BA and Doha
May 11, 2017, 5:56 am
#31
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,944
May 11, 2017, 6:06 am
#32
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London
Programs: Many. Too many. I came here to cut them down. I failed.
Posts: 2,999
Sorry to use a word that could lead to me being banned, but some of fly in Economy. And QR is not all that on some planes out of LHR - you won't catch me on their 787's or 10 across 777's. So i'll happily fly BA.
However, QR's A350 (gamechanger) / A380's are fabulous.
BUT the point I want to make is the huge increase in options I now have flying East with BA - i.e. Bali is sub Ł500 in Y, sub Ł2,000 in J. Other destinations BA don't fly to like Jakarta, Pakistan, Maldives are available are now accessible mainly / partly on BA. It makes huge sense to me.
The only thing I struggle to do is price up WTP itineraries beyond Doha (i.e. in WTP then either in Y or J) - i'm guessing that BA were not so keen to offer these, but I can get via KL, BKK & SIN to many destinations beyond these BA destinations.
However, QR's A350 (gamechanger) / A380's are fabulous.
BUT the point I want to make is the huge increase in options I now have flying East with BA - i.e. Bali is sub Ł500 in Y, sub Ł2,000 in J. Other destinations BA don't fly to like Jakarta, Pakistan, Maldives are available are now accessible mainly / partly on BA. It makes huge sense to me.
The only thing I struggle to do is price up WTP itineraries beyond Doha (i.e. in WTP then either in Y or J) - i'm guessing that BA were not so keen to offer these, but I can get via KL, BKK & SIN to many destinations beyond these BA destinations.
May 11, 2017, 7:24 am
#33
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold 1MM, BA Gold, UA Peon
Posts: 6,106
The FT way to get to Jakarta is AMS-LHR-SIN-HKG-CGK on BA and CX in J 
A flight to DOH still opens up a set of onward connections within Oneworld that are not easily available otherwise, making it valuable for greater network connectivity.
A flight to DOH still opens up a set of onward connections within Oneworld that are not easily available otherwise, making it valuable for greater network connectivity.
May 11, 2017, 7:26 am
#34
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
Well I'm an expat, albeit not currently based in Qatar, and you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming onto the BA DOH-LHR service in preference to any of the QR flights.
May 11, 2017, 7:45 am
#35
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Programs: BA Silver - hard drop from GGL :( SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, AC E50k
Posts: 567
Am currently book on F going to Doha next year. At present we are the only ones on the flight.
The only reason we chose Doha as a destination is because there is excellent redemption availability.
BA must want this route to test out demand for the World Cup in 2022. I can't think of any other reason the have this route.
The only reason we chose Doha as a destination is because there is excellent redemption availability.
BA must want this route to test out demand for the World Cup in 2022. I can't think of any other reason the have this route.
May 11, 2017, 8:03 am
#36
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,751
As mentioned upthread, there is excellent availability all year. Here's a snapshot for J class. Similar in F too. This continues right through to next year.
May 11, 2017, 10:08 am
#38
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: BA Gold, several other less interesting cards...
Posts: 3,711
Am currently book on F going to Doha next year. At present we are the only ones on the flight.
The only reason we chose Doha as a destination is because there is excellent redemption availability.
BA must want this route to test out demand for the World Cup in 2022. I can't think of any other reason the have this route.
The only reason we chose Doha as a destination is because there is excellent redemption availability.
BA must want this route to test out demand for the World Cup in 2022. I can't think of any other reason the have this route.
May 11, 2017, 1:08 pm
#41
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Singapore
Programs: BA Gold. KrisFlyer Gold
Posts: 732
I flew BA123 last month in CW when it was booked by accident for me as a codeshare (obviously I wanted to be on one of the QR metal flights). One advantage was that the flight was almost empty. There were 6 of us in CW, and something like 80 passengers on the plane in total. I was told by the CSD that this was actually quite a good load for this flight in recent times, though apparently it oscillates widely from being full on certain days to only having a handful of people on board. Odd.
May 11, 2017, 6:30 pm
#44
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC GGL/GFl, HH Diamond, BW Diamond, Virgin Voyages Deep Blue Extra, Blue Peter Badge Holder
Posts: 3,937
Is this not because people don't tend to use their redemptions on Business routes, given the Business are paying; I don't think one could draw any firm conclusions from redemption Availability to the profitability of any particular route.