Qatar Airways

[nwoody2001]

question is, what would it take to get the attention of Etihad? I don't think we'd need them, but I cant help but be curious!

I think just the presence of their two main rivals could be a major factor, but I don't know whether Abu Dhabi has any advantage over DXB with regard to onward connections, which would be the main reason for starting any flights.

It's interesting to see the divide between Glasgow and Edinburgh over ME flights. I believe neither airport currently has more than 2 ME flights per day, and that's serving the whole of Scotland (although why EK opted for Glasgow over Edinburgh is beyond me). Meanwhile BHX is looking at 5 daily flights in a couple of years.

Well first of all, as of Saturdays from the end of march, BHX WILL have 5x daily flights from BHX to the middle east, but point taken.

The reality is, Scotland is a single market served by 2 airports (at least the M8 corridor anyway) , as such there are 4x daily flights between there and the middle east.

The point being, emirates started to serve that market, then Qatar and Etihad all joined in. The same with London and Manchester ...as a general rule, as the largest and oldest of the MEB3, emirates starts where Qatar and Etihad follow!

...and whilst im no market expert in the field, as a general rule of thumb, if your 2 biggest competitors are present, and you are not, you need to look at what are you missing out on and how can you get your share of the Pie. With BHX, if I was Etihad, I would be looking at the 1,275,000 seats being offered annually from BHX to the Middle east and asking a) how much more demand is there and b) how much of the existing and underutilized demand can I get hold of!!!!

I think Ray is probably right, I would be surprised is Etihad had not noticed BHX, in fact I suspect BHX has and wills till be talking to Etihad, the reality as I see it however, is will they let both Emirates and Qatar establish at BHX, because coming along to the party after that would make it much tougher work for them!!!

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there nwoody2001 ,how are you, I think regarding quatar, after 30th March 2016, I think they will monitor April very closely, if they see or notice that is any demand for extra flights, come May time ,I'm pretty sure they will announce any extra flights to increase there capacity, then monitor it over the rest of the summer period, then come end of summer season, will probably announce what there winter schedule will be, then decide to either go for full all year round flights or just summer and winter season depending how emirates do...let's what and see...Andyc

 

[nwoody2001]

well its a bit late for that Andrew, Qatar flights are already on sale through to the 14th Jan 2017 so its already a year round service. This is the same for all other UK routes...

That said, other than explicit tourist destinations, the MEB3 don't tend to do seasonal flights, it doesn't really fit in with their model Yes they my reduce frequencies but normally don't do seasonal only flights....

 

[Ray Finkle]

My money is on 11x weekly by W17 :s_yes

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray, if you think it's going to be 11x weekly by w17, what days in the week are you predicting for 11x weekly...Andyc

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray again, as nwoody2001 has pointed out to me in his next post, that qatar is yearly, so correct me if I'm wrong, are we looking at seating capacity available from 30th March 2016 till 30th March 2017 of up to 180,104 or more seats available... Wow that's huge...andyc

 

[nwoody2001]

Andy,

Assuming the Qatar 787-8 carries 254 seats....

254 seats, 2x rotations a day or 16 rotations a week, or 832 rotations annually is just over 211,000 seats a year between BHX - DOH!

Remember also, as of march, emirates will be flying 7x weekly A388 (2-class) and 14x weekly B773 (2-class) which equate to 1,060,000 seats annually between BHX - DXB

Then add to that, Turkish will be flying 2x daily B738 which will equate to 231,000 seats annually between BHX - IST....

Add that all together, and assuming that capacity doesn't change or vary, then between March16 and March17, there will be a massive 1,502,000 seats flying between BHX and the Middle East Hubs of DXB, IST and DOH!!!

Whilst this is impressive in its own right, what is interesting is where we have come from. As of March14 - March15, we only has 2x daily 773 BHX-DXB and 12x weekly 738 BHX-IST which equated to 811,000 seats. In the space of a year then, from March15 to March16, capacity between BHX and the Middle East Hubs have increased an impressive +85%!!!!

Granted our loads will not be 100% so actual pax wont be that high, but its an impassive figure for an airport the size of BHX and is one area that BHX is beating the crap out of our main competitors of LTN, EDI and GLA!!!

