Recently I took a rountrip flight on Qatar Airways from China to the US. On my way to the US, I received a sandwich with a VGML sticker, but containing eggs. I sent an email to the customer service of Qatar Airways but didn't get any response from them.
On my return flight back to China, the VGML labeled meal contained cheese.
I emailed Qatar Airways again, after a lengthly wait, rather than accepting responsibility for the mistake, they denied serving me a meal with eggs.
On the Qatar Airways website, VGML meals are offered to potential customers. If they can't provide such meals, they should remove it from their website.
Dear Mr. Al Baker,
Qatar Airlines is respected as one of the top airlines in the world. When booking tickets, customers are offered a wide range of special request meals for various health, religious and ethical reasons. Qatar Airlines needs to take every step possible to ensure that these meals are provided to the customers as ordered. These meals are not a luxury, but a responsibility of the airline.
On your website you offer VGML meals, which you list as free from egg, dairy and animal products. This is in line with the industry standard. Yet, recently on two flights which I had with your airline, the meal which I received on two different flights contained either eggs or dairy, despite being labeled as VGML. When I questioned the flight crew about the meal, they informed me, incorrectly, that I should have ordered a different meal if I wanted it to be dairy free. Afterward, when contacting your customer service, they denied even serving me a meal that was incorrectly labeled.
Your airline should take responsibility for such serious mistakes rather than denying they took place. In addition, you need to take steps necessary to reeducate both your caterers and your flight staff about the codes of the various special request meals so such incidents do reoccur.
Regards,
Mike Raphaeli
