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Qatar Airways plans to bring the new Airbus A350 XWB to Boston and New York. (Image: Qatar Airways)
As U.S. airlines continue lobbying the U.S. government to rein in the ambitious expansion of the Big Three Mideast carriers, one of them — Qatar Airways — just announced plans to add three more U.S. gateways in 2016, giving it a total of 10.
Qatar said it intends to begin daily flights from Doha to Los Angeles on January 1, using a two-class Boeing 777; daily flights to Boston on March 16, operating a two-class A350 XWB (Airbus’s new widebody); and daily service to Atlanta starting July 1, also with a 777.
Qatar also said it will double its service between Doha and New York JFK effective March 1, adding a second daily flight with an A350 XWB; the existing JFK-Doha flight uses a 777.
Qatar is a member of the Oneworld Alliance–while Emirates and Etihad have shied away from alliances.
The three Mideast airlines — Dubai’s Emirates, United Arab Emirates’ Etihad and Qatar — have dismissed allegations by the U.S. carriers that they are competing unfairly thanks to billions of dollars in subsidies from their governments. If the U.S. airlines’ share of the market is slipping, they say, it’s because the Mideast airlines offer superior comfort and service.
Still, Qatar’s announcement of such an ambitious expansion of capacity is certain to draw even more howls of outrage from the big U.S. airlines. It remains to be seen whether Congress and/or the Obama Administration will let the U.S. carriers get what they want — although historically, they usually do. Qatar’s early announcement could be an effort to nail down as much U.S. access as possible before the government slams the door to more.
Besides JFK, Qatar currently flies to Washington Dulles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Miami and Dallas/Ft. Worth.
Have you flown on Qatar Airways or any of the other UAE carriers (Emirates, Etihad)? Would you? Why or why not…
NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Secret stash of hidden hotel deals + The most outrageous luxury suites in the sky + Roomier widebodies on domestic flights!