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi the nwoody2001, if you say that Birmingham is beating our competitors like Luton, Edinburgh and Glasgow, is this on load factor or passenger numbers... Andyc

 

[nwoody2001]

I haven't explore the CAA stats but I suspect we beat LTN (defiantly - they don't have a link to the middle east) , GLA and EDI in every sense.

We certainly do from a seat capacity,

LTN have ...nothing???? You could include their link with El AL to Tel Aviv but I don't know how big/busy a hub that is???
GLA have 14x weekly B773 EK = 14x weekly flights!
EDI have 5x weekly A332 EY, 7x weekly B788 QR and 12x weekly B738 TK = 24 weekly flights!
BHX have 7x weekly A388 EK, 14x weekly B773 EK, 8x weekly B788 QR and 14x weekly 738 TK = 43 weekly flights!!!!

That said, this is nothing compared to MAN which has something like 21x weekly EK, 16x weekly QR, 14x weekly EY and 18x weekly TK ?? something around 69x weekly flights and then there is the likes of Saudi to add to that.... im sure someone will enlighten me. However, our 43 weekly flights still compare well IMHO given the fact that MAN is over double our size!!!

with regard to Loads, its a little tougher to judge, especially as the EK 3rd daily flight has only been operating for a few months. That said, before our 3rd daily, our EK flights were often full, with LF reducing to 80% LF in December with the new 3rd daily. I would expect BHX LF to be beating GLA and EDI, but I would be surprised if it was worse than either of them!

 

[User001]

Pretty much spot on for MAN.

21 weekly each from Emirates and Turkish, 16 weekly Qatar, 14 weekly Etihad and in terms of Middle East, 5 weekly Saudia too.

What also need to be considered is that the MEB4 take a lot of transit going east, so, for BHX the PIA and Air India taken into account, and for MAN, PIA, Cathay, Hainan, Singapore and soon to be Shaheen and Air Blue, as well as Air China all vying for similar passengers.

 

[Ray Finkle]

254 seats, 2x rotations a day or 16 rotations a week, or 832 rotations annually is just over 211,000 seats a year between BHX - DOH!

Remember also, as of march, emirates will be flying 7x weekly A388 (2-class) and 14x weekly B773 (2-class) which equate to 1,060,000 seats annually between BHX - DXB

Then add to that, Turkish will be flying 2x daily B738 which will equate to 231,000 seats annually between BHX - IST....

Add that all together, and assuming that capacity doesn't change or vary, then between March16 and March17, there will be a massive 1,502,000 seats flying between BHX and the Middle East Hubs of DXB, IST and DOH!!!

Whilst this is impressive in its own right, what is interesting is where we have come from. As of March14 - March15, we only has 2x daily 773 BHX-DXB and 12x weekly 738 BHX-IST which equated to 811,000 seats. In the space of a year then, from March15 to March16, capacity between BHX and the Middle East Hubs have increased an impressive +85%!!!!

If you'd predicted that 15 years ago people would have laughed.

The future sure is going to be interesting :s_yes

 

[munster fan]

Qatar Airways has manufacturers in its sights as it launches Birmingham-Doha flights

2nd February 2016

By Andy Coyne - Editor, West Midlands

Qatar Airways

MANUFACTURERS from the West Midlands who travel regularly to major export markets such as China are firmly in the sights of Qatar Airways, which launches eight times a week flights to Doha from Birmingham Airport next month.

The airport in Doha, in Qatar, is a major hub with many connections to South East Asia and the Far East and the airline believes this will appeal to exporting businesses from this region as well as people living here visiting relatives and friends.

From March 30 the airline will be operating services between Birmingham and Doha every day of the week with two services on Saturdays (see below for full schedule).

The route will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, comprising 22 seats in business class and 232 economy class seats.

Hamad International Airport in Doha provides onward transfers to more than 150 destinations, including two recent additions in Australia: Sydney and Adelaide.

