Qatar Airways Moves Up Seattle Launch
The four-times weekly service had originally been planned to start in March
Qatar Airways has announced an earlier start date for its new route between Doha and Seattle, moving up the launch by nearly two months. The four times weekly service, which the airline had originally announced last month would launch in mid-March, is now set to begin Jan. 29.
The flights will be operated aboard a Boeing 777 with 42 Q Suites in business class, and 312 economy seats. Originally the Gulf carrier had planned for the route to be served by the carrier’s A350 aircraft.
The original launch date would have coincided with Seattle-based Alaska Airlines joining the Oneworld alliance. Qatar Airways has also launched a new reciprocal frequent flyer partnership with Alaska Airlines, and a codeshare agreement between the two carriers is set to launch in the spring.
The Seattle service is Qatar Airways’ second West Coast route to launch in as many months. In December the carrier began Doha to San Francisco service, with four flights per week using an A350-900 aircraft.
“Qatar Airways is committed to enhancing its connectivity with the US market. Bringing forward the launch of flights to Seattle, our second new US destination since the onset of the pandemic, epitomizes this commitment,” said Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker.
“With flights to Washington State’s largest city our US network will grow to 11 gateways, surpassing the number of destinations we operated in the US pre-COVID-19. We look forward to launching our Seattle service and connecting with the hub of our future Oneworld partner, Alaska Airlines.”
