KingCanute

Yes I had to have a double take at those as well. Someone will be along to say "supply and demand" but nevertheless it's crazy money compared with even remotely normal times, especially for Bangkok in economy.

Schwann

Had a email today about "Burgundy Friday" offers. Amongst them was the cracking offer of £6300 return Heathrow to Sydney.

KingCanute

You'd need to consume a lot of burgundy to make that good value

Schwann

That was my initial reaction and then saw that is pretty much the going rate unless you want to fly on Air India.

Still BA was £2k more than QR for the dates I was randomly looking. Gotta love a tryer.

mcgahat

Got an email with with the message below, still pricing is pretty steep I think.

For a limited time only, plan your dream trip and get up to 25% off and 2,500 bonus Avios. Plus, fly in Business Class to earn an additional 25 Qpoints.

Simply join Privilege Club and book using the code 25YEARS by August 28, 2022 to begin the adventure you have been waiting for.

It’s been a delight to share this wonderful journey together, and as we embark on the next chapter of our story, we look forward to bringing you even more joy and rewards.

*Terms and conditions apply. Offer applies for travel between September 01, 2022 and August 31, 2023.

SullyofDoha

I've looked at this and have some reservations about it's implementation. When doing dummy bookings, the selected dates and flights do NOT seem to show the flight offering a discount, nor that they are even part of a sale.

plunet

I have seen on a blog (forget which) that the discount is up to

• 25% on economy
• 0% on business Lite
• 10-12% on other business fares

and of course it's only on the base fare and not surcharges and taxes, etc.

Schwann

The blog being paid to run the article is HFP and the comment section is not kind about it.

BR787

Thanks for the laugh.
Some of the comments are gold: "Qrap Qatar"

anabolism

I've managed to find two different pages at QR's web site that list the terms and conditions of the sale. They both refer to this sale (same code, same book-by and fly-by dates) but there are some differences.

Both pages say:

• Booking period: 25 August 2022 – 28 August 2022
• Travel period: 1 September 2022 – 28 August 2023

This page says:

• The Promo Code is applicable on Economy Class (up to 25% on Classic & 25% on Convenience) and Business Class or First Class (up to 25% on Classic & 25% on Comfort), seats are limited and are subject to availability.
• The Promo Code is valid on flight itineraries from the following Qatar Airways operated
  • From the United States to MEL, PER, SYD, ADL, BNE, ABJ, AKL, ALA, ABV, ACC, GOI, CEB, ADA, AYT, BJV, ANK, IST, ZNZ, CRK, HKT, DAC.
  • From the United Kingdom to SHJ, BAK, TBS, BSR, BEY, AMM, ABJ, LXR, KAN, PHC.
  • From India to ALA, ALG, CMN, ISU, KAN, MPM, PHC, SLL.
  • From Australia to VIE, BAK, LAD, SJJ, DAC, SOF, LCA, CAI, ADD, ACC, MCT, MPM, OSL.
• The Promo code discount is deducted from the 'fare per passenger' amount visible in the price breakdown summary after flight selection. Any other taxes, service fees or standard market charges will be payable and displayed at the time of booking.
• Qatar Airways will not be held responsible for any fare differences if a customer does not enter the promo code at the time of booking as stated in the Redemptions Conditions section.
• The incentive is valid on Qatar Airways operated one-way and return flight itineraries worldwide, excluding codeshare and interline partnerships.
• Tickets are non-endorsable and non-transferable.
• In case of involuntary flight cancellation, the passenger can rebook and change dates or destination to any alternative Qatar Airways operated flight.

