and pressured us to pay for it and put that bag in check-in. They threatened us that if in the next 5 mins we do not pay, they will remove our checked-in bags from the flight and deny us boarding.

The Contradiction:

What added to our confusion was that on a previous Qatar Airways flight from Berlin to Delhi (QR082 and QR570), our experience was entirely different. The same set of hand items—two laptop bags and the small trolley bag—didn't raise any issues on our outbound journey.

This inconsistency leads us to believe that the staff on our return flight intentionally harassed us for financial gain.

Request for Advice:

We have raised the complaint with Qatar Airways support through their website immediately, and now have received a response which is not quite helpful, all they've said is:

We seek to train our employees to meet our high standards however, we are seriously concerned when customers feel they have been poorly treated. You can rest assured that we have shared your comments with the responsible departments for their information and any appropriate action that may be required. We apologize for any inconvenience which may have been caused on this occasion and look forward to welcome you onboard our flights again in the near future.

We are thinking of initiating a chargeback request with our credit card provider to recover the unjustly charged amount. No idea how much this will be helpful.

We'd appreciate any insights, advice, or guidance from those who have faced similar situations. What steps can we take to address this issue, and how can we ensure it doesn't happen to other travelers in the future?

Your experiences and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Answer 1

If you were travelling in economy class and don’t have frequent flyer elite status, then the Qatar Airways website tells us:

• Economy Class passengers can carry one piece of baggage, not to exceed 7kg (15lb).

(…)

• Laptops and laptop bags should fit within your hand baggage allowance.

(Emphasis mine)

So you were over your allowance, and they were perfectly in their rights to ask you for the bag to be checked and for a fee to be paid.

The fact that you slipped through with more than your allowance on previous flights does not mean you are allowed to do so on later flights.

Enforcement of carry-on limits varies a lot. Some airlines will enforce them strictly most of the time (especially low-cost airlines for which this is a source of revenue), others may be more lax.

It also varies a lot from flight to flight: they are a lot more likely to enforce the rules strictly on flights which are very full, or during periods where people carry more stuff on board then usual (often around some holidays).

I certainly cannot say whether they were rude or not, but they were just doing their job, enforcing the rules, so that there is space on board for what is actually allowed, and departure is not delayed because of bags needing to be checked at the last minute.

Remember that they are faced with passengers arguing about their bags every single day, so it’s quite normal for them to be a bit dismissive of people trying to argue their way through.

Apparently you focused on the size or weight of your bag, when this was most likely not the issue, the number of pieces was.

Note that there is also a size limit which may have been an issue as well, but we have no information on that from your post.

In short: they followed the rules.

Answer 2

What steps can we take to address this issue?

• Make sure that you know your rights, and also the limits of the service you purchase. Specifically, confirm on your tickets how many pieces of carry-on luggage you're allowed to take with you.

[A]nd how can we ensure it doesn't happen to other travelers in the future?

• Same as above. If an employee argues with you how many pieces you can take with you, you need to know what's the right number, and you need to be able to refer to the terms and conditions of your ticket. And every other traveler can do the same (but you don't need to worry about them).