Qatar Airways availability and price change issue

[Pointofview]

Hi All,

Has anyone else noticed how quickly availability changes on the Qatar Airways website if you click on a flight more than once or twice without booking it?

I’ve experienced this multiple times recently, and it’s hard to believe it’s just a coincidence. I’ll find a flight showing as available, but if I don’t book it immediately, within a few hours the seat availability changes to a “flex” option, requiring double the Avios.

I’ve booked numerous flights with Qatar Airways and always considered them one of the better airlines. I’m not sure if this is related to cookies being tracked, or if it’s happening to others as well. It seems like the website recognizes your interest in a seat and, if you don’t act quickly, the price increases, expecting you to go ahead and pay the higher amount.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[aq.1988]

Yes, I’ve had this before, too. I think if you wait a certain amount of time (overnight/24 hours), it usually go backs to the normal rate.

[meta]

Are you sure you didn’t click through to start the booking process? Unlike BA, QR removes award ticket from inventory the moment you click through even if you don’t book in the end. For this reason, the seat might not be available for a while. This is because the system needs time to catch up.