sakari1707

I was looking for some J prices to BKK in Nov and both Business Saver and Business Value were less than the Promo fare? Even Flex was only a little more.
What's the catch here?

niksal

The Adelaide price in C looks attractive, or?

LoungeEnthusiast

Yes, at least to me it does. SYD and MEL are way more expensive, for some reason.

Krabi J price is tempting as well!

ffay005

And nothing to DOH. While Lonely Planet used to call it the dullest place on earth, I still find it strange that they don't have any offers for their home base. Other Gulf destinations can be had for a very moderate price of <€400 but DOH costs >€800! And this can't really be about "the convenience of nonstop flights" because there's practically no demand HEL-DOH, so all demand needs to be created by attracting people with low prices.

Furry

Not quite like ex-OSL rates for obvious reasons, but still few sweet spots like Krabi J. Let's wait for real sales promos which QR is quite famous of!

(Bought OSL-DOH-SYD r/t in J for next winter 1470€ pp. in their sale earlier this year)

FFlash

I gather that none of these are good for collecting AY, but for BA tier points there are some decent.

WilcoRoger

Not true - the dullest place is RUH, hands down.

DOH is a nice stopover destination for 3-4 nights tops, the Islamic Museum is top notch, and we caught a Damien Hurst exhibition in the one next to it.

Throw in the souk and the "Manhattan" skyline + the beach of a good hotel (IC was wonderful) and you had a very nice 3-4 days.

intuition

QR is a pretty campaign happy airline, but I wouldn't hold my breath for a quick return of the january campaign mentioned above.
Some decent fares will come around though, you just need to sit a few campaigns out.

As mentioned QR earns fairly well on BAEC, one r/t in business to Australia is BA silver.
But for those flying mainly AY J (thus crediting to AY+) QR J poses a great loyalty problem. Great fares and very high standard in J makes it attractive to fly QR but the crediting will be a problem for the regular AY+ member. Flying a mix of QR and AY and crediting all to AY+ will earn a lot less. Crediting to QR is unattractive because they have high tier thresholds and unattractive redemptions.

So if QR is successful exHEL, it is not only the fares that can cause AY a problem. The fact that QR earnings are poor on AY+, can make the savvy flyer to switch to BAEC or perhaps AA.

OH-LGG

Or nothing.

cistavoda

I looked at some QR trips ex-HEL and noticed they are using A320/321 with a 2+2 config in J whereas ARN, OSL and CPH seem to be 787 with 1+2+1. So for important "mileage run business" trips I'd rather start from somewhere else besides HEL.

intuition

They are supposedly 45" pitch, 21" width recliner seats with 10" recline so still better than the high density A321 AY offers. Sure, the 787 is a good choice for those important business runs, but I guess ticket price will play a part too.

remymartin

I have two upcoming sub 500mile flights with QR - one is on a 777-200LR and the other on a 787. I just can't figure their fleet strategy out...

teme

I hope they will use their A320 with new business class seat wth 180 degree recline on Helsinki route. Quick check for random flights in december implies that they will indeed.

Having tested Qatar 320 new business class, I will have no problems with 6 hour flight in that plane with proper business class service. Here is link to a picture of the seats.

http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/med...320%20seat.jpg

intuition

If so, so much better.

OH-LGG

#sarcasmisnice