Gulf State carrier Qatar Airways has just announced that it is doubling its number of flights to New York and is increasing its services to Pakistan. As airlines start to recover from the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways is leading the way by rebuilding its network week on week.
By mid-September, Qatar Airways expects to be able to offer customers 56 weekly flights to the United States from its central hub at Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha. Currently, the state-owned flag carrier flies to six destinations in the US. It will increase this by adding three weekly flights to Houston on September 2 and four flights per week to Philadelphia starting on September 15.
Along with the two new American destinations, Qatar Airways will double its flights to twice daily to New York’s JFK airport starting September 1. All this comes after announcing that Qatar Airways would be offering a daily service to Los Angeles from tomorrow, August 12.
Not mentioned in the above flight list was Qatar Airways service to Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington DC.
Qatar Airways has signed a codeshare with American
Earlier this year, the oneworld alliance member signed a codeshare agreement with American Airlines, which starts mid-September and will allow Qatar passengers onward travel to more than 200 destinations. This agreement complements Qatar Airways’ existing deal with JetBlue.
Qatar Airways also announced a resumption of flights to Adelaide, bringing its Australian network up to five destinations served with 23 weekly flights.
Flights to Pakistan will be back to pre COVID-19 levels
In yet more Qatar Airways news released today, the Middle Eastern carrier will increase its presence in Pakistan. From today, Qatar will offer flights to Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar using state-of-the-art Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 aircraft.
The increase in flights to Pakistan by 32% sees a return to the level of operations before the coronavirus crisis and breaks down in the following way:
- Islamabad 14 weekly flights
- Karachi 14 weekly flights
- Lahore 14 weekly flights
- Peshawar 7 weekly flights
When speaking about returning Pakistan flights to pre coronavirus levels His Excellency and Qatar CEO Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are excited to increase our services to Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar, offering our passengers traveling 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.”
Qatar Airways is ahead of other airlines
While other airlines appear to be taking a slow approach to resuming flights following the COVID-19 outbreak, it seems as though Qatar Airways has jumped ahead of the pack. Interestingly, according to an MIT study, the chances of catching COVID-19 on a domestic US flight are 1 in 4,300. If the middle seat is blocked, the risk is reduced to 1 in 7,700.
What do you think about flying right now, is Qatar Airways correct to aggressively bring back flights or is a slower approach more prudent? Please let us know what you think in the comments.
