Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

[burmans]

DFAT has been tweeting.

View attachment 99805

Is this an offence while you are in those countries or can they look at previous posts?

 

[GarrettM]

Have to be for if you are in the country surely. I imagine they could look at previous posts, but they'd need a reason to do so.

 

[hossein_au]

Have to be for if you are in the country surely. I imagine they could look at previous posts, but they'd need a reason to do so.

This is Saudis and Bahrainis you're talking about. Do you really think they need a solid reason to go through your previous posts?

 

[Mattyana2003]

Good to hear. Currently in France with Fiancé and our return to oz from Europe is Athens-Doha-SIN-SYD with Athens to DOH and onto SIN on QR. The flight from Athens now leaves 10 minutes earlier but gets into DOH 40 minutes later. Also changed from an A330 to a B773. Still confident all will go well but only downside is less transfer time in DOH.

I've got the same flight booked (Athens-DOH-SIN) in October but QA and QS are still showing the original departure and flight duration, strange. Currently I have 1hr 40min in Doha if the flight has changed to these new times then I only have 1hr 10min transit. Very tight. I'd be very interested how your transit goes, if you could please give an update after you've flown. Where did you find the info of the changed flight time? Thanks.

 

[RooFlyer]

I have ATH-DOH in late October and still showing original times also. I have a 50 minute transit (to Tehran) in DOH! I think I'm OK with it, as there's another flight a few hours later.

Edit:

<snip>Where did you find the info of the changed flight time? Thanks.

The on-line timetable has the changed times out to the end of June, then they revert to the original times. Looks like they aren't changing the times until its obvious they have to. I think I'll be changing my flight!

 

[defurax]

Interesting timing for QR to notify of its intention to buy 10% of AA shares https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-says-qatar-airways-121247660.html
Seems like a different strategy from EY investing in AZ and AB...

 

[JohnM]

I had a complex series of manoeuvres through DXB and DOH booked (largely F/J redemptions) for a little seven-week Ethiopia/Egypt/Oman/Iran excursion later this year.

Got onto QF and killed all the stuff through DOH and was seamlessly re-booked entirely xDXB without any penalties . The downside is that QF redemptions on EK have brutal taxes compared with those on QR - and now I don't have the pleasure of sitting in front of Rooflyer DOH-IKA in J because I had got in first and snared 2A, leaving him with no option but grisly 3A . But now I'm going DXB-IKA-DXB with EK in F and in 1A .

Better to have surety than run the risk that this imbroglio may go on for some time...

 

[Pushka]

I checked my activity tracker and saw that Qantas penalized us 7000 points and we fly in just over a week. Had to reroute DXB - DOH - ARN to DXB - ARN. No J award availability either so in Y.

 

[JohnM]

I checked my activity tracker and saw that Qantas penalized us 7000 points and we fly in just over a week. Had to reroute DXB - DOH - ARN to DXB - ARN. No J award availability either so in Y.

Was that a change penalty or just more points needed? (7000 seems an odd number for a penalty).

Given that the matter was out of your control, I don't think you should have paid a penalty. Certainly that was the case when I phoned to make the changes top avoid DOH. I actually got 4000 points refunded - but had to cough up about $400 in extra fees because it was EK rather than QR.

 

[defurax]

Was that a change penalty or just more points needed? (7000 seems an odd number for a penalty).

Given that the matter was out of your control, I don't think you should have paid a penalty. Certainly that was the case when I phoned to make the changes top avoid DOH. I actually got 4000 points refunded - but had to cough up about $400 in extra fees because it was EK rather than QR.

So basically the airline penalises you because you've been proactive instead of waiting for the flights to be cancelled and then deal with an "involuntary" change?

 

[JohnM]

So basically the airline penalises you because you've been proactive instead of waiting for the flights to be cancelled and then deal with an "involuntary" change?

Not in my case - and that's why I question it in Pushka's case.

There was no suggestion that I should pay a change penalty; quite the opposite.

I got some points back because the new flights required fewer points but got burned for the higher taxes - but I expected that.

 

[Pushka]

Was that a change penalty or just more points needed? (7000 seems an odd number for a penalty).

Given that the matter was out of your control, I don't think you should have paid a penalty. Certainly that was the case when I phoned to make the changes top avoid DOH. I actually got 4000 points refunded - but had to cough up about $400 in extra fees because it was EK rather than QR.

The only thing the operator mentioned was that as I had originally booked a J award Doha to ARN and was now having to fly Y as no award availability, that I would have 50,000 points refunded. She did not mention the penalty adjustment.

Oh - there was no suggestion I would incur a change fee either, it just happened!

As in here:

So basically the airline penalises you because you've been proactive instead of waiting for the flights to be cancelled and then deal with an "involuntary" change?

