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With all due respect to those living in Wales, I have to admit that I would never have expected that a Welsh airport would attract a daily long-haul operation. But the new route announced by Qatar Airways shows the potential benefit of the Boeing 787 when it comes to covering “long and thin” routes.
Service will commence on 1 May, 2018 with the following flight schedule:
Doha to Cardiff
QR323 DEPART DOH 01:15 ARRIVE CWL 06:40 Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays QR321 DEPART DOH 07:25 ARRIVE CWL 12:50 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Cardiff to Doha
QR324 DEPART CWL 08:10 ARRIVE DOH 17:05 Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays QR322 DEPART CWL 15:55 ARRIVE DOH 00:50+1 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Although I’m receiving error messages at the moment, the new route is appearing on ba.com as yet another option for using those Avios.
As a partner airline, these flights will always price at peak date Avios pricing, costing you 20,000 Avios for a one-way in Economy Class and 60,000 Avios in Business Class.
I’m sure that those based in the west of the UK are thrilled that the new route is to be operated by Qatar Airways instead of Emirates or Etihad – another chance to earn and burn Avios. It will be interesting to see whether Qatar tries to build up passenger loads with some cheap promotional fares…
Interesting article and developments. My nearest airport is Bournemouth, I’m hoping one day BA may fly out of there if LHR can now go out of Cardiff.
Anyone know why you cannot book flybe seats via Avios out of Southampton?
Neat. I actually live in Cardiff but by virtue of poor road links it’s just as fast to get to Bristol airport.
Still, it’s nice to see more options!
The Southwest has a lot of money and people here have a lot of disposable income. Bristol being one of the more expensive places to live in the UK now.
Qatar thought long and hard about starting from Bristol airport, where there is more money. But the main problem being is BRS does not have a good cargo ground handling service. I was informed that was why CWL was picked over BRS which is still close, but CWL has the capacity to handle cargo on the route.
All good points… but Qatar will also need to break the habits of those who simply drive a couple of hours along the M4 to Heathrow. Google Maps tells me it takes 2 hours to drive from Bristol to LHR and 1.5 hours to CWL.
What do we think the chances are of some rock bottom fares to promote the route in an upcoming sale?
I got BHX – HKT for about £950 a year ago which is just ridiculously cheap.