Attempting to deal with an airline using electronic means is an extremely frustrating experience. I have flown with dozens of different airlines over the years and being able to get an answer from anyone online via chat or email has almost always proven to be a complete waste of time. Not only do they hide this contact information deep within their website, there has been very few instances where the reply I got from them was helpful or even related to the question that I ask. I question whether or not a human is actually involved in the process.
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Human beings are also being replaced with kiosks around the world and just like any machine, it doesn't give a damn about your personal situation and the specifics associated with it. If you are just looking to get a boarding pass and move on, great! This is actually a very efficient method of getting that done. However, if you are like me and you have some sort of special gear with you, or even worse if you are transporting an animal. You better plan well ahead of time to get this sorted out before you even arrive at the airport.
There have been times that I have traveled with a bicycle, a surfboard, and skis at various times in my travels and while I am assured by basically every airline's online presence that this will not be a problem, it almost always presents a problem once you are at the airport. I have no idea why this is, but for me and many others they treat you as though you are attempting to get you DeLorean time machine on board whenever you approach them with anything other than a standards size suitcase.
This happened most recently with Qatar Airlines, which is actually one of the better airlines IMO. But this doesn't mean that they don't absolutely suck at customer service - which they do.
Look at those world of opportunities for helpful information! Too bad that clicking on almost all of them results in you not getting anywhere at all. In my particular situation I was transporting a surfboard and it is a good idea to let them know beforehand that you are going to be bringing something of this magnitude since it obviously has to be handled differently than a suitcase. It didn't matter which of the things I clicked on, it didn't have the answer that I was looking for, nor did it have an email address anywhere that I could contact someone with my inquiry.
When I did finally find a place to type words to contact someone in a field the response was fast to confirm that my message had been received and a day later I got this response from what I can only presume is a robot.
Dear Valued Customer,
Greetings from Discover Qatar.
Please be advised that you have reached Discover Qatar and we are only able to assist you with regards to hotel quarantine packages.
However, you may reach Qatar Airways at +974 4023 0000 to speak with one of their agents for assistance.
Regards,
Aleksandra
This is where my real frustration began because I had already called that phone number and was directed to send a message to the person who told me to then call the phone number. It's an endless loop of idiocy.
I realize that we live in a time where as many humans as possible are being phased out of customer service as possible and we, as travelers, don't really have much choice but to comply - or change to a different airline that doesn't do this sort of crap.
My advice to anyone that is traveling with anything out of the ordinary is to find the contact phone number of the airline that you are flying with that physically exists at the actual airport that you are flying out from. They will normally have really short hours so you gotta stay on your toes and also be prepared to be on hold for a long time but from what I have experienced over the years these websites that each of the airlines have are not actually there to help you with anything.
They are simply there to try to sell you more and more stuff, make you become a member of a club that you do not want and do not need, and to do their very best to hide any contact information that actually would be useful.