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Not surprising. I took my family on a multi country trip between France, Egypt and Qatar in mid 2022. We splurged for q suites on Qatar airways and also a hotel
by ipython 3y ago
Not surprising. I took my family on a multi country trip between France, Egypt and Qatar in mid 2022. We splurged for q suites on Qatar airways and also a hotel stay via Discover Qatar.
Fast forward to our aborted attempt at entering the country. We are denied boarding on Qatar airways for our return flight via Doha with our booked stopover. Apparently there is some sort of electronic approval process we did not perform - mind you, we had already filed the forms including our negative Covid tests taken in country- but to no avail. Qatar airways refused to rebook us as they claimed we were a no show. After hours of calls with the airline we finally convinced them to rebook us at no cost, without the stopover. Discover Qatar continues to this day to refuse a refund for a hotel stay we could not use as we were denied entry.
First world problems, yes, but when you’re looking for tourism dollars, don’t piss off your customer base.
- arcza 3y agoThanks for sharing. Did your bit sharing this. Won't be going anytime myself.
- shiroiuma 3y ago[flagged]
- 100721 3y agoI'm not sure why you feel religion is important to mention.
- xenospn 3y agoI’m not sure why you feel it isn’t.
- 100721 3y agoBecause authoritarian regimes should be plenty to dissuade tourists. Or is North Korea a good tourist spot, because it's not an Islamic country?
- belter 3y agoCue you me in on Democratic, Respecting Human Rights, Modernist, Islamic Countries?
- TheOtherHobbes 3y agoYou're unfamiliar with Azerbaijan? Honestly, I'd feel much less endangered as a secular progressive in Azerbaijan than I would in - say - Alabama.
- resolutebat 3y agoThe Azerbaijan which just ethnically cleansed its last remaining Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh?
- fjwyasdf 3y agoAzerbaijan is not safe for LGBTQI+ persons [1] [1] https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/azerbaijan/ https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-...
- local_crmdgeon 3y agoHonestly Indonesia is kind of close. Definitely not anywhere in MENA
- jjj123 3y agoNot sure I’m able to do that, but I can tell you about non-Muslim countries that are just as bad, and plenty of practicing Muslims that are progressive and totally cool with lgbt people. That suggests to me the issue is more about authoritarian governments than it is the particular religion the authorization govt is tied to.
- wkat4242 3y agoIt's them that are making it about religion, as they use it as a foundation for the more unsavoury policies like oppression of women, LGBT etc. Don't forget that these countries explicitly have very little separation between religion and state. If you let religion dictate laws, then criticism of your laws will reflect on your religion as well.
- InCityDreams 3y ago>Don't forget that these countries explicitly have very little separation between religion and state. Despite what is written, the same could be said for the USA: the money states very clearly in what is trusted.
- 100721 3y agoSo an authoritarian country is not enough to discourage you from visiting? You only avoid authoritarian Islamic countries? Have fun in North Korea, I suppose.
- endjdndn 3y ago[flagged]
- whatwhaaaaat 3y agoOp didn’t enable anything. These places are oil economies and they do not care if you come visit.
- networkchad 3y ago[dead]
- causality0 3y agoModern people, especially upper and upper middle class people, have a distinct tendancy to think of nations as just glorified place labels because of their position of privilege. They think they're entitled to go places with entirely different histories and cultures without adapting their behavior at all. I may not agree with the laws in question but there's a certain degree of poetic satisfaction when someone whose sum total of international travel research was an Instagram post gets a rude awakening.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- alephnerd 3y agoIt's hard to fly between the East Coast/Europe and Asia without flying Etihad, Emirates, Qatar, or Turkish Airlines at a reasonable rate.
- shiroiuma 3y agoYou must mean central Asia, not east Asia. To east Asia, flights always go across the Pacific, even from the east coast, so Asian carriers are typical.
- alephnerd 3y agoNope. I literally flew from ASEAN to the East Coast a week ago. The only options below $1400 round trip for economy were Doha (Qatar), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), and Dubai (Emirates) Korean Air and JAL have handful of direct options from NYC, BOS, and DC, but they are very marginal and appear to be prestige routes. In most cases you have to either fly to the West Coast, or fly to the Middle East if you want to go someone that isn't Incheon, as the Incheon to X hop becomes much more expensive than the Middle East to X hop. Most airlines codeshare and piggyback off Turkish and Qatar anyhow because both are heavily state subsidized
- endjdndn 3y ago[flagged]
- doix 3y agoMaybe I am misreading, but isn't it kinda your fault for not doing the research and filling in all the correct paperwork? If I messed up travel forms, I wouldn't expect the airline to cover for me. The fact that you got a new flight for free is pretty amazing to be honest.
- ipython 3y agoI filled out what was documented at the time I left, including preparing for and acquiring a COVID test while in Egypt 24-48 hours before boarding the flight to Doha. The Qatar websites were not clear and when I called the Qatar health authorities ahead of the trip to clarify, they refused to give any guidance but assured me that my circumstances would allow me to travel and complete my stopover without an issue. So I did the best I could and had a 1/2” binder with dozens of pages of documentation with me during the whole trip. At some point there is only so much research you can do and at the end of the day you’re just subject to an arbitrary interpretation of a vague and rapidly changing rules written in a language you don’t understand.
- doix 3y ago> At some point there is only so much research you can do and at the end of the day you’re just subject to an arbitrary interpretation of a vague and rapidly changing rules written in a language you don’t understand. Isn't your gripe with the Qatari government then rather than the airline? They set the rules and guidelines. You called their health authorities rather than the airline. They told you it'd be fine. I know travel was totally fucked back then, I remember spending many hours trying to figure out what I'd need to enter/leave a country and it always being nerve racking if they'd let me in or not. But at the end of the day, I knew if some place didn't let me in, it'd be ultimately my fault. I still think the airline did you a massive favor by giving you a new flight for free. That was them trying to not piss off tourists. Don't get me wrong, fuck Qatar and Qatar airways. I hate everything they stand for. But reading your story makes me think they have really good customer service. I wouldn't expect any airline to do that for me.
- 3y ago
- ValentineC 3y ago> Discover Qatar continues to this day to refuse a refund for a hotel stay we could not use as we were denied entry. Did you not try charging back via your credit card company?
- ipython 3y agoAh see that’s the problem. Discover Qatar and Qatar airways are the same company. I run the risk of never being able to book on Qatar airways if I chargeback my discover Qatar booking.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- rado 3y agoThis airline tried to kick me off a flight, because they were unaware of the visa free stay in China.