Tag Archives for qatar airways.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker gave an interview to CNN’s Richard Quest, which aviation industry site Enilria flags as the airline CEO reportedly admitting to violating U.S. anti-trust law with American Airlines.
American Airlines has been getting close with Qatar Airways, so close they appear as though they’re violating anti-trust laws; so close there’s speculation that Qatar could once again try to buy a stake in American Airlines and this time it would be welcomed.
Several readers have complained recently that Qatar Airways simply has not been releasing business class award seats to and from the United States. My refrain has been that this is typical, not something new. Qatar releases business class awards in batches. It’s feast or famine.
American Airlines has stopped selling its New York JFK – Doha flight after October 28th. This flight is how American shuttles passengers to places like Lahore, Islamabad, and Dhaka – connecting them onto Qatar Airways. But American’s circumstances have changed in New York, and they’ll be shifting Doha flights to their Philadelphia hub starting October 29.
American Express has added a new Membership Rewards transfer partner: Qatar Airways Privilege Club. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio and generally post instantly.
Qatar has prioritized their loyalty program over the past three years, making improvements like awarding miles even before you fly, at a time when Emirates has largely been lighting its program on fire and Etihad has undergone a series of more modest devaluations. This change makes Privilege Club more than just a program for redeeming QSuites.
Long-term the Airbus A380 will retire. And rather than add a new, top-end first class along the lines of something that might compete with Gulf rivals like Emirates, Etihad and even Saudia, or even like European carriers Lufthansa and Air France, Qatar is planning to eliminate long haul first class.
JetBlue had to go lease slots at London Heathrow from Qatar Airways. And they didn’t just pay cash, apparently. They also had to terminate an airline partnership to satisfy Qatar.
Now the Privilege Club program credits miles to members before they fly and permits earning and redemption for purchases at the Doha airport. I spoke with Noora Al-Ansari who heads the Privilege Club program, and with Thomas Thiollier who manages duty free, about the changes.
Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’ that offer doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space.
Right now there’s fantastic award availability at the end of the booking window. You can use this for travel from the U.S. to Doha and beyond to the Mideast, India, the Maldives and even to Africa.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