Yup! Both of us are WP and I used the premium line.
All transactions:

[TABLE="class: basic, width: 760"][TR="class: underline1 alt, bgcolor: #F9F9F9"][TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]05 JUN 17[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]CLASSIC AWARD POINTS DEDUCTION 1 PASSENGER REF [/TD][TD="class: noFigures, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusBonus, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][TD="class: figures, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-118,500[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusCredits, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][/TR][TR="class: underline1"][TD]05 JUN 17[/TD][TD]CLASSIC AWARD POINTS DEDUCTION 1 PASSENGER REF [/TD][TD="class: noFigures"]-[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusBonus"]-[/TD][TD="class: figures"]-118,500[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusCredits"]-[/TD][/TR][TR="class: underline1 alt, bgcolor: #F9F9F9"][TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]05 JUN 17[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]CHANGE FEE[/TD][TD="class: noFigures, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusBonus, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][TD="class: figures, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-3,500[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusCredits, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][/TR][TR="class: underline1"][TD]05 JUN 17[/TD][TD]CHANGE FEE[/TD][TD="class: noFigures"]-[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusBonus"]-[/TD][TD="class: figures"]-3,500[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusCredits"]-[/TD][/TR][TR="class: underline1 alt, bgcolor: #F9F9F9"][TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]05 JUN 17[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]CANCELLED REDEMPTION POINTS REINSTATED 05JUN17[/TD][TD="class: noFigures, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusBonus, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]-[/TD][TD="class: figures, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]149,000[/TD][TD="class: figures statusCredits, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]0[/TD][/TR][TR="class: underline1"][TD]05 JUN 17[/TD][TD]CANCELLED REDEMPTION POINTS REINSTATED 05JUN17[/TD][TD="class: noFigures"]-[/TD][TD="class: noFigures statusBonus"]-[/TD][TD="class: figures"]149,000[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

 

[defurax]

Not in my case - and that's why I question it in Pushka's case.

There was no suggestion that I should pay a change penalty; quite the opposite.

I got some points back because the new flights required fewer points but got burned for the higher taxes - but I expected that.

My point is that for an involuntary change there should be no additional taxes.

 

[Pushka]

My point is that for an involuntary change there should be no additional taxes.

That's an interesting thought.

 

[defurax]

That's an interesting thought.

Well, with revenue fares I have never paid anything for involuntary changes. Maybe some airport taxes or government fees mandated by law, but not "airline taxes". I don't usually redeem my points for flights, so I don't know all the intricacies of award bookings, but I don't think additional fees should be collected for involuntary changes. Just last week I was notified that AB cancelled their DUS-ARN flight and they had rebooked me on some awful airline (Eurowings (EW)), after I called them they rebooked me in a higher fare class via TXL with no fees.

If I had to pay fees I would follow that up with my travel insurance.

 

[Batesy]

I've got the same flight booked (Athens-DOH-SIN) in October but QA and QS are still showing the original departure and flight duration, strange. Currently I have 1hr 40min in Doha if the flight has changed to these new times then I only have 1hr 10min transit. Very tight. I'd be very interested how your transit goes, if you could please give an update after you've flown. Where did you find the info of the changed flight time? Thanks.

I got an email from Qantas on the time change out of Athens as it is a QF award booking.
Departure is now 1:35pm from Athens. Only 10 minutes earlier. I looked at the booking on the Qantas app and noticed that it has changed to a 777. However on checking just now here in Santorini its back to the A330. Flight to SIN no change.

 

[JohnM]

My point is that for an involuntary change there should be no additional taxes.

I think that is unrealistic for the situation I was in. There were several cancellations or changes needed in a couple of separate bookings where I had to strip out DOH.

I cancelled the several QR flights and the QF agent found me new flights on EK to get me directly to IKA from DXB, while I found alternative paid fares to get from CAI to DXB via MCT as just as this was hitting the fan I had decided to add a week in Oman to my travels.

EK taxes are greater, so I expected to have to pay more $$ (after all, I had chosen QR partly to minimise the taxes charge). In effect, they were two separate and unrelated itineraries, even though the ultimate destination was the same.

I was just very grateful that QF could expeditiously find me award flights on EK DXB-IKA-DXB exactly the days I wanted them.

I was also appreciative that because my need to make some form of change (because I was unable to get from CAI to DOH and DXB to DOH) was outside my control that they did not charge me a change fee in points. I merely asked and the agent said immediately that I would not be charged a change fee. There was no pushing on my part or hesitation on his part.

 

[RooFlyer]

I just called Qantas about my situation - which is simpler than JohnM's and Pushka's (just change in time of one leg). If I took a later DOH-IKA flight, allowing for the later time of the ATH-DOH flight, they would charge me 5K points change fee, as its voluntary (QR haven't updated their schedule that far out). As soon as the flight times get changed - no fee.

As there are plenty of J seats on that later flight available, and as I don't really like 3:30am arrivals, I'm going to leave it be for the time being. Still, I might be joining the English contingent and be a bit bleary eyed that first day JohnM.

 

[Scarlett]

Interesting timing for QR to notify of its intention to buy 10% of AA shares https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-says-qatar-airways-121247660.html
Seems like a different strategy from EY investing in AZ and AB...

WOW. JUST WOW.
I'm not talking about the investment, that just seems like business, but has anyone else read the comments at the end of that article?
The yahoo finance readership commenting on the article would seem to believe that every Qatari is an islamist terrorist. LOTFAP indeed!

 

[Mattg]

I just received notification that my QR DOH-CMB flight next month will now take 25 minutes longer. I can imagine why.

The schedule change actually works OK for me though. The flight now departs 50 minutes earlier, so I now arrive in Sri Lanka at 1.45am instead of 2.10am.