By Hemal Gosai
Qatar Airways Adds Additional Flights to the U.S.
Qatar Airways is continuing to find opportunities during the pandemic by filling in gaps left by other airlines to help people get where they need to go. The carrier has consistently flown through the pandemic and has placed a high priority on reinstating flights that were dropped earlier in the year.
Starting November 14, the airline is resuming service between Doha and Miami, starting at twice weekly, while also increasing frequencies to Chicago and New York as part of a surge in capacity prior to the beginning of the holiday season in the United States.
The resumption of flights to Miami provides South Florida with easier access to global connectivity since many international airlines that previously flew to Miami prior to the pandemic have yet to resume service.
American Airlines is offering regular flights to Central and South America. There is some connectivity to Europe with carriers like Aeroflot.
Options to Asia are slim to none and provides an opportunity for Qatar Airways to be a primary carrier transporting passengers in both directions.
The twice-weekly flights to Miami and the additional Chicago frequencies will feature the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft equipped with Qatar Airways’ Qsuite business class seats and standard economy seats.
The additional New York frequencies will feature the Airbus A350-900 also outfitted with Qsuites seats and stand economy seats
The airline is also planning on launching nonstop flights from Doha to San Francisco starting December 15, 2020. The flight will operate four times a week and will feature the Airbus A350-900 also outfitted with Qatar Airways’ Qsuites.
The expansion of the airline also includes taking delivery of new aircraft. Qatar Airways took delivery of three Airbus A350-100 aircraft further cementing its position as the largest operator of the A350 with 52 in its fleet. These aircraft are outfitted with the carrier’s Qsuite business class.
This comes at a time when competitors such as Emirates are now increasingly less likely to fly aircraft like the Airbus A380 and instead are focusing primarily on the Boeing 777 family of aircraft.
Qatar Airways points out that since it has a relatively mixed fleet of aircraft it has been able to place appropriately sized aircraft across its network to closely match demand and prevent excess capacity. As with many other airlines across the globe, Qatar Airways has also made the decision to ground the A380 for the foreseeable future. For many airlines, there really is no way to fill up these large aircraft.
The airline has been one of the few airlines flying significant amounts of passengers through the pandemic, often being the only lifeline for many travelers with other airlines not operating.
All in all these new routes and additions increase Qatar Airways’ U.S. network to 61 weekly flights across 10 destinations providing ways to Americans to travel internationally in a time where many foreign carriers have significantly cut back on international operations.
Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn’t working as an analyst he’s frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile.