Qatar Airways continues to find new destinations to serve, with the airline confirming it will be serving the Welsh Capital – Cardiff.
Services will commence on the 1st May 2018. The airline will be the first of the Gulf region carriers to serve Wales and the South West of England.
The airline will operate a daily service, with an alternating pattern:
Doha to Cardiff
QR323 DEPART DOH 01:15 ARRIVE CWL 06:40 Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays QR321 DEPART DOH 07:25 ARRIVE CWL 12:50 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Cardiff to Doha
QR324 DEPART CWL 08:10 ARRIVE DOH 17:05 Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays QR322 DEPART CWL 15:55 ARRIVE DOH 00:50+1 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays Commences 1st May 2018 Booked Equipment: Boeing 787-8 Data: Qatar Airways
The airline will use a two class Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on this new route, configured with
- 22 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 formation
- 232 Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 formation
For an idea of what service aboard the 787 is like in Economy, click here. Those who want to find out how it is in business class.. hang on till Monday please 😉
The airline has a dedicated landing page at https://www.qatarairways.com/en/destinations/flights-to-cardiff.html
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker states on the launch:
“We are delighted to announce the launch of our new route to the Welsh capital. Many travellers currently fly to and from London using ground transport between London and Cardiff, and the launch of direct service will allow passengers to fly directly from Wales and the Southwest to Doha and beyond for the first time. We look forward to offering both business and leisure travellers this convenient connection to Cardiff and points beyond.”
Cardiff Airport Chief Executive Officer Deb Barber is happy with the route launch confirmation stating
“More than 1.4 million passengers per year from the region travel to destinations that are available on the Qatar Airways network – 90 per cent of these passengers are currently travelling from London airports, which emphasises just how much demand exists within the market. We look forward to developing our fruitful relationship with Qatar Airways over the coming months and to the start of this exciting new route in May 2018.”
Cardiff is Qatar Airways fifth UK destination – with the airline serving London Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
This is an interesting move for Qatar Airways as they look beyond the bigger cities to offer service and fill seats to feed into the megahub of Doha. Certainly, there can be value to be had to fly from the regions – and avoid London.
Pricing will be the thing that might make this route work.
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