American Airlines plans to launch a new route between New York JFK and Doha in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar next year according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. The route launch ties in with a commitment the airline made just before the pandemic struck to help heal its relationship with Qatar Airways.
An American Airlines service to Doha has been on the cards since February 2020 when the Dallas Fort Worth-based carrier and Qatar Airways put their differences behind them and decided to invest in a new strategic partnership.
Despite both airlines being members of the oneworld alliance, the two carriers hadn’t seen eye to eye for a number of years. Animosity had built up over accusations that Qatar Airways was receiving government subsidies that threatened the very existence of U.S. carriers – accusations that American helped to peddle.
American Airlines funded a high-profile campaign against Qatar Airways and in turn, the Doha-based airline threatened to quit the oneworld alliance. In 2017, American rejected a bid by Qatar Airways to buy a 10% stake in the airline which only further soured relations.
That all changed, however, in February 2020 when the two sides rekindled their relationship and reinstated their codeshare agreement which was suspended in 2018. As part of the breakthrough deal, American also said it would consider a direct service to Doha.
American Airlines is now committing to a non-stop service between New York JFK and Doha which will start in 2022 in time for the FIFA World Cup which Qatar is hosting next year. Service is set to begin on June 7, 2022.
Network planners will be hoping that it serves than more than just a trophy route. American Airlines will be able to tap into Qatar’s presence in South East Asian countries which is currently underserved by direct flights.
“We continue to creatively find ways to build a network that gets customers where they want to go when they are ready to travel,” commented Brian Znotins, American’s Vice President of Network Planning on Thursday.
“Adding Doha to our expansive global network and resuming a significant portion of our European routes provides our customers with more choices as they plan next year’s vacations.”
The hope will be that AA can make this route profitable quickly, as the airline is cutting service to a number of long-haul destinations next year owing to delays with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program.
Being an AA Executive Platinum for over a decade and a happy AA customer, these are my considerations:
Having flown several times to Doha with Qatar on their amazing business class, I really can’t see anyone choosing to fly AA instead, unless for a significantly cheaper cost or to be able to upgrade to a higher cabin.