It is quite strange to see some people actually being negative about CWL getting a long haul route. Truly bizarre.
Here here!
It's almost as if some people don't want the route to work. The fact is, there is now a Middle East connection from Wales and the Southwest. How the general public wish to utilise that will become evident throughout the year. Personal preference will be the decider and despite the belief of some, there are many different options that people will choose. Some convenient, some not so. Every connecting Airline will offer a cheaper alternative for a longer connection. When I checked out the EK flights HW was referring too, guess what, the cheaper flights had longer connections, and they were from LGW, not LHR.
The difference with CWL being that QR, I believe, designated it as a destination to serve south-west England, or was it south-west UK.
You may wish to point out to Bristol Airport, advertising as the "Airport serving the Southwest and South Wales"
It's about marketing and attracting people from wherever you can attract them from.
There's enough people that travel from South Wales and the Southwest to the Midlands and London. Bristol is quite rightly trying to win them back, and so should CWL become a player in widening it's catchment.