Comments on: Left In A Quandary By Qatar http://www.flightsfromhell.com/2010/01/left-in-a-quandary-by-qatar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=left-in-a-quandary-by-qatar A fun flying blog with airline travel stories Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:17:38 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jim http://www.flightsfromhell.com/2010/01/left-in-a-quandary-by-qatar/#comment-7771 Jim Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:17:02 +0000 http://www.flightsfromhell.com/?p=3459#comment-7771 This was terrible...and, I feel bad for you and for your experience. Unfortunately, because of the mechanical on the plane, I guess the airline feels little obligation to you. All in all, the airline ticket is simply a "contract of carriage". It is a basic guarantee to get you from airport, point a to airport point b. And, there are enough disclaimers on the ticket to exempt them from culpability as long as they get you to the airport of destination...regardless of how many hours or days late it may be. Airlines need to keep in mind though, the "ripple effect" of a missed or delayed flight. As you so eloquently explained here...because of the missed/late flights, you missed your train, which because of holidays, later trains were full, which caused you to be stranded in Athens, etc... This domino effect can be serious, and very costly. And, the airlines while not necessarily having a legal obligation to help you out, should feel a moral obligation to do so. This was terrible…and, I feel bad for you and for your experience. Unfortunately, because of the mechanical on the plane, I guess the airline feels little obligation to you. All in all, the airline ticket is simply a "contract of carriage". It is a basic guarantee to get you from airport, point a to airport point b. And, there are enough disclaimers on the ticket to exempt them from culpability as long as they get you to the airport of destination…regardless of how many hours or days late it may be.

Airlines need to keep in mind though, the "ripple effect" of a missed or delayed flight. As you so eloquently explained here…because of the missed/late flights, you missed your train, which because of holidays, later trains were full, which caused you to be stranded in Athens, etc… This domino effect can be serious, and very costly. And, the airlines while not necessarily having a legal obligation to help you out, should feel a moral obligation to do so.

]]>