Qatar Airways is highly regarded in the skies. In my limited experience, dealing with any sort of issues is a less pleasant experience. Additionally, some of their processes are difficult, including sometimes requiring payment verification. Surprisingly they offer some flexibility given the current climate, so here is a quick summary on Qatar Airways free changes that are available to ticketed passengers.
Given the current uncertainty about travel in 2020, I am pleasantly surprised with how flexible and seemingly generous Qatar policies are right now. My original trip would have been underway right now. Needless to say, that isn’t happening.
Qatar Airways allows changes or credits
Qatar currently has a pretty generous policy with regard to flight changes or cancellations. Here are the options I was offered via Twitter:
- You can check your flight status on fs.qatarairways.com/flightstatus/s or through manage my booking on qatarairways.com
- Please visit bit.ly/39LA2J8 for an update on entry restrictions to your destination or transit point.
- If you already have a booking with Qatar airways. please visit qatarairways.com/en/travel-aler for the available options for your booking.
- If you wish to request a voucher or claim a refund for your ticket please submit your request here qatarairways.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/reque
- If you booked your ticket through a travel agency, please contact your agency directly for assistance on rebooking or refund.
We’re providing maximum flexibility if you need to change or cancel your upcoming travel plans with us. You can change the date of your booking free of charge, or exchange your tickets for a travel voucher equal to the value of your ticket – plus an additional 10%
We’re also offering refunds to your original form of payment. If your flight has been cancelled, no penalties are charged. If you cancel your travel plans with us, fare rules apply. For more info visit qatarairways.com/en-qa/travel-w
From the Travel With Confidence page, I found this:
Hoping to change travel dates, I plan to go with option 1, but if not ideally option 3, especially since my flights have been cancelled.
Qatar Airways Free Changes
I called to explore my options, hoping to take advantage of the option to change and initially was told that changes had to be within 20 days of original departure time. That wouldn’t work, so I waited a few days to think about my options, and then called again. My initial calls were to a UK number, and I never waited more than a minute or 2 on hold. My final call was to the US number (1-877-777-2827), and while I waited maybe 10 minutes or so to reach an agent, once connected, it was pretty efficient. It seems the US phone line is open in the afternoon, starting 2:30pm central time).
The agent I spoke to seemed proficient, and I reconfirmed my options. I could do a full refund since flights were cancelled, or a change in dates with no additional charge. I’m opting for the latter. To make the change, I listed the new flights (~3 months from now, hoping things will be closer to normal by then). I even am departing a different city for better flight times, and hopefully Q-Suites on all legs. I may have to revisit this again, but for now I’m looking forward to this trip. To be fair, I’m looking forward to going anywhere…
Final Thoughts
Do you have a trip planned on Qatar Airways? There is an offer to change the dates of your travel without additional cost. This is a very generous offer, and hopefully it can be useful to others. Everyone should stay home for now, but hopefully we can get out in the skies again soon.
