On Wednesday, September 13th Qatar Airways announced its intention to launch non-stop service to Cardiff, Wales (CWL) from its hub in Doha, Qatar (DOH).
The flight will commence operations on a daily basis starting May 1st, 2018 onboard Qatar’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
The airline outfits this plane in a two class configuration consisting of 22 fully flat business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout and 232 standard economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.
Cardiff is the Welsh capital, and will give flyers originating within the UK additional ports of exit to choose from when traveling to Africa, Asia, or the Pacific Rim. Qatar Airways is one of only 9 carriers to be certified as a 5 star airline by Skytrax, and from what I assess I believe that it is well deserving (depending on how valuable you believe these ratings are). The airline has one of the best (if not the best) all around business class product in the world, with fully flat seats, wifi (on most planes), great food, and fantastic lounges.
This will be Cardiff Airport’s first route beyond Europe, and will be an invaluable asset to travelers looking to get around the world. With just a single stopover in Doha, passengers can now access virtually any major city in the world.
To the Point!
This route will compliment Qatar’s 4 existing routes to the United Kingdom (Birmingham, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester). I think this is a great expansionary route, as Qatar will be the first major international airline outside of KLM serving the city’s long haul market. With just a single competitor in KLM, I see Qatar Airways serving a steady stream of passengers out of CWL in the future.
What do you think? Will this route prove profitable for Qatar?
*Featured Image Courtesy of Cardiff University
Route Guide 
Leave a comment