Qatar Airways has announced some major US route additions from their hub in Doha (DOH) which will likely infuriate US carriers. Service to LAX will begin on January 1, 2016, followed by a second daily JFK flight on March 1st, BOS on March 16th, and ATL on July 1, 2016. With the announcement, Qatar will be the first carrier to bring the Airbus A350 XWB to the US, operating on the Boston and 2nd daily JFK flights. The LAX and ATL routes will be serviced by 777-200LR aircraft. American, Delta, and United have asked for a temporary freeze on new service by Gulf carriers and the Obama administration has agreed to begin reviewing the subsidy claims…by the end of May.
From the PR:
Qatar Airways will offer daily nonstop services to all 10 of the largest metropolitan areas of the United States.
Effective 1st January, 2016, Qatar Airways will commence daily flights to Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States, with the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 aircraft, which features a two-class cabin with 42 Business Class fully lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration.
From 16th March, 2016, the airline will launch daily flights to Boston, the capital and largest city of Massachusetts, and will operate its latest flagship A350 XWB in a two-class configuration with 36 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, featuring an 80” fully flat bed and 17” HD in-flight entertainment screen.
Atlanta, Georgia, the business centre of the southeast region of the United States, will be Qatar Airways’ third new route to the US and will commence with daily flights starting on 1st July 2016. The route will be operated with the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 aircraft.
Increasing passenger demand to America’s largest city and financial centre, New York, has prompted Qatar Airways to add a second daily service to the city from 1st March 2016. Qatar Airways has served the city daily since the initial route launch in 2007. The second daily service to New York’s JFK will be operated by the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft providing passengers an opportunity to experience both the Boeing B777 and the A350 aircraft types on the route.
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1 comment
This is good news for LA-based flyers redeeming AA miles to Africa and Asia (to those countries not included in AA’s Middle East bucket) since flights through Doha are exempt from the rule against transit through one region to another, as opposed to Etihad flights through Abu Dhabi. Plus, Qatar services more cities in those regions. I could have saved 60,000 miles on my most recent trip to Africa and could have traveled on a more direct routing. I sure hope these plans aren’t scuttled by the politics.