Qatar Announces New Qsuite Routes, Las Vegas Plans and 15 New Routes
You may never have heard of it, but ITB Berlin is the world's largest travel trade show, making it the perfect place for airlines to make big announcements and unveil new products. For example, last year, Qatar unveiled its Qsuite for the first time. Just a year later, Qatar is making news again.
In an entertaining press conference, which Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker is well known for, Qatar announced new Qsuite routes, plans on how the airline is finally going to launch its perpetually delayed Las Vegas route and a bunch of new routes in Europe and Asia.
New Qsuite Routes
We were hopeful to get an answer from Al Baker about which US "East Coast" destination the airline would be launching with its brand new A350-1000 aircraft. Noting that the A350-1000 is running "proving exercises at the moment," Al Baker said that the airline wants to "make sure that the aircraft is performing well" before launching flights to the US East Coast.
However, there were three new Qsuite routes announced at the show, and all three were to ITB's host country of Germany. First, Qsuites will launch on the Frankfurt route in May. Based on the seat maps from ExpertFlyer, it seems that Qatar Flight 67 will switch from a 777 to an A350-900 on May 1:
Qsuites will also launch to Berlin and Munich by the end of summer. These routes will join the current Qsuite destinations of London, Paris, New York, Washington, DC and — soon-to-be — Chicago.
For the general Qsuite plans, Al Baker confirmed that Qsuite will be available on all aircraft except the Boeing 787 Dreamliner by the end of 2019:
Qsuite will replace all the current product in all the airplanes at Qatar Airways. All of the new airplanes that are today being delivered to us is with Qsuites. As we [retrofit] Qsuites into our fleet, minus the 787, you have always Qsuite by the middle-end of next year on every single Qatar Airways aircraft.
Will the Las Vegas route finally be launched?
Rumors about Qatar launching flights to Las Vegas (LAS) first surfaced from IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June 2016, saying that the route would begin in 2017. Then, in November 2016, Qatar listed Las Vegas in its routes to be launched in 2017/2018. Then, in January 2017, Qatar announced it'd launch the Las Vegas route on January 8, 2018. Those plans were pulled in April 2017 without fanfare.
Not surprisingly, this route came up again at ITB Berlin. Al Baker explained that the route has been delayed "due to the constraints of the airplane." The airline wants to launch the new route with a Qsuite-installed aircraft, and the only aircraft that can serve the 8,100-mile route from Doha (DOH) to the famously hot destination of Las Vegas (LAS) with Qsuite installed is the Boeing 777-200LR.
The trouble is, Qatar plans to retrofit the 777-200LR "toward the end of the [retrofit] program" after at least Qatar's 777-300ER aircraft are retrofit. However, Al Baker teased that the airline might "expedite" the retrofit of a couple of 777-200LR aircraft to be able to finally launch this route.
New Routes
Qatar also used its ITB Berlin press conference to announce a laundry list of new routes launching in 2018 and 2019, some of which were announced with no launch date:
- Thessaloniki, Greece — March 27
- Cardiff, United Kingdom — May 1
- London Gatwick — May 22
- Mykonos, Greece (seasonal) — May 30
- Malaga, Spain — June 4
- Bodrum, Turkey — June 12
- Antalya, Turkey — June 13
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- Valletta, Malta
- Cebu & Davao, Philippines
- Langkawi, Malaysia
- Da Nang, Vietnam
- Hatay, Turkey
- Tallinn, Estonia
- and "A New Scandinavia Gateway... coming soon"
In addition, Qatar announced it's increasing frequencies to Madrid, Spain (3x daily); Barcelona, Spain (3x daily); Warsaw, Poland (2x daily); Prague, Czech Republic (2x daily); Kiev, Ukraine (2x daily); St. Petersburg, Russia (2x daily); Hanoi, Vietnam (2x daily); Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (2x daily) and Male, Maldives (3x daily).
But what about new destinations in the US? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like more are coming any time soon. In response to the direct question, Al Baker responded:
We have already expanded what we wanted to expand in the United States. We still have couple of destinations that we have already announced and we should be operating there soon.
That last part was in reference to the Las Vegas (LAS) and San Francisco (SFO) routes that have been announced, but which haven't yet commenced.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.