Prolonged travel restrictions and stringent entry requirements – in response to the COVID-19 catastrophe – continue to be an impediment for airlines.  Subsequently, airlines must be attentive to the fluctuations in travel demand and load factors. Recently, Qatar Airways officially announced its flight resumptions and increased flight frequencies to a number of its destinations in the U.S. to maintain its network. 

The Doha-based carrier will resume flights to Atlanta on June 1, operating four weekly flights. In addition, the airline will increase flight frequencies for its operations to Houston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft Worth, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle. The carrier will operate flights 10 times a week to Chicago starting March 4. Additionally, flights to Dallas will increase to 10 weekly flights starting March 2.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “ Having never stopped flying to the U.S. throughout the pandemic, we have steadily rebuilt our network, gradually resuming destinations and adding more frequencies. With the upcoming launch of Seattle and the resumption of Atlanta, we will reach 12 gateways in the U.S, two more than what we operated pre-COVID-19.”

Furthermore, flights to Miami will increase to three times weekly beginning on July 3. The airline plans to fly to Houston and San Francisco daily starting March 14 and July 2, respectively. The airline will fly four times a week to Seattle starting January 29 and move to daily flights starting July 1. Ultimately, the carrier will add an additional 13 weekly flights, which will bring the total to 83 weekly flights across its 12 destinations in the U.S.

“As we look forward to global travel recovering in 2021, we will remain focused on providing seamless, safe and reliable connectivity to our millions of passengers and ensuring we continue to earn their trust every time they choose to fly with Qatar Airways,” Al Baker added. 

Qatar Airways has a prominent role in the Oneworld alliance. The airline joins Royal Jordanian Airlines as members from the Gulf Region and the Middle East. In addition, American Airlines is one of the Qatari carrier’s notable codeshare partners in the U.S. Eventually, Alaska Airlines will officially join Oneworld as its newest member on March 31. 

Al Baker said, “Our commitment to the U.S. market has also seen us add and expand strategic partnerships with American carriers, offering our passengers hundreds of additional flight connections with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue.”

Bigger Presence In South America

Recently, Qatar Airways decided to increase flights to another region in its route network. The airline officially announced its plan to operate more flights to Brazil and expand its codeshare with LATAM Airlines Brasil. Flight operations to Sao Paolo have increased to 10 weekly flights. 

“South America is a strategically important market for Qatar Airways. We are proud to demonstrate our strong commitment to passengers traveling to and from South America by providing even more flexible travel options. By increasing São Paulo services to 10 weekly flights and expanding our codeshare agreement with LATAM Airlines Brasil, we will further cement our position as the airline of choice for customers traveling between Asia, the Middle East and South America,” Al Baker said, a philosophy incorporated in the airline’s strategic decision to pump more flights and sell more seats to South America.

Evidently, Qatar Airways’ flight expansions in other regions within its route network is one of its notable contributions for surviving the current hurdle. The airline’s current response to the lengthy travel restrictions and increasingly, more elaborate entry requirements has placed itself in a firm position to tackle possible, future obstacles coming from the COVID-19 predicament.

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Benjamin Pham

Benjamin has had a love for aviation since a young age, growing up in Tampa with a strong interest in airplane models and playing with them. When he moved to the Washington, D.C. area, Benjamin took part in aviation photography for a couple of years at Gravelly Point and Dulles Airport, before dedicating planespotting to only when he traveled to the other airports. He is an avid, world traveler, having been able to reach 32 countries, yearning to explore and understand more cultures soon. Currently, Benjamin is an Air Transporation Management student at Arizona State University. He hopes to enter the airline industry to improve the passenger experience and loyalty programs while keeping up to how technology is being integrated into airports.

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