Fly Qatar's All-Business Airbus A319 From Doha to Dubai
At the Farnborough Air Show this summer, I had a chance to check out two pretty slick Qatar Airways private jets: a Gulfstream G650 and an Airbus A319, with just 40 seats in an all-business 2-2 configuration. Generally, you'll need to have a very wealthy friend (or have some deep pockets yourself) to get a chance to fly this A319, but for a limited time Qatar is operating that aircraft on scheduled service between Doha and Dubai. It's even possible to redeem miles to get on board!
Interestingly, this news comes the same week Emirates announced that it'll fly an A380 between the two cities, but it seems unlikely that Qatar is launching this higher-end service in response to its competitor's surprising move. The A319 has already begun flying between DOH and DXB, and it's scheduled to remain on the route through January 21, 2017.
Since Qatar Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance, you can redeem partner miles for a one-way or round-trip flight. You'll need 40,000 miles each way if you're redeeming from AA's AAdvantage program, but British Airways members can book the flight for just 18,000 Avios (+$36 in taxes and fees).
That's still a significant amount for a ~40-minute flight, but considering you'll need to pay roughly $750 for a one-way revenue ticket, that's a heck of a deal. Note that Qatar is marketing the business-class cabin as first class on this flight, so you should have access to the Al Safwa first-class lounge in Doha.
Will you be going out of your way to fly Qatar's all-business A319?
H/T: @AlexInAir
