Qatar Airways Ups New York Capacity Following American’s Switch

Qatar Airways has confirmed plans to increase frequencies between Doha and New York following American Airlines’ decision to exit the market.

Starting Oct. 30, the Gulf airline will offer three flights per day between Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), up from 2X-daily at the present time. The additional daily flight will be operated using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The move comes after American opted to suspend its daily JFK-DOH service from the start of the northern winter 2023-24 season. The route launched last summer as part of efforts to further deepen ties with fellow Oneworld alliance member Qatar Airways.

Although American had previously filed plans to continue operating the 6,690 mi. (5,814 nm) sector this winter and during summer 2024, service will instead switch from JFK to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) on Oct. 29. American said the decision was “part of a continuous evaluation” of its network.

Qatar Airways’ additional daily DOH-JFK frequency will operate on the outbound leg at a similar time to American’s current Doha to New York flight. QR703 will depart DOH at 1:25 a.m., arriving in the U.S. city at 8:15 a.m., compared with American’s 1:35 a.m. departure time. The inbound leg will leave JFK at 1:20 a.m. 

According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Qatar Airways has offered three daily New York flights in the past, most recently in June 2022, the same month American entered the market. During winter 2023-24, the airline will fly to 12 U.S. gateways, offering about 74,100 Qatar-U.S. two-way seats. This compares with around 49,000 seats during winter 2019-20. 

Meanwhile, in a further change to Qatar Airways’ 2023-24 winter schedule, flights to Windhoek, Namibia, are set to be suspended in November. The airline previously filed plans to operate DOH-Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport three times per week during winter using 787-8s, but the route will now pause from Nov. 21. OAG data shows flights will resume from April 2, 2024.