Sam Bee

Someone at CX in the UK said that SUB is hugely succesful due to freight, which if you think about the location & produce of the region it makes a lot of sense with the monopoly it has on freight out of SUB. With QR they can chuck in the significant of middle east workers that come from that part of Java so I can see that. As an ex-resident of Manado, no bloody chance (as with Batam).

Saltire74

mr_botak

Note to QR route planners - if you're going after no-hoper destinations in SE Asia, I'd be really very, very obliged if we could have JHB (Johor Bahru) with a 788 and an easy connection to QR4/QR15.

blueferrari

I was hoping to see QR flight to SUB. but after Qatar spat with KSA, UAE, and other GCC countries, I thought it might be no-go.
SUB is ripe market for pilgrims and migrant worker to GCC countries. With current condition, I think it's not reasonable for QR to fly there.
Currently GA and SV connect SUB with JED.

the number of international flights are growing steadily. CX was flying there for long time, CI 5th freedom flight via SIN also seemed to stay.
MH is re-opening SUB service again to compete directly with AK group, while SIN well-fed by passengers of GA, SQ/MI, and 3K.

All of the airlines I mentioned above were coming from countries of destination of migrant workers from East Java and eastern parts of Indonesia, which easily connect to SUB better than CGK.

Greg_Morris

Any chance or announcement for ACC - Accra, Ghana?
I have read several news articles from 2015 and it was supposed to be one of the new routes in 2018 but so far havent seen anything firm from Qatar.

plunet

I had a rummage and tidied up the Wiki and put a couple of the delayed starts in the 2018 section.

Sam Bee

florens

The launch of GIG and SCL is postponed indefinitely.

Aviação - Voo da Qatar para o Rio é adiado e ainda não tem data - Notícia - Turismo

Google translator:

celtic_warrior

I am a tad worried here. especially on the premium/business sales. The lounge in Cardiff offers very little other than snacks and a limited alchol offering. lf you are paying for business most would prefer the luxury lounge at heathrow lounge unless there is a significant saving on price.

lost_in_translation

I'm booked on the inaugural CWL-DOH currently, there are three seats selected in J including me!

celtic_warrior

That is worrying. Obviously it will be relatively easy to secure upgrades on this route but that isn't sustainable long term.

Downunderdesert

Dr. HFH

A fool who has single handedly built his airline into a major world player based solely on his personal vision. I need a fool like that running businesses for me.

WorldLux

CWL is definitely an oddity. It's it 1,000,000 passengers per annum it certainly doesn't look like a long haul hungry market. Looking at Qatar's order book it seems however rather obvious that they'll probably have to fly to several more secondary airports within the range of a A320/A321 given that most of the short haul routes are currently suspended.

You could argue about the success or not of AAB. He managed to build an airline that offers a good product. Whether he actually made savvy business choices is however somewhat more difficult to answer. Since Qatar Airways is fully government owned these days, it is difficult to determine that. Moreover, you can take much bolder choice if you're backed by your government. Compare that to the publicly listed airlines that have to answer to shareholders when the margins are too thin and the financial result is below their expectations.

In any case, from a purely customer-oriented perspective AAB did a fabulous job transforming Qatar Airways. The same can however be said about Etihad and Emirates. I flew the former in economy back in 2004 (when EY was barely a year old) after my original flight was cancelled due to technical fault and it was a truly shocking experience. A330 with antique seats and the only entertainment for several hours consisted in looking at a compass indicating Mecca whereas the competition already started using PTVs. Back then I would have laughed at anyone suggesting that Etihad would eventually offer a residence-style product, let alone suites. Contrary to EY, QR seems however to have better luck at picking participations. AZ & AB weren't exactly great choices.

IAN-UK

Al Baker's no fool, more a forceful and abrasive character who rose to the top in the very limited world of Qatari aviation. Backed by unlimited funding from the airline's owners he was able to give full vent to vision and unfettered ambition. The funding and regulatory leverage put him outside comparison with true industry entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes et al.

He has tripped up over his ambitions a few times: the all-premium long-haul notion flopped, al Maha was a flawed concept and his itchiness to best his Gulf rivals has resulted in a number of debacles surrounding routes and the availability of aircraft. A more conciliatory approach to relations with other major carriers would likely be more productive than the caustic, sometimes abusive, approach he adopts.

These are testing, existential, times for the airline. Cutting back on the bling while trying to lever up revenue is unlikely to have a happy ending: the non-stop sales continue.

At the same time al Baker is coping with the enormous impact on costs and revenue resulting from the actions of neighbouring states. He's in a position of having to find routes for an under-employed narrow-body fleet: a position Ryanair is used to handling, but that's a low-cost carrier. Cardiff is a manifestation of that search: most of us can think of far better targets, but who knows what sweetners were offered, or what the slot position is at, say, Lisbon.

In spite of the difficulties, and however well or badly the airline muddles through them, its position as an essential means of mitigating the economic and social impacts of the siege rather muddy the waters and protect al Baker, and his vision, for the time being.