Hi siri,
I understand your frustration however some of the language you are using to others - who generally are very helpful in this Forum - is doing nothing to provide guidance for next time; assuming that is why you've posted and not just to bad-mouth Qantas and anyone who tries to help.
App warn me 3 hrs before syd-melbourne flight which I think, was around 7 pm. Thats gives almost no window for second guess.
Qantas used to warn via SMS when this happened and I have been there so many times. But this time no sms and nothing.
Yes, very disappointing that you did not receive an SMS immediately your app notified you of the change. I use two Apps to monitor my flights and they tend to be very quick - I've often had notifications of flight delays hours before arriving at the airport where both the departure screens and the Lounge staff have informed me the flight is on-time. No, this isn't Qantas we're talking about here, so you may choose to fly with others but you could well find the same problem.
I think the core issue here is two fold:
1. The Connection Time in Dubai
2. The Amount of time to get to the Conference in Amsterdam
Those, coupled with such a late notification, led to the situation whereby your stress levels were increased when systems alerted the delay. (Your App must have picked up the delay from some QF system somewhere - even though QF then didn't notify you immediately of the delay). If Qantas thought it best to contact you personally because of the potential for you to miss your connection, then the delay in doing so could well be down to the class of travel and your (relative) lack of status with Qantas - as others have said, we don't know how Qantas were working in the background.
With your 50+ years of International Travel, you'll realise that air travel delays are in fact becoming more common (just as single legs are now timed to take longer than they were even 5 years ago!!). Dubai itself is now becoming notorious for delays due to congestion; then there are the various sandstorms etc which can cause diversions etc. If you choose to take the risk of ignoring these potential hazards to miss such an important meeting, then you choose the consequences. You obviously weigh the risk against lost time by being in the air.
It looks as though, however, you mitigate that risk - as I do - by running Apps across your itineraries. Consequently, you were able to work with Qantas to have this resolved. I'd call that a good outcome.
Regards,
BD