Qatar Airways
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I'd say they'll add Gatwick, and either Belfast or Bristol - neither have Middle Eastern routes so there's a gap in the market. Glasgow's too close to Edinburgh, and I doubt Newcastle could sustain two middle eastern routes.
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I think Gatwick is the most logical step for their UK and London operations considering EK have 3 daily flights on the A380, Etihad are not there and Asian carriers are showing a significant increase in interest at LGW.
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Qatar Airways said to eye new flights to Gatwick, Ireland - Transport - ArabianBusiness.com
In November 2015 the Qatar UK and Ireland manager said the airline was looking to introduce flights to Gatwick and Ireland, which he said could be Dublin or Belfast.
Since then Dublin has been announced and will commence this June.
The manager was also quoted as saying his airline was looking at serving South West England and 'possibly' another Scottish airport.
Whilst plans can always change in aviation, based on this linked report Gatwick and either a South West England airport or a Scottish airport will be next in line.
Although BRS would seem the obvious choice for South West England in terms of its catchment size and economic make-up of the region it serves, the Welsh Government has plenty of money to spend to attract airlines to CWL which could serve South West England. Qatar might also take a gamble that long haul APD will be devolved to Wales in the future where the Welsh Government intends to axe it or reduce it to nil (same result). Dealing with an airport where the owner has the luxury of setting its own APD rates might be an attractive proposition to any airline.
As for 'another Scottish airport' the only contender would surely be GLA.
In November 2015 the Qatar UK and Ireland manager said the airline was looking to introduce flights to Gatwick and Ireland, which he said could be Dublin or Belfast.
Since then Dublin has been announced and will commence this June.
The manager was also quoted as saying his airline was looking at serving South West England and 'possibly' another Scottish airport.
Whilst plans can always change in aviation, based on this linked report Gatwick and either a South West England airport or a Scottish airport will be next in line.
Although BRS would seem the obvious choice for South West England in terms of its catchment size and economic make-up of the region it serves, the Welsh Government has plenty of money to spend to attract airlines to CWL which could serve South West England. Qatar might also take a gamble that long haul APD will be devolved to Wales in the future where the Welsh Government intends to axe it or reduce it to nil (same result). Dealing with an airport where the owner has the luxury of setting its own APD rates might be an attractive proposition to any airline.
As for 'another Scottish airport' the only contender would surely be GLA.
Last edited by MerchantVenturer; 28th Mar 2017 at 19:41. Reason: syntax
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yeah QR could be wanting some of the lucrative GLA EK market which hasnt really leaked to EDI over past 3 years and carries over 30K per year, so definitely not to be discounted, although QR at EDI hasnt exactly set the heather alight.
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The loads on QR and EY have improved a lot in recent times have not they not? Of course that doesn't really reflect how well a route is doing. I'd have thought QR would have wanted EDI being twice daily before expanding elsewhere in Scotland.
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IMHO it's a central Scottish market rather than a Glasgow one. EK are well established and they also have the destination that is Dubai going for them. I think an EK service from EDI would have performed just as well as the GLA one has. QR have to rely on connecting traffic mainly but they have slowed the growth of the EK service to GLA while growing the route to EDI since launch a few years ago. Can't see QR at GLA for these reasons. Personally the ME3 should be able to co-exist nicely in Scotland as they are at the moment.
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Apparently Qatar are to start 2 new UK routes. Any guesses as to which 2?
Major Airline Orders 100 Jets For India, Betting On Futuristic PM Modi ? NDTV Profit
Major Airline Orders 100 Jets For India, Betting On Futuristic PM Modi ? NDTV Profit
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Well MerchantVenturer if No APD is a major consideration for QR, which it ought to be given the heavy burden the U.K. Government places on long haul flights, then there is no point in them hoping that Wales, Scotland or anywhere else manages to engineer a future reduction in APD. They should simply launch service from Belfast which is the only part of the UK where long haul APD is already set to zero. And before everyone gets all indignant about their plan to launch DUB services this year precluding Belfast, the clear benefit of no APD is not the only positive. Belfast is further from Dublin than Bristol is from Birmingham, Belfast is in the U.K. and Dublin is in Ireland / EU, it has no current service with any of Emirates, Etihad, Turkish (or QR) and the other 3 spend more time advertising DUB flights to the rich market pickings in Northern Ireland than they do in Dublin! With aircraft like 787s and A350s offering much greater flexibility than A380s / B777s it could be a very sharp competitive move indeed for Qatar to attack the island of Ireland market by launching parallel daily services from both Belfast and Dublin. ��
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Well MerchantVenturer if No APD is a major consideration for QR, which it ought to be given the heavy burden the U.K. Government places on long haul flights, then there is no point in them hoping that Wales, Scotland or anywhere else manages to engineer a future reduction in APD. They should simply launch service from Belfast which is the only part of the UK where long haul APD is already set to zero. And before everyone gets all indignant about their plan to launch DUB services this year precluding Belfast, the clear benefit of no APD is not the only positive. Belfast is further from Dublin than Bristol is from Birmingham, Belfast is in the U.K. and Dublin is in Ireland / EU, it has no current service with any of Emirates, Etihad, Turkish (or QR) and the other 3 spend more time advertising DUB flights to the rich market pickings in Northern Ireland than they do in Dublin! With aircraft like 787s and A350s offering much greater flexibility than A380s / B777s it could be a very sharp competitive move indeed for Qatar to attack the island of Ireland market by launching parallel daily services from both Belfast and Dublin. ��
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Just back from Qatar, they have more money than God. This is nothing to do with commercial reality and all to do with raising the profile of a very particular nation state. The new Doha Airport is astounding, they've looked at Changi and tried to copy it, for the most part it's impressive but souless, and for reasons that were unclear, the European departures were bunched in a chaotic corner down the end of the A Pier while the C pier remained empty.
Worth knowing who you're giving your money to :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar_...ored_terrorism
How Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists - Telegraph
GLA and a return to LGW I reckon.....
Worth knowing who you're giving your money to :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar_...ored_terrorism
How Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists - Telegraph
GLA and a return to LGW I reckon.....
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 31st Mar 2017 at 16:18.
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I can't believe the GLA management would give QR a sweetheart deal - they should be more interested in looking after EK. But, then again, do QR need a sweetheart deal to start a route?
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Just back from Qatar, they have more money than God. This is nothing to do with commercial reality and all to do with raising the profile of a very particular nation state.
