Qatar Airways will begin service to three US cities in 2016, expanding its network even as it faces pushback from mainline US carriers.
The Doha-based Oneworld Alliance carrier will begin daily service to Los Angeles International airport from 1 January 2016, followed by Boston Logan International on 16 March and then Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International from 1 July.
Qatar Airways will operate Boeing 777-200 aircraft to Los Angeles and Atlanta, and deploy Airbus A350-900s to Boston.
Separately, the airline will add a second daily service to its route to New York John F Kennedy operated with an A350 from 1 March. The flight will complement existing 777 service on the route.
"As Qatar Airways continues its global expansion, we are delighted to be offering even more gateways in the United States, connecting passengers from destinations across the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Southeast Asia," says the airline's chief executive Akbar Al Baker.
The airline says it will operate to 10 of the largest metropolitan areas in the USA with the addition of the new destinations. It will be the only carrier operating on all the routes, schedules in Innovata show.
Qatar Airways' newly announced routes will likely provoke the ire of US mainline carriers and their unions, which are calling for the US government to curtail the expansion of Gulf carriers in the USA over alleged subsidies to these foreign carriers by their governments. The US government has agreed to review the allegations but has so far not made any attempt to prevent the Gulf airlines from adding new service.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
