Qatar Airways ex Cardiff

[taylor1975]

32 minutes ago, OmarB said:

announced confirmed today about UTP

I couldn't find the thread on this. Is it doha to UTP?

[mbamber]

17 minutes ago, taylor1975 said:

I couldn't find the thread on this. Is it doha to UTP?

Yes starting next year according to Qatar.

[OmarB]

49 minutes ago, taylor1975 said:

I couldn't find the thread on this. Is it doha to UTP?

yes was  a link on business traveller which i got today 12 new destinations including cardiff and utp....mykanos in greece was another

 

 

[bobbybgood]

Yes,good news indeed, the cynic in me thinks that WAG would have thrown a lot of sweetners to get QR to Cardiff, think it may last until these run out.

[davidge]

Cardiff Airport have announced that daily flights will start from May 2018. Using a 787 Dreamliner.

From a quick look at the Qatar website, it appears the flight leaves CWL at 1555 which would give either a 1hr 5min connection time in Doha to BKK or 7h 25m.

Coming back, I think it's 0725 from Doha landing at CWL at 1250. There are a couple of options out of BKK giving connection times of roughly one and a half or two and a half hours. I'm also getting an arrival time of 0640 at CWL so I don't know if there's more than one flight some days???

It means leaving BKK at some time between 2030 & 0200 depending on flight.

Now for the bad news...

I put in my dates for June/July next year and the cheapest Economy fare was over £700. Business Class was something utterly ridiculous like £3800!!!!! 

Edit: playing around with dates, I did manage to find Biz for around £2100 but didn't find an Economy fare under £700.

Maybe there will be some deals on offer once they're up & running? 

[davidge]

Official announcement is below. The flight is at a different time on 3 days.

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce it will begin operating daily direct flights from Cardiff Airport, with the inaugural flight due to depart on 1 May 2018. The new service between the Welsh capital and Doha will be operated on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The Cardiff service will be the first regular direct long haul flight linking Wales and South West England to a major global hub in the Gulf region seven days a week - benefiting both leisure and business travellers by creating a wealth of long-haul connectivity.

Services will fly between the national airport of Wales and Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar’s capital, which since opening in 2014, is one of the world’s largest hub airports, with over 30 million passengers using the state of the art facilities each year.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch date for our direct service to Cardiff. Many travellers currently fly to and from London, using ground transport between London and Cardiff, so this new route will allow passengers to fly direct from Wales to Doha and beyond for the first time.”

Deb Barber, Chief Executive Officer of Cardiff Airport, commented: “I am immensely proud that world class airline Qatar Airways has recognised the potential that exists within the region and chosen Cardiff Airport to operate a daily service.  The service opens up a world of connectivity for our customers to destinations across Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Asia.

“Over 1.4 million passengers per year from the region travel to destinations that are available on the Qatar Airways network - 90% of these passengers are currently travelling from London airports, which emphasises just how much demand exists within the market.

“We look forward to developing our fruitful relationship with Qatar Airways over the coming months and to the start of this exciting new route in May 2018.”   

Roger Lewis, Chairman of Cardiff Airport, stated: "This is a pivotal moment for Cardiff Airport. The far reaching consequences of this service for passengers and businesses across Wales and the South West of England will be transformational.

“Cardiff Airport will now provide the only daily scheduled direct flight to the Gulf in the South West of the UK. This is very special indeed for us all.

“On a personal note, I thank the Welsh Government for their support over the past two and half years, and the British Ambassador to Qatar, His Excellency, Ajay Sharma and his exceptional staff for their outstanding support without which we would not have achieved this success. 

“I am totally confident that the dedicated and hardworking team at Cardiff Airport will deliver a world class service with Qatar Airways for passengers and businesses visiting Wales and travelling across the world. 

“The critically important relationship between Qatar, Wales and the United Kingdom is substantially strengthened today." 

Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, said: “The daily service between Cardiff and Doha is a huge boost for Wales. It will open up Wales' links with the rest of the world and deliver new economic, leisure and travel opportunities for Welsh businesses and the people of Wales.

