Award flight change - suggestions appreciated

[Suzie]

Booked Qatar J flights using AA miles back in October for Sept. Original flight SEZ-DOH - 7:25 PM-11:35 PM, connecting to DOH-PHL - 1:55 AM-8:40 AM.

Received email of change. SEZ-DOH now 6:35 PM-11:15 PM - CONNECTING to DOH-PHL - 8:00 AM-2:55 PM.

We now have a 9 hour overnight layover in DOH.

Suggestions for options on this? A quick call to AA said nothing else available and that the original DOH-PHL flight had been discontinued.

Would greatly appreciate any advice on this. Not on particular flights - but what I can expect or ask for?

 

[El Ingeniero]

I doubt you will get much if any compensation. Qatar's Al Mourjan lounge is a pretty nice place to kill time. There's a quiet area for sleeping, with showers nearby.

 

[Suzie]

They are giving us a hotel room. I called Qatar and they said they would give us a room, but since it was AA award flight I had to do it through AA. I called AA and they said yes and patched me through to Qatar.

All good - not the ideal situation, but eh - it's on the way home . . .

 

[bayguy]

If I can piggyback on this thread: I booked IST-CAI-ASW for June travel. Now, my CAI-ASW flight which was afternoon has been pushed to 10:30 pm. Flight is on Egypt Air and booked using United miles. I am yet to call but any suggestions for me? I have Abu Simbel tour booked next morning(4 am departure) and my new flight lands at 11:30 pm.

 

[Suzie]

If I can piggyback on this thread: I booked IST-CAI-ASW for June travel. Now, my CAI-ASW flight which was afternoon has been pushed to 10:30 pm. Flight is on Egypt Air and booked using United miles. I am yet to call but any suggestions for me? I have Abu Simbel tour booked next morning(4 am departure) and my new flight lands at 11:30 pm.

The first thing I tried was to change the flights, but flight changes were not available for award travel or worse connections.

Qatar's website stated:

"Transit accommodation is at the discretion of Qatar Airways. Not all fares are eligible for this stopover service. Please contact your nearest Qatar Airways office to confirm whether this service is available for your journey. Charges may apply."

At first they said no since it was award travel, but I pointed out that my tickets were booked before they canceled the flight. Then they agreed. I think being J helped.

Don't know if that helps your situation, but that was my scenario.

 

[heavenlyjane]

If I were being given a free hotel night, I would add more time to the stop. Do they have an evening flight out of DOH?

 

[Suzie]

If I were being given a free hotel night, I would add more time to the stop. Do they have an evening flight out of DOH?

Good thought, but no interest. Spent three nights in Qatar last Spring. This is at the end of a trip to Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and the Seychelles - will be ready to get home. We like the flight out of DOH since it is direct DOH-PHL - our home base.

 

[RRD]

Something similar happened with us and we ended up with a 19 hour layover in Doha, and that turned out to be wonderful. Doha city center is quite an amazing place to visit at night. The street food, music, vibe - all of it was quite charming.

 

[Suzie]

Something similar happened with us and we ended up with a 19 hour layover in Doha, and that turned out to be wonderful. Doha city center is quite an amazing place to visit at night. The street food, music, vibe - all of it was quite charming.

I agree. We really enjoyed it last Spring. We spent 3 nights then so I don’t feel like we missed anything. And our flight gets into DOH at 10:30 pm.