Qatar Airways to restart half its network by June
The Gulf carrier and Oneworld member is set to ramp up its flights to more than double the current level.
By David Flynn, May 7 2020
Qatar Airways plans to boost flights to about half of its network by the end of June, as governments around the globe start easing travel restrictions following months of lockdown.
The Oneworld member aims to put 80 destinations back on the map, with a local footprint of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, although Adelaide, Canberra and New Zealand are still off the list.
Qatar Airways began daily flights to Brisbane from late March through to mid-April, temporarily swapping the Queensland capital in place of Adelaide, but it's not known if the airline intends to make that a permanent arrangement.
The gradual expansion will place emphasis on connections between the airline’s home of Doha – which remains open to transit passengers, unlike UAE airports Dubai or Abu Dhabi – and the primary hubs of partner airlines including London (for British Airways), Chicago and Dallas (American Airlines) and Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific).
Qatar Airways says it expects short-range travel will rebound first, while business between large global cities will pick up more gradually, with "a move towards visiting family and friends following months of lockdowns".
However, travellers can expect some changes to the aircraft they'd usually see, due to a decision to use "the right aircraft size to ensure the best fit for expected demand on each planned route."
It's not known if this might include the airline's first Boeing 787-9s, which have been fitted out with a second-generation Qsuite in business class.
Read more: Qatar Airways' Boeing 787-9 'Qsuite 2.0' ready for take-off
Here's the full list of Qatar Airways destinations intended to be running operating by end of June.
Europe: Athens (ATH), Budapest (BUD), Moscow (DME), Istanbul (IST), Amsterdam (AMS), Stockholm (ARN), Barcelona (BCN), Brussels (BRU), Paris (CDG), Copenhagen (CPH), Dublin (DUB), Edinburgh (EDI), Rome (FCO), Frankfurt (FRA), London (LHR), Madrid (MAD), Manchester (MAN), Munich (MUC), Milan (MXP), Oslo (OSL), Berlin (TXL), Vienna (VIE), Zurich (ZRH)
Africa: Addis Ababa (ADD), Cape Town (CPT), Johannesburg (JNB), Lagos (LOS), Nairobi (NBO), Tunis (TUN)
Americas: Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Sao Paulo (GRU), Montreal (YUL)
Asia-Pacific: Guangzhou (CAN), Hong Kong (HKG), Seoul (ICN), Tokyo (NRT), Beijing (PEK), Shanghai (PVG), Bangkok (BKK), Jakarta (CGK), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Manila (MNL), Singapore (SIN), Ahmedabad (AMD), Amritsar (ATQ), Bangalore (BLR), Mumbai (BOM), Calicut (CCJ), Kolkata (CCU), Colombo (CMB), Kochi (COK), Dhaka (DAC), New Delhi (DEL), Goa (GOI), Hyderabad (HYD), Kathmandu (KTM), Chennai (MAA), Male (MLE), Trivandrum (TRV), Islamabad (ISB), Karachi (KHI), Lahore (LHE), Melbourne (MEL), Perth (PER), Sydney (SYD)
Middle East: Amman (AMM), Beirut (BEY), Baghdad (BGW), Basra (BSR), Erbil (EBL), Teheran (IKA), Sulaymaniyah (ISU), Kuwait (KWI), Muscat (MCT), Mashad (MHD), Najaf (NJF), Sohar (OHS), Salalah (SLL), Shiraz (SYZ)
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1208
Without a significant change in quarantine requirements and border controls by the Australian Government, I struggle to see how this can work profitably for Australian services. Maybe they are saying they are restoring 50% of their route network, but that doesn't mean these destinations will be anything like 50% of their prior frequency. What is the correct interpretation?
07 May 2020
Total posts 2
Has Qatar any notion of the pandemic currently enveloping the world.
It takes two to tango so unless the receiving ports are open, the June timeline is a pipe dream.
22 May 2011
Total posts 86
Apparently they are also looking to downsize the number of employees on the books by 30%? Which might conflict with the doubling of services?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Nov 2015
Total posts 38
Just love this puffery.
Microsoft was famous for its “Vapour Ware “ announcements of future developments, for the sole purpose of signalling to competitors and claiming new opportunities. Many never eventuates, but the7 did distract
These airline announcements are just “ Vapour Ware” in different garb.
Austin
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