Why American's new Doha route isn't as surprising at it seems
While American Airlines has been forced to scale back a chunk of its international flying next summer, there's a silver lining.
The Fort Worth-based carrier is adding a new pin to its route map next year: Doha, Qatar (DOH). American announced on Thursday that it would launch flights to Doha beginning on June 4, 2022, with daily nonstop service from New York-JFK.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free new biweekly Aviation newsletter!
American will deploy its flagship aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, on the route, which features eight Flagship First pods, 52 Flagship Business seats, 28 premium economy recliners and 216 coach seats. The flight will go on sale on Sunday, Dec.12.
On paper, the new route makes a lot of sense: fellow Oneworld member Qatar Airways operates a mega-hub in Doha, which will allow American to offer plenty of onward connectivity to Africa, India and the Middle East.
Plus, with the FIFA World Cup taking place in Doha next winter, American will likely have some traffic terminating in this Gulf nation too.
Meanwhile, in New York, the flight will be buoyed by the airline’s Northeast Alliance with JetBlue, with the airline tapping into JetBlue’s robust network from JFK for additional domestic connectivity beyond the New York City area. For American, the new Doha flight joins recently launched long-haul service from New York to Athens (ATH), New Delhi (DEL), Santiago (SCL) and Tel Aviv (TLV).
While everything checks out on paper, it's the backstory that's perhaps most interesting. In fact, by launching Doha flights, American is making good on a promise it made in the weeks before the pandemic started.
Related: American cuts 5 international markets, including its longest flight, due to delayed Dreamliners
But first, some context.
In 2017, American terminated its codeshare pact with Qatar, a move that came amid a broader subsidies dispute between the big three U.S. airlines – Delta, American and United – and the three big Middle East carriers: Qatar Airways and Emirates and Etihad of the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. carriers contended that their Gulf rivals benefitted from unfair subsidies, something the latter side disputed.
The spat between American and Qatar continued for a few years, despite diplomatic agreements in 2018 between the U.S. and both Qatar and the UAE to settle the dispute regarding subsidies and U.S. flights. American was particularly rankled that Qatar had invested in now-defunct Air Italy. It contended that the investment was a way for Qatar to circumvent the spirit of the 2018 deal by benefitting from new U.S. to Europe routes.
It wouldn't be until early 2020 that American upgraded its relationship status with Qatar, going from antagonist to partner.
In February 2020, the carrier announced a renewed codeshare and "strategic partnership" with the Doha-based airlines, with American CEO Doug Parker saying that "the issues that led to the suspension of our partnership two years ago have been addressed, and we believe resuming our codeshare agreement will allow us to provide service to markets that our customers, team members and shareholders value, including new growth opportunities for American Airlines."
At the time, Vasu Raja, American's chief revenue officer, said that "we’re keen to add a flight to Doha,” but added that it “wouldn’t start any sooner than 2021.” Now, despite the pandemic, American is making good on that promise.
American will be the only U.S. carrier serving the Gulf when its new Doha flight launches in June.
While some top-tier elites will prefer flying American for upgrade opportunities, most travelers will experience a more refined inflight experience with Qatar, which offers up to three daily flights between New York and Doha.
The airline’s award-winning Qsuite business class and tastefully appointed coach cabins are among the best in the sky. Plus, with tasty meals and robust entertainment options, many might find the 14-hour flight to be more enjoyable on Qatar.
Either way, more options are better than none, so American’s new long-haul flight is a sliver of good news amid a broader network pulldown.
Top offers from our partners
How we chose these cards
TPG featured card
Rewards
10X | Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
5X | 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. |
2X | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X card is one of the best all-round travel credit cards ever launched. Not only is it offering a tremendous welcome bonus, but cardholders can earn tons of miles on everyday spending and receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus to boot. Its annual fee is $395, but cardholders can count on up to $300 in statement credits toward travel booked through Capital One Travel each year and other valuable benefits like access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One’s own growing family of airport lounges.Pros
- Excellent welcome offer worth 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Up to $300 in annual travel statement credits toward bookings make through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 toward travel) each account anniversary.
Cons
- The $395 annual fee might be expensive for some, but this card’s benefits provide much more value than that.
- If you don’t travel frequently, this might not be the best card for you.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Named editors' choice for "Best New Credit Card of 2021" by The Points Guy
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when you book on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, through May 16, 2023
Rewards Rate
10X | Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
5X | 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. |
2X | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
Intro Offer
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel75,000 bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X card is one of the best all-round travel credit cards ever launched. Not only is it offering a tremendous welcome bonus, but cardholders can earn tons of miles on everyday spending and receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus to boot. Its annual fee is $395, but cardholders can count on up to $300 in statement credits toward travel booked through Capital One Travel each year and other valuable benefits like access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One’s own growing family of airport lounges.Pros
- Excellent welcome offer worth 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Up to $300 in annual travel statement credits toward bookings make through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 toward travel) each account anniversary.
Cons
- The $395 annual fee might be expensive for some, but this card’s benefits provide much more value than that.
- If you don’t travel frequently, this might not be the best card for you.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Named editors' choice for "Best New Credit Card of 2021" by The Points Guy
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when you book on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, through May 16, 2023