Qatar Airway is continuing its network reconstruction, with the announcement of more routes from its Doha hub.
Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Hamad International Airport, Doha – Image, Economy Class and Beyond”
The airline has been busy rebuilding its network. It will increase the frequency on returning routes during the next two months.
- Ankara (increasing to daily from 1 September)
- Cebu (increased to daily from 12 August)
- Clark (increased to six-weekly from 12 August)
- Dhaka (increasing to five-weekly from 23 August)
- Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore (increased to double daily from 10 August)
- Istanbul SAW (increasing to 11 weekly from 20 Aug then triple daily from 1 September)
- Jakarta (increased to double daily from 17 August)
- Kuala Lumpur (increased to double daily from 17 August)
- Los Angeles (increased to daily from 12 August)
- New York JFK (increasing to double daily from 1 September)
The airline has announced that it is also resuming flight to the following destinations
- Adelaide (two-weekly flights started 16 August)
- Auckland (three-weekly flights via Brisbane starting 18 August)
- Houston (three-weekly flights starting 2 September increasing to four-weekly from 15 September)
- Kigali (three-weekly flights started 3 August)
- London Gatwick (daily flights starting 20 August)
- Nairobi (double daily flights started 3 August)
- Philadelphia (three-weekly flights starting 16 September)
- Sialkot (three-weekly flights starting 1 September)
Note, some of these have already been covered on Economy Class and Beyond. For those who enjoy comfort, Qatar Airways QSuite product is available on 30 of the airlines’ routes.
In Quotes
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said,
“Since the onset of the pandemic Qatar Airways network has never fallen below 30 destinations with continuous services to five continents. Our airline has lead the industry in offering passengers more choices and greater flexibility so they can plan and book travel with confidence. We have also implemented the most advanced safety and hygiene measures onboard including becoming the first airline to require passengers to wear face shields in addition to face coverings.
“With our investment in one of the youngest, most fuel-efficient long haul fleets, strategic network management and the Best Airport in the Middle East, we have been able to quickly and effectively rebuild our network to more than 550 weekly flights to over 85 destinations across six continents. As the global recovery continues, Qatar Airways will remain focused on its fundamental mission of carrying passengers across the globe safely and reliably.”
Wear a face shield
Qatar Airways mandates that Economy Class passengers are to wear both a face covering and a face shield when flying with them. This is on top of the current safety measures the airline is taking.
Airbus A350 or Boeing 787… no A380 for now.
The airline is still sticking with its fleet of 49 Airbus A350-900. Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-8 aircraft to help it through this patch for its long haul network. The Airbus A380 remains grounded, for now.
Rebuilding frequencies
A feature of many aviation networks is not just how many destinations it covers, but also how often an airline calls at a destination. With demand in the doldrums, airlines have chosen to keep serving destinations, but reduce how often they go there.
Qatar Airways thinks now is the time for it to build out its network further, strengthening the number of flights it offers.
We’ll have to see if that is a wise move, depending on how the pandemic adjusts around the world.
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