“Providing a direct route into the world's fastest growing hub airport, Hamad International, will also bring Wales closer to leading global markets such as India, China, Singapore and Australasia.”

Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner features 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy class.

Flights are on sale now at qatarairways.com 

Flight schedule, from 1 May 2018:

 

Flight No.	From	To	Departs	Arrives	Day
QR 321	Doha	Cardiff	07:25	12:50	Mon.Wed.Fri.Sat
QR 322	Cardiff	Doha	15:55	00:50	Mon.Wed.Fri.Sat
QR 323	Doha	Cardiff	01:15	06:40	Tue.Thu.Sun
QR 324	Cardiff	Doha	08:10	17:05	Tue.Thu.Sun

 

 

 

[davidge]

Just checking schedules on different days if flying to BKK and the following appears to be the shortest journey time, depending on day of travel:

OUT

Dep CWL 1555

Arr DOH 0050 Dep DOH 0155

Arr BKK 1240

Or

Dep CWL 0810

Arr DOH 1705 Dep DOH 2030

Arr BKK 0720

 

RETURN

Dep BKK 2115

Arr DOH 2355 Dep DOH 0725

Arr CWL 1250

Or

Dep BKK 2115

Arr DOH 2355 Dep DOH 0115

Arr CWL 0640

 

 

[davidge]

One final post for now...

looking at booking sites it is possible to get fares around £640 in Economy & £1800 in Business but not necessarily with the shortest stopovers.

 

[taylor1975]

1 hour ago, davidge said:

 

OUT

Dep CWL 1555

Arr DOH 0050 Dep DOH 0155

Arr BKK 1240

 

 

My manchester flight leaves at a similar time, then i transfer onto that 01:55 departure. The plane into bkk is never the dreamliner, thankfully ....usually a380

[bobbybgood]

Pay attention

[DJW]

Seems to be a promo on at the moment with Qatar Airways

Outbound Tue, 29 May 2018

Return Mon, 25 Jun 2018

netflights at £465

Qatar Airways promo Opodo Expedia & E bookers £503

Something to consider and would ease the pain of arriving back home from London in the early hours of the morning which is my usual time of arrival

 

[davidge]

2 minutes ago, DJW said:

Seems to be a promo on at the moment with Qatar Airways

Outbound Tue, 29 May 2018

Return Mon, 25 Jun 2018

netflights at £465

Qatar Airways promo Opodo Expedia & E bookers £503

Something to consider and would ease the pain of arriving back home from London in the early hours of the morning which is my usual time of arrival

 

Definitely worth looking at it at that sort of fare.

Hope we see it regularly as it would be really good for this service to be a success out of Cardiff. 

[DJW]

just wondering how to get a price off qatar for a heathrow departure (which suits my schedule better) and fly back into Cardiff.....anybody think of a way other than booking 2 single trips?

Ummm off Qatar website = £513 quid leave Heathrow in the afternoon, all is good apart from 1 hr transfer time in Qatar....bit of risk

[davidge]

4 minutes ago, DJW said:

just wondering how to get a price off qatar for a heathrow departure (which suits my schedule better) and fly back into Cardiff.....anybody think of a way other than booking 2 single trips?

You can do a 'Multi-city' search on Skyscanner.

I just did LHR-BKK-CWL using that & roughly the dates above and got a similar fare.

[DJW]

Yes just did the same thing on Qatar own website - very good options for us

[Caselemon]

Make sure you have plenty of time between flights. The security check at Doha airport is usually  very busy, and it can take quite a while to get through. 

[OmarB]

On 9/17/2017 at 21:56, Caselemon said:

Make sure you have plenty of time between flights. The security check at Doha airport is usually  very busy, and it can take quite a while to get through. 

If the flight is listed with a short connection then in simple terms the airline is saying all good. Its their responsibility to get your bags transferred etc etc.

[davidge]

I appreciate most on here fly in Economy, but for those who fly in Biz my conclusion so far on this Qatar option is:

They are going to be more expensive than KLM with longer stopovers. However, the Qatar Biz offering is far superior to KLMs.

