Qatar Airways

[LAX_LHR]

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 (http://profit.ndtv.com/news/international-business/article-major-airline-orders-100-jets-for-india-betting-on-futuristic-pm-modi-1674261)

[Logohu]

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

[MANFOD]

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

[GrahamK]

GLA and STN perhaps?

[Hp2017]

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

[chaps1954]

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

[CraigJay]

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

[ATNotts]

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.

[bravoromeosierra]

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.

[HarrytheDog]

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?

[A350Saltire]

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

[ATNotts]

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.
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.

[bravoromeosierra]

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.

[FQTLSteve]

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.

[LGS6753]

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.

[Trinity 09L]

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

Newquay ;)

[AirGuru]

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 ?

[SWBKCB]

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.

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

[supermarine]

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

[AirGuru]

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

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.

[A320.b744]

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.

[AvGeek1]

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.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Its obvious - the centre of the Universe - EMA :{:{:{:{

[MerchantVenturer]

Qatar Airways said to eye new flights to Gatwick, Ireland - Transport - ArabianBusiness.com (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-airways-said-eye-new-flights-gatwick-ireland-612899.html)

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.

[VickersVicount]

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.

[LGS6753]

a South West England airport

Compton Abbas?

[CraigJay]

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.

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.

[A350Saltire]

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.

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.

[Letsflycwl]

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 (http://profit.ndtv.com/news/international-business/article-major-airline-orders-100-jets-for-india-betting-on-futuristic-pm-modi-1674261)

When is this announcement due ?

[Cozy F]

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. ��

[_aax1]

BRS and STN is my guess.

[BFS watcher]

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. ��

Believe the BFS management have been in Doha recently to push the case. Around 30% of Emirates business is generated in Northern Ireland. Winter 18 for a BFS launch seems to be the hot rumour

[Fairdealfrank]

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

West of UK not west of England so probably BFS.

[Skipness One Echo]

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_and_state-sponsored_terrorism
How Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/11110931/How-Qatar-is-funding-the-rise-of-Islamist-extremists.html)

GLA and a return to LGW I reckon.....

[willy wombat]

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?

[All names taken]

Around 30% of Emirates business is generated in Northern Ireland.

Really? :eek:
I would be interested in seeing the proof given the whole population of Northern Ireland is around the same as Kent (except without the wealth).

[Global_Global]

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.


Spot on. Just like with the World Championships it is all about prestige and NOT commercial reality.

[Una Due Tfc]

Really? :eek:
I would be interested in seeing the proof given the whole population of Northern Ireland is around the same as Kent (except without the wealth).

I think they meant 30% of their business from Dublin....