Qatar Airways Ends Doha-Philadelphia Route, American Airlines Takes Over
The Gulf airline will remove the flight from its schedule in time for the start of the winter season
Photo: Philadelphia. Courtesy of ActionVance / Unsplash
Qatar Airways is discontinuing its route between Doha (DOH) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), with the changes scheduled to take effect from October 30.
In 2014, the airline operated its first nonstop flight to Philadelphia International Airport. However, after nine years of service, the airline will no longer operate at PHL.
Photo: Qatar Airways, Boeing 777-300ER. Courtesy of Boeing
The void left by the canceled route will be filled by Oneworld partner American Airlines, who recently announced they are transferring their New York JFK-Doha flight to its Philadelphia hub from October 30.
Currently, Qatar Airways operates the 6,797-mile route with a Boeing 777-300ER equipped with 354 seats, split into 42 business and 312 economy seats. American Airlines will operate its Boeing 787-9 on the new route, which has a capacity for 285 passengers—69 fewer seats than Qatar Airways currently offers.
The American Airlines 787-9 has 30 Business Class pods, 21 Premium Economy recliners, and 234 Economy seats.
Photo: American Airlines, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Courtesy of Boeing
The outbound flight – AA120 – will leave Philadelphia at 20:55 and arrive in Doha at 17:30. The return flight – AA121 – will depart from Doha the following day at 08:55 and return at 15:25 local time in Philadelphia.
In turn, Qatar Airways will increase its frequency between New York and Doha from two to three daily flights beginning on October 30.
Doha to the U.S. this winter
Following the changes in Philadelphia, Doha is scheduled to have 113 departing flights to the U.S. each week this winter, with service provided to 12 destinations.
In addition to the three flights a day between New York (JFK) and Doha, there will be a twice-daily frequency between the Qatari capital and Dallas (DFW).
Photo: Qsuite Business Class seat. Courtesy of Qatar Airways.
There will be 12 weekly flights between Doha and Washington (IAD) and ten weekly flights between Doha and Los Angeles (LAX).
The remaining flights will occur daily between Doha and eight other American cities: Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Houston Intercontinental (IAH), Miami (MIA), Philadelphia (PLH), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA).
Qatar Airways will operate all the routes bar Philadelphia, which will be served by American Airlines.
