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Taken September 2006 from Johannesburg (Jan Smuts Airport) - JNB to London, England (Heathrow Airport) - LHR

It is most unfortunate that I have to advise of the unfortunate service I have received on my recent flight JHB to London via Doha return on Qatar Airlines. I will list for you the incidents :

- In JHB I phoned the call centre to confirm my flight, the first time I got through and the call was cut off once I had begun speaking to 1 of the agents. I tried phoning back on 3 occasions and the phone just rang. When I finally got through I was informed that I had not pre booked my seat numbers, which I know not to be true as I stood with the travel agent at Flight Centre when she booked the seats for me.

- In London I looked up the local phone number on the web site, when I called, I was informed that the number had changed. When I got through to the person I confirmed the flight back to JHB via Doha. The person advised me that the driver was booked for 10am when I landed at 5h15, I asked the person to change this as it was not necessary for me to wait at the airport for almost 5 hours. He advised me to phone Flight Centre in JHB, I told him that it was not Flight Centre who booked the service, but Qatar Airlines. He then told me to phone Qatar in JHB, I asked if he could not assist being the same airline and with great hesitation he put me on hold to make enquiries. After a period of time he came back on the phone to advise me that this was the time that I was collected in JHB on my departure and he was sure that I would be collected on arrival (not much of an assurance). Please note that this was also the call centre agent for Business and First Class Passengers!

- When I arrived in Doha, I stood in a queue for the Business and First Class passengers, when I eventually got to the front I was told to go to another counter. At this other counter the person got my boarding pass and as he handed it to me he advised that I had been downgraded to economy and I could do nothing about it. He told me that the flight had been overbooked and I had been selected to be downgraded. He then walked away, without so much as an apology. I was also not even given a pass to go to the business class lounge. I must also state for the record that I had booked business class and paid in advance.

Because all of this took so long, I also had no time to do the duty free shopping at Doha airport, I had to commence straight to the gate. When I got to the front of the queue I was told that I have a problem because my boarding pass said economy and my ticket said business class. They then called another person, by this time I was beyond furious. This gentleman did try and address me as best as possible, but still no solution, but to place me in economy.

- I then most reluctantly boarded and when I got to my seat, surprise, it had already been taken and someone else was sitting in it. They had to call someone to rearrange the seating. I was then seated in the isle, when I always book a window seat, and right in front of the toilet and kitchen.

I had no sleep in the uncomfortable chair and had to take the Monday off work (at my own cost), had to listen to babies crying all night, the little TV had no sound, the passengers kept bumping me to go to the bathroom, I was given economy class meals which are not great.

This was a month ago and despite many mails to Qatar airlines I am still to receive a call about being compensated for the shoddy service and for being downgraded from economy to business class.

In London I viewed all their advertisements about being on the best airlines, to my knowledge this is not legal when the statement is untrue!