Qatar Airways
 

Apparently Qatar are to start 2 new UK routes. Any guesses as to which 2?

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LGW, and either NCL or BFS (just a guess :))

If MAG have anything to do with it, STN???

GLA and STN perhaps?

This is a bit left field but I think one of the two is Cardiff. 😉

Something to do with India maybe?
Cannot see Glasgow being likely as they are too close to Edinburgh

I would be surprised if it's glasgow, I'd imagine Qatar would be focused on further developing the EDI route before launching GLA.

Bristol perhaps, though not sure if their runway would be sufficient to allow a decent payload non-stop with a 787?

What it has in it's favour is an affluent catchment, and a tortuous M4 road journey to LHR, not dissimilar to to BHX, though probably more affluent - which is a positive.

The B787 at Bristol isn't an issue as such*.. although filling it might be! The A320 or A319 might be more realistic aircraft for QR if they do show up at BRS.


*I believe they'll be flying non-stop to Cancun and Sandford starting in May.

I'm pretty sure Qatar said they were looking at the West of UK in a press release of some sort about a year or so ago, so BRS / CWL could be a possibility? BRS would be the more obvious choice, perhaps 3 or 4 weekly to start to see how well it sells?

Yeah I suppose we could be talking about the A321Neo here rather than the 787.

Given that BHX can (just) sustain 3 x Emirates and 1 x Qatar daily, I can't honestly see why BRS couldn't fill 1 x QR 787 per day - even say 4 x weekly to start with.

CWL is probably a different kettle of fish, less affluent, and smaller catchment.

I'm not saying it they couldn't fill a B787, but it might be better to start off with a smaller aircraft such as the A320 to allow the route to mature.

Helsinki launched last year with the A320 and will move onto B787s later this year.

BHX has one big advantage.....transport links, direct terminal to high standard station with West Coast Mainline, Cross Country and more plus M6,M1,M5,M40 and M42 motorways none of which is probably more than about 30mins away. This must help expand catchment area considerably I would have thought, especially as one of the Emirates flights is A380.

More to the point, Brum has a large Asian population, which uses Middle East connections to get to the Indian subcontinent.
That may be the way to look at potential UK destinations.

said "they were looking at the West of UK in a press release"

Newquay ;)

I'd say BRS/CWL remains a strong possibility. BRS probably wins it on catchment, but the aviation world doesn't always work like that especially with WG involvement at CWL, plus the additional runway length which would be able to allow full loads departing.

Interesting to follow this. Who's not saying for QR CWL could attract BRS catchment ?

If NCL can sustain a daily EK 773, surely it's possible?

Two first time posters on this thread have been having a good giggle on a stupid fishing trip and reeled in a few suspects.

Mate, don't come out with silly claims like that. Only QR know the truth, you are just a mere bystander. It may well be that CWL is under consideration, but there are bigger fish to fry under normal circumstances/pretences.