This page says:

• Blackout Dates (Outbound): 16 November 2022 -09 January 2023; 07 April - 11 April 2023; 05 June - 05 July 2023
• Blackout Dates (Inbound): 30 November - 20 December 2022; 01 January - 14 January 2023; 09 April - 16 April 2023; 08 June - 12 July 2023
• Minimum Stay: 3 days
• Maximum Stay: 4 months
• The Promo Code is applicable on Economy Class (up to 25% on Classic & 25% on Convenience) and Business Class (up to 15% on Classic & 20% on Comfort), seats are limited and are subject to availability.
• The Promo Code is valid on flight itineraries from the following Qatar Airways operated
  • Departure Airports: ATL, BOS, ORD, DFW, IAH, LAX, MIA, JFK, PHL, SFO, SEA, IAD
  • To Destinations: KHI, LHE, ISB, DEL, BOM, HYD, THR, BLR, MAA, BGW, EBL, NBO, EVN, BEY, CAI, CCU, TRV, COK, CCJ, DOH, ALY, LXR, SEZ, MLE, NJF, BSR, ISU, MNL, DMM, BKK, JED, KWI, JKT, MGQ, SGN, CPT, ADD, KRT, JNB, DAR, LOS, EBB, JRO, ATQ, NAG, AMD, AMM, MCT, RUH, MED, SYZ, IFN, ELQ, KTM, MEL, PER, SYD, ADL, BNE, ABJ, AKL, ALA, ABV, ACC, GOI, CEB, ADA, AYT, BJV, ANK, IST, ZNZ, CRK, HKT, & DAC
• The Promo code discount is deducted from the 'fare per passenger' amount visible in the price breakdown summary after flight selection. Any other taxes, service fees or standard market charges will be payable and displayed at the time of booking.
• Qatar Airways will not be held responsible for any fare differences if a customer does not enter the promo code at the time of booking as stated in the Redemptions Conditions section.
• The incentive is valid on Qatar Airways operated one-way and return flight itineraries worldwide, excluding codeshare and interline partnerships.
• Tickets are non-endorsable and non-transferable.
• In case of involuntary flight cancellation, the passenger can rebook and change dates or destination to any alternative Qatar Airways operated flight.

So, the US-specific page includes blackout dates and restricts to only certain departure airports (the GB-specific page has restrictions on departure airports as well, I didn't check other countries).

The US-specific page says the discount is only 15% for business class Classic fares and 20% on business class Comfort fares, while the generic page says 25% on both business class Classic and Comfort fares.

Both say the sale is only valid to certain destinations, and only on QR prime flights (no codeshares or interline).

I did a lot of searching yesterday and was able to find flights that it said it applied to the discount to, but in no case was I able to get a business class fare that was a good deal. From the US to Australia (LAX-ADL) the best I could find was over $6k; from the US to Thailand (LAX-HKT) the best I could find was a bit over $5k. (I was not able to get the sale to trigger when starting the search by indicating a QR stopover.)

SullyofDoha

Yes. It is a really messy 'sale'. The "up to 25%" discount is disingenuous.

etihad999

Im about to book a yul-khi round trip starting late Oct or early Nov, should I wait a bit more for a sale or it will only get expensive?

anabolism

I received an email from QR that they have a sale "up for 20% off" valid for bookings through 30 September. Digging into the T&C, it's only 15% off for Business Classic, only valid from certain airports to certain destinations. Playing with it, I see the same results as their previous sale: it drops, e.g., LAX-HKT for two people from $12k to $11k. Nothing to get excited about.

Richard Bell

I'm currently looking to book a BKK-DOH-LON return for March-2023, but am put off by the very-high fares being quoted on QR's website, and by OTAs. I'm not seeing anything under £900-£1,000, which compares to £600ish pre-Covid.

I understand why fares might be high during November/December, when the football is on and they might reasonably expect to charge more, but don't understand why this appears to extend well into next year ? I can get flights for as-little-as £600 on Saudia, or Thai/Swiss, for the same dates ... albeit (sometimes, not always) with less hold-luggage.

Does anyone expect a Sale, or a return towards more-normal pricing, in the next several weeks ?

Tofino87

If you look at the bigger picture - increase in oil prices, many airlines avoiding Russian airspace, quite severe inflation across most of the globe, airlines still trying to increase flight schedules, pent-up demand from the last 2-3 years and still dealing with border restrictions in places….

No, i would not be inclined to expect any significant decline in airfares for the foreseeable future, unfortunately.