On a visit to Birmingham yesterday, Jonathan Harding OBE, Qatar Airways' senior vice president, NSW Europe, told TheBusinessDesk.com: "We imagine there will be a lot of traffic with corporates such as JLR and JCB in the region but also people visiting friends and relatives.”

Harding said the airline had been impressed with the area’s attempts to improve itself and make itself more attractive to visitors.

“Brand Birmingham continues to grow with HS2, the work Andy Street is doing at the LEP and the focus the Government has on the Midlands Engine for Growth,” he said.

“There are many reasons for launching the service. One of which is the significant movement {of people} between Birmingham and India and Pakistan.

“Regional airports are incredibly important and there is no doubt that the timing for this is spot on.

“The opportunities driven by creating this ‘air bridge’ between Doha and Birmingham are substantial whether that be for the likes of JLR or someone going on a cultural holiday.”

A recent survey of 1,000 people in the West Midlands revealed that 65% of people would travel long-haul from the region give the chance.

The airline’s existing services from the UK are from London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh.

It was re-launched in 1997 and today has 175 aeroplanes.

Schedule between Doha and Birmingham from March 30

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
Doha (DOH) to Birmingham (BHX) departure 01.25, arrival 06.45
Birmingham (BHX) to Doha (DOH) departure 09.15, arrival 18.05

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
Doha (DOH) to Birmingham (BHX) departure 07.30, arrival 12.50
Birmingham (BHX) to Doha (DOH) departure 15.00, arrival 23.50

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidl ... ights.html

 

[Ray Finkle]

Interesting to see that they are after business pax from the likes of JLR and JCB, these are both big users of Emirates.

Pakistan should be a big market for them with the very limited direct offer we have at the moment.

 

[Brum X]

And im sure there 2 services to OZ will be very popular too. I wish them great success at BHX and not long to wait now.


Bring it on Qatar Airways.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Nice to see the Express & Star reporting Qatar.

Interesting choice of words that they will offer 8 flights per week, initially.

“We are hugely excited about what is being planned,” he added.

Mr Harding said that the economic impact of starting flight to Edinburgh had added £5 million in terms of jobs and industrial activity to the economy there.

“We expect to have a similar or even greater impact on the West Midlands economy,” he added.

“Birmingham is a market that we are keen to serve,”

He said that the city and the surrounding West Midlands offered plenty of demand for corporate services.

Mr Harding also praised the work that had been done by Birmingham Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe and his team to improve the airport for business flyers.

Richard Oliver, country manager for the UK, said Qatar was working closely with Birmingham Airport to get the new route going.

He said they were expected demand from Birmingham to fly on to four key regions - Australasia, South Africa, Asia and the Indian sub-continent

“We see Birmingham as important for our ‘visiting friends and relatives’ offer as well. There is a large demand for services to the Indian sub-continent already from this area,” he explained.

Qatar was awarded airline of the year by Skytrax last year because of its high standards of service and Mr Harding said they were paying a lot of attention to quality and service.

“We are also the only Middle East carrier that is part of a major alliance.

“As part of One World it means our passengers can earn and redeem mileage with our partners and it is a great opportunity for anyone working and living in the Birmingham area to fly using One World,” enthused Mr Harding.

I've only quoted certain parts of the article the full piece can be found here: http://www.expressandstar.com/business/ ... ir-to-air/

 

[Aceshigh]

I suspect they are going after the Air India business by the looks of things.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think so too.

It'll be interesting to see how the Air India loads hold up after March. Saying that I was reading about the 787 operating DEL-LHR that had to divert earlier in the week, the report suggested that there were just 90 pax on board :shok:

 

[User001]

I can see Qatar being 10 weekly at least by end of 2016. Predict a 1st Oct increase.

 

[nwoody2001]

Air India isn't my initial concern with Qatar starting, its PIA who seem to take every opportunity to reduce BHX frequencies.,....

I think air india has done well to establish itself at BHX over the last 3 years and with their wider network through india I think! they have a role to play at BHX which yet cant be satisfied with the MEB3 so Im hopeful AI and Qatar can co-exist

 

[Ray Finkle]

Well according to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif PIA will eventually be on par with Qatar Airways ardon:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1044857/gov ... -pm-nawaz/