Qatar airways to join Oneworld on 30th October 2013

[Foreigner]

Re: Qatar OneWorld join date??

October 2013, according to this news item:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/exclusive-qatar-to-join-oneworld-in-october

 

[bazoukka]

Re: Qatar OneWorld join date??

I would not recommend them in Y at all. Don't know about J heard it was good. Their customer service on the ground and on the flight was poor.
In Y the chair was broken the whole flight and keep reclining on it's own. The food i could honestly say was the worst quality i have ever had it was cold and tasted like it was very old, had this problem with 3 of the 4 flight.

As a QFF your better off paying a little extra and flying EK or QF

 

[elogic]

Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Does anyone know when Qatar join oneworld
if I make a booking on there site what class should I be looking at if I want to upgrade later using qf points

 

[mannej]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Does anyone know when Qatar join oneworld
if I make a booking on there site what class should I be looking at if I want to upgrade later using qf points

Not sure of a joining date, but it won't be possible to upgrade using QFF points. You can only use QFF points to upgrade eligible QF marketed and operated flights.

 

[Simo]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

With Qatar joining OW it will be interesting to see if they use SYD or there frequency of SYD due to curfew reasons.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

With Qatar joining OW it will be interesting to see if they use SYD or there frequency of SYD due to curfew reasons.

Qatar [QR] already fly to Melb & Perth, so unlikely, in my opinion, they will fly to QF's home base, in oposition to QF & EK. Alliances are in some ways about reducing overlap(~competition) of flights, as seen with QF/EK and VA/Air NZ on the trans Tasman route. New routes are subject to government to government regulatory approval. Expect there is a lot of lobbing from all sides and other airlines when these are being considered.

 

[Danger]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

There are a number of existing threads on exactly this topic.

 

[joyvee]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Asked the same question last month as to when the both companies would merge and so would be able to use accrued points and staff member at Qatar told me that it is expected to take about 18 months to complete the amalgamation, merger or what ever it is called. Joyvee

 

[Mwenenzi]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Asked the same question last month as to when the both companies would merge and so would be able to use accrued points and staff member at Qatar told me that it is expected to take about 18 months to complete the amalgamation, merger or what ever it is called. Joyvee

QR are joining a marketing alliance:OneWorld Note a merger or an amalgamation: an alliance in aviation jargon, just like other airlines in OW. All OW news reports have QR joining in late 2013 ~ early 2014.

 

[joyvee]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Thanks I will now refer to a marketing alliance - I like to learn new words and get it just right. Thanks for info. JoyVee

 

[Danger]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Asked the same question last month as to when the both companies would merge and so would be able to use accrued points and staff member at Qatar told me that it is expected to take about 18 months to complete the amalgamation, merger or what ever it is called. Joyvee

Eighteen months is a lot further away than the apparently-confirmed October join date.

 

[chemtrails]

Re: Qatar OneWorld join date??

I would not recommend them in Y at all. Don't know about J heard it was good. Their customer service on the ground and on the flight was poor.
In Y the chair was broken the whole flight and keep reclining on it's own. The food i could honestly say was the worst quality i have ever had it was cold and tasted like it was very old, had this problem with 3 of the 4 flight.

As a QFF your better off paying a little extra and flying EK or QF

I'd go with QR over EK. EK Y product seems stuck and with the 3-4-3 configuration as opposed to the 3-3-3 on the 77W, it makes for a slightly wider seat on QR with a 32" pitch. It was the first long haul flight I ever managed to get some sleep on. The food is pretty average but so is EK.

Then again, I went prior to the new Doha Terminal and thus would choose Dubai for the stopover, a Jacuzzi and a shower.

 

[markis10]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

Qatar [QR] already fly to Melb & Perth, so unlikely, in my opinion, they will fly to QF's home base, in oposition to QF & EK. Alliances are in some ways about reducing overlap(~competition) of flights, as seen with QF/EK and VA/Air NZ on the trans Tasman route. New routes are subject to government to government regulatory approval. Expect there is a lot of lobbing from all sides and other airlines when these are being considered.

QR are keen to fly to Sydney but want the curfew removed, they made that very clear in the press, nothing to do with competition and everything to do with scheduling. BTW don't the trans Tasman agreements have capacity maintance provisions?

 

[joyvee]

Re: Qatar joining Oneworld date?

The dreamliner on QR in J is so spacious and luxurious, sadly only seems to fly between Doha and Selected European hubs at the moment. Loved the single window seat with 2 windows and decent sized work table and so much storage space. Doha premium lounge was fascinating. Could eat to hearts content and then just sleep on plane. Women's toilet and shower facilities underwhelming as a ratio to proportion of women travelling in J, designers must have miscalculated on gender balance of J users. Joyvee

 

[AvroAnson]

Qatar - "Something big is about to happen"

Qatar have sent out emails promising "lots of new enhancements" to their FF program. "The countdown has begun..."

I assume this relates to their deal with BA, or perhaps the impending One World membership. In any case I hope their idea of "enhancements" is a bit different from some other airlines I could name!

 

[samh004]

Re: Qatar - "Something big is about to happen"

It'd be nice if it was an early entry to OneWorld, not that I could take them up on any offers, but it'd be nice all the same

 

[scaredeycat]

Re: Qatar - "Something big is about to happen"

I'd be pleased if I could direct my Amex points to QR...

 

[zainman]

Re: Qatar - "Something big is about to happen"

I'd be pleased if I could direct my Amex points to QR...

QR also charge fuel fines just like QF so I wouldn't do that if I were you.. I would try and transfer to AA (IMHO the best value on OW) maybe like this if the value is any good, AMEX>SPG>AA? Don't know if it's entirely possible but availability on QR is also cough for awards...

 

[AvroAnson]

Re: Qatar - "Something big is about to happen"

This is the latest communication from Qatar:

With effect from 4th October 2013, we will be unveiling a host of enhancements to our programme. These exciting changes have been tailored to offer you better privileges and benefits. In the meantime, we’d like to let you in on some of the enhancements.

• Introduction of the Platinum tier - For members who would have earned at least 600 Qpoints in a 12 month period.

• Enhanced member benefits with a host of new features

• With the exception of Government fees and taxes, award tickets and upgrades on Qatar Airways will no longer be subject to any surcharges. This means reduced charges paid for an award ticket.

• Our family programme will be offered to the entire Privilege Club member base. All main members across all membership tiers will be able to nominate family members.

• You will be able to extend your earned Qmiles before they expire or recover Qmiles that have already expired for a minimal fee.

Looks like these are genuine enhancements. The abolition of the fuel surcharge is a great improvement.

 

[ataline]

Re: Qatar - "Something big is about to happen"

So basically the benefits drop down to those of the level below (ie Silver members will get current Burgundy benefits, Gold will get Silver benefits and Platinum will get current Gold benefits). Burgundy is now the entry level membership.

Silver will therefore equal Oneworld Ruby. Bummer - thought it would be my ticket to Oneworld Sapphire!