User profile: user-ydjv1616

I was diagnosed with Food Poisoning at INOVA Hospital. My husband upgraded me to first class since I have spinal issues in an effort to allow me to lay flat at some point during the 15 hour flight. The flight attendant assigned to me was on her maiden flight, per comments shared with me by another male flight attendant. The male flight attendant told me they were out of the "Berry Smoothies", but the female flight attendant said she had located one. The one she found must have been set aside for another passenger and then ended up sitting out for an undisclosed period of time. She then proceeded to serve this bacteria laden smoothie to me. I only consumed Qatar Airways food over the course of a 24 hour period for this flight. The novice crew member made a monumental miscalculation and Qatar blatantly refused to take accountability. They professed to test the smoothie for bacteria after the flight, but that would be impossible considering they gave me the last one.

Please see their response from 02.09.24 provided below:

"We further write to you with regard to your recent flight with us from Doha to Washington on QR707/26 December 2023.

Please allow us to address your concerns raised regarding your inflight experience.

At the outset, we would like to clarify that Qatar Airways, at all times, takes all the necessary precautions to ensure that the highest standards of hygiene, sanitation and the well-being of our customers are consistently adhered to.

Our Catering department has conducted a thorough investigation in regards to your claim, and we would like to share to you their findings.

Quality control records have been received from the caterer for food catered on QR707 and the products served the flight were produced in batches and monitored at each process step. The suspected meals have passed the checks for quality, to show that the product does not contain any harmful bacteria.

Critical Control Points related documents that were relevant to the preparation of the implicated dish were verified and as per the verified reports, the implicated meals were processed in compliance with our Catering department’s standards.

We would like to kindly share that all food handling staff are required to undergo food safety training and holds a valid Food Handlers Health certificate, confirming they are free of any food transmissible diseases. Furthermore, no discrepancies were highlighted during the preparation processes until meals were uplifted on the flight that may have triggered the complaint.

Lastly, we would like to share that no other claim similar to your experience has been received from other passengers who were served the same meals on QR707 flight, as well as on other flights catered with the same type of meals. We trust you will understand that as all in-flight meals are prepared in batches, in the unlikely event that any portion gets contaminated, so will the rest be.

While no reports similar in nature have been received from passengers who were served the same meal on the flight, we take reports such as yours with serious concern.

Our Catering department has concluded their investigation, and whilst the discomfort you may have experienced is highly regretted, we would like to share that the meals consumed on-board QR 707 DOH-IAD dated 26 Dec 2023 could not be linked to the sickness.

We certainly appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention but respectfully disagree with your conclusion and will therefore decline any liability as claimed.

We further remain concerned to learn of your feedback with regard to the level of service you received from one of our crew members during your flight, which you feel did not reflect the standard of service we strive to achieve.

Our crew members have been trained to the highest standards and entrusted to consistently deliver outstanding levels of customer care. They are expected to be professional and promptly attend to our customers at all times, and we regret if you feel that it did not appear so on this occasion.

Please rest assured that your feedback was duly highlighted to our Cabin Services management for their attention and any necessary corrective action.

We appreciate the time you have taken to highlight your concern and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. We also thank you for allowing us to address your concerns, and we do certainly hope that your next travel will be under more pleasant circumstances.

Thank you for your kind attention.
Yours Sincerely,
Siegrid Morales
Customer Care"

Expect deplorable customer service from Qatar Airways. This is the worst airline I have ever traveled with and I highly recommend Saudia Airlines instead.