Qatar Airways continues to grow its connectivity, with the airline planning to serve destinations in the USA and boost the number of flights on its Pakistan network.
Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Hamad International Airport, Doha – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
USA
The airline is planning to scale up its USA network to 56 flights a week, serving eight US cities. This will allow passengers to connect onwards as needed with JetBlue or American Airlines (and vice-versa).
Service increases include
- Los Angeles – 1 x daily flight from 12th August
- New York JFK- 2 x daily flights from 1st September
- Houston – 3 x weekly flights from 2nd September
- Philadelphia – 4 x weekly flights from 15th September
The airline also serves Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington Dulles.
Pakistan Network Increase
Not content with the USA, the airline is planning to rebuild its network serving Pakistan too, offering 49 flights a week to four destinations.
Planned changes include:
- Islamabad – increased from 11 to 14 weekly flights
- Karachi – increased 10 to 14 weekly flights,
- Lahore from 11 to 14 weekly flights,
- Peshawar from five to seven weekly flights.
Interestingly, according to Qatar Airways, this move will bring Qatar Airways operational levels to Pakistan back to pre-pandemic level.
For passengers departing from Pakistan, they are required to take a COVID-19 RT-PCR medical test. Passengers will need to present a negative test result issued within 72 hours before departure when checking in. Children below the age of 12 years are exempted from this test if accompanied by family members. You will need to use an approved laboratory accepted by Qatar Airways- listed at https://www.qatarairways.com/en/travel-alerts/COVID-19-update.html/.
Whilst onboard, passengers will be required to wear appropriate PPE. A complimentary protective kit and disposable face shields will be available for passengers.
On certain routes, QSuites will be available too for those who want privacy.
The airline will be primarily utilising its Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 fleet at this time, with aircraft types not being assigned to routes.
In Quotes
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr Akbar Al Baker, said on the US Network expansion
“Qatar Airways has remained committed to bringing people home safely since the onset of the pandemic, and our commitment to the U.S., a very important strategic market, has never wavered. We are proud of our repatriation efforts to-date, and we look forward to providing travellers access to even more flights to the U.S. with the resumption of flights to Houston and Philadelphia, two major cities. The addition of these flights brings us to eight U.S. destinations and maintains our position as the largest international carrier in the U.S., and we look forward to soon returning to all ten of our incredible U.S. gateways.”
On the Pakistan Network Expansion
“We are excited to increase our services to Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, offering our passengers travelling to and from Pakistan connectivity to the largest networks in Europe, UK and the US via the Best Airport in the Middle East.
“We remain committed to serving our customers in Pakistan and have worked hard throughout the pandemic to ensure we can operate as many flights as possible, in line with the directions of the Pakistan government. From operating special charter services to a number of commercial flights, we are delighted to now offer a strong schedule of services.”
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.
Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!
Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to European Frequent Flyer.
