Qantas Frequent Flyer - Qantas and Qatar to codeshare?

http://flymefunky.com/2012/07/the-two-qs-qantas-and-qatar-to-codeshare/

News hot off the press is that Qantas and Qatar will tie the knot in a codeshare agreement sometime next year. Execs from the Doha based airline will next week discuss the plans with the Qantas team on forming an alliance, according to reports at the Herald Sun.

Mr Al Baker, CEO of Qatar, said ”Qantas under Alan Joyce has taken a very positive attitude towards Qatar and Emirates and we hope that both our airlines will be able to work with Qantas closely going forward. We can only make ourselves stronger with this sort of partnership.”

I think this great news for travellers but a shame that Qatar don't serve more Australian ports. Having a direct feed to the domestic Qantas network will no doubt help Qatar boost its numbers heading down under.

It's great news that they didn't partner with EK as far as Im concerned

Will Qantas embrace it and offer decent codeshare options from Qatar to onwards destinations or will it be like the last Middle East codeshare that they had

Yes, well the Emirates codeshare seemed to be a half baked attempt at an alliance... it was obvious that both sides were feigning interest in it actually working...

airline will next week discuss the plans with the Qantas team on forming an allianceCritical words are "will" and "on forming" Nothing is final until signed

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/qantas-to-form-union-with-qatar-airways/story-fn7j19iv-1226417059948 Extract below
.....Qantas pulled out of a code sharing agreement with Etihad in 2010 but appears to have had a major change of heart about co-operating with Middle Eastern partners, with Emirates and Etihad sucking away a significant portion of Qantas economy passengers.......
And sucking away a very significant portion of Qantas First & business passengers.

Critical words are "will" and "on forming" Nothing is final until signed

Perhaps a mod can change the '!' in the title to a '?'

I think a CEO making a statement in the press is a probable sign that it's [almost] a done deal.

I think a CEO making a statement in the press is a probable sign that it's [almost] a done deal.But not the QF CEO or chairman. QF being publicly listed on the ASX has very different rules on disclosure effecting income/profit compared to a ME government owned company.

But not the QF CEO or chairman. QF being publicly listed on the ASX has very different rules on disclosure effecting income/profit compared to a ME government owned company.

I'm thinking it was more of a slip up on behalf of the CEO who was probably holding a press release on Qatar's new service to Perth.

It's great news that they didn't partner with EK as far as Im concernedWait for the fat lady to sing. The following words (attributed to Al Baker) seem significant:-Qantas under Alan Joyce has taken a very positive attitude towards Qatar and Emirates and we hope that both our airlines will be able to work with Qantas closely going forward.

Slightly off topic but....

http://www.emirates.com/english/about/news/news_detail.aspx?article=914489&offset=0

Eventually daily flights into Adelaide (using a 3-class Boeing 777-300ER - so the only airline with F into ADL), and a 3rd daily flight to Perth.

I guess QF is thinking "If we cannot beat any of them, we have to join one of them" - given the rumours with IAG and QR, my money is on QR.

Wait for the fat lady to sing. The following words (attributed to Al Baker) seem significant:-

I do hope not, I wouldn't want QF to start having any real influence on EK

Perhaps a mod can change the '!' in the title to a '?'

[mod hat]
done
[\mod hat]

Having flown Qatar a few times I can assure you they are superbly consistent, wonderful cabin crew, food IFE etc. They are much better than Emirates. When the new Doha airport is completed it will no doubt be much less of a zoo to transit through than Dubai. First and Business lounges in Doha are excellent too. This is great news if indeed its true. Qatar has approx 300 yrs of gas/oil underneath its soil..meaning its a solid partner. Doha while not that exciting as a city has transformed itself from a sleepy Town to an ultra modern city. Its not as exciting as Dubai or Bahrain for that matter but for flying through and a quick transit stop its a great spot for a quick tatse of Arabia.

Heres to the 2 Q's!

CJ

Interesting thing...best for QF would be to start SYD-DOH and get codeshares on MEL/PER and EUropean routes. QR said that they dont have plans to start SYD:

He ruled out the possibility of Qatar Airways flying to Sydney because the city does not have a 24-hour airport.

"We don't like our aircraft to linger longer than necessary and the (Sydney) curfew prevents us running to optimum performance," he said.

QR is also top priority of Oneworld so this could be very good opportunity for QF Intl product

Having flown Qatar a few times I can assure you they are superbly consistent, wonderful cabin crew, food IFE etc. They are much better than Emirates.

I have yet to have any issues with EK crew and yet to find a 1st class product that is as good as EK's

Less interested now that I've heard they're removing first class from all aircraft except the 10 A380's they have on order. Err.

Less interested now that I've heard they're removing first class from all aircraft except the 10 A380's they have on order. Err.

Only A380 has F? Must be a thing for airlines starting with Q. Perfect partners!

Only A380 has F? Must be a thing for airlines starting with Q. Perfect partners!

Also be interested to see which middleeast airlines to have premier economy seat first!

Also be interested to see which middleeast airlines to have premier economy seat first!

But you can get a business class seat on the Middle Eastern airlines for the price of a premium economy seat on all others...

But you can get a business class seat on the Middle Eastern airlines for the price of a premium economy seat on all others...

Not quite true. Last 12 months I have followed the business class price in the big 3 ME airlines and compared with BA, CX, QF and AF Y+ fares departing from London. Y+ fares are almost 50% cheaper than ME Business class fares. For example London to Hong Kong, Y+ fares are at the level between £1068 to £1280. While business on three ME airlines are fairly consistant at a level between £1990 to £2500.The same applies to other Asia destinations.