I'm having a seemingly similar problem - I booked the tickets (approx 6 months ago) directly on their website in order to avoid any third parties and blameshifting if any delays or other mishaps were to occur. No 'miles' or 'awards' or so, paid with cash - so to speak. Fast forward a few months, and I get an email saying that my flight had been cancelled.
I logged in with my booking reference, and it turned out that they had 'only' changed from Qatar to Finnair (both of them in the OneWorld alliance) on the first leg (Stockholm-Doha). Also the flight times were a little different, but not by much. So I thought "fine" - but little did I know.
When I called them a few days ago to get the firearms approval, I was informed that I could
NOT bring the rifle/ammunition since the complete flight was not "operated" by Qatar. It was suggested that I should - just in case they could do something - send in all the paperwork to some address (
pfcdoha@qatarairways.com.qa), but all I got was an automated reply along the lines "Thank you for contacting us..."
Called them back an hour ago, and nothing seems to have changed. The rep I spoke to said that he could book me on another flight 3 days later, but unfortunately that does not work with all the arrangements planned/booked in Namibia.
This is most annoying. And nowhere on their website, or in the conversations with Qatar ppl, was it ever mentioned that firearms are not acceptable unless it is Qatar all the way. Until a few days ago that is...
And it does not the help that the local number for their customer/booking service seems to be re-routed to some very far away place where the lines (and English skills) are less than perfect.
Not sure if anything can be done about it at this late stage, as we're leaving in less than 48 hours.
Bummer.