They are going to be about the same price as, or slightly more than, EVA or THAI direct from LHR. 

At the moment, I think I'll be sticking with EVA out of LHR as my first choice.

 

[Drewbrogan]

On 17/09/2017 at 21:56, Caselemon said:

Make sure you have plenty of time between flights. The security check at Doha airport is usually  very busy, and it can take quite a while to get through. 

I have flown through Hamad over 20 times with at least 75% of them under 75 minutes and never had a problem.  If you are on a short connection or have been delayed they will meet you at the gate and will escort you through. I think the shortest I have done gate to gate including security is about 20 minutes, and with a free bump to Biz.  This was after being delayed on QR24 from MAN and being scheduled on QR 832 into BKK.   Hamad's own website and information line will tell you that 45 minutes is the maximum they need for a transfer.

Qatar pride themselves on their ability to fast transfer, which is why most OneWorld Europe/North America arrivals merge seamlessly with One World Far East/Australasia departures and vice versa, with very short transfer times.

 

[Drewbrogan]

On 21/09/2017 at 09:17, davidge said:

I appreciate most on here fly in Economy, but for those who fly in Biz my conclusion so far on this Qatar option is:

They are going to be more expensive than KLM with longer stopovers. However, the Qatar Biz offering is far superior to KLMs.

They are going to be about the same price as, or slightly more than, EVA or THAI direct from LHR. 

At the moment, I think I'll be sticking with EVA out of LHR as my first choice.

 

Qatar do have some very decent Biz sales once or twice a year. They also do the companion voucher every now and then if you have anyone flying with you.  This basically gives you a 2for1 deal.  And their hard and soft products are far, far superior to KLM, and from MAN at a very similiar timing. 15:15  versus 14:15.  Less than 90 minutes stopover which I spend having a shower and a beer in the Al Mourjan lounge.

I have used Oman the last couple of times and have booked the next 2 with them but Qatar offer an exceptional product at great prices and IMHO Hamad is one of the best airports in the world.  For those of you who had the misfortune to travel through the old Doha airport it is an amazing juxtaposition of cutting-edge technology versus a bus terminal in the desert.  My only gripe with Qatar was with their changes to Privilege Club but that is the way of the world now.

[davidge]

6 minutes ago, Drewbrogan said:

Qatar do have some very decent Biz sales once or twice a year. They also do the companion voucher every now and then if you have anyone flying with you.  This basically gives you a 2for1 deal.  And their hard and soft products are far, far superior to KLM, and from MAN at a very similiar timing. 15:15  versus 14:15.  Less than 90 minutes stopover which I spend having a shower and a beer in the Al Mourjan lounge.

I have used Oman the last couple of times and have booked the next 2 with them but Qatar offer an exceptional product at great prices and IMHO Hamad is one of the best airports in the world.  For those of you who had the misfortune to travel through the old Doha airport it is an amazing juxtaposition of cutting-edge technology versus a bus terminal in the desert.  My only gripe with Qatar was with their changes to Privilege Club but that is the way of the world now.

Thanks.

I appreciate fares may come up on offer, and will be keeping an eye.

I've checked different dates etc and the cheapest I can see Biz at the moment is just over £1800 BUT not on the flights with good connections, only with 7-8 hour connection. The fare for short connections have been at least £500 more.

The Economy fares are showing up with good connections & would be a decent option for people down here.

If I'm paying about the same as from LHR with EVA but having to wait in Doha for 7-8 hours it's not worth it. Similarly, it's not worth paying £500-800 more to fly from CWL.

It's early days. We'll see how things develop. 

[semi-retired member]

FWIW I'm seeing UTP-DOH-LHR for B23,300 return, for some dates in September, available in Qatar's current Sale (book until 19th January for travel until early-December), and use their ff-club Privilege Club discount-code PCGTBGIFT.

That's a pretty good price, for flights with a 5-star airline, IMO !

https://booking.qatarairways.com/nsp/views/index.xhtml?cid=DMALL441510&faces-redirect=true.xhtml

[az89]

CWL-BKK-CWL £391 plenty of dates starting from May