Qatar Airways is upgrading its daily flights between Doha and Perth to a Boeing 777-300 from October 1.
Larger than the current Boeing 777-200 found zipping between the two cities, the Boeing 777-300 brings with 30% more seats to Doha and beyond to destinations across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
And, it comes ahead of a further planned upgrade to the Airbus A350 from early 2015, making Doha-Perth one of Qatar's first routes for the new Airbus bird.
Just over two years since Doha-Perth flights began, Qatar Airways’ CEO His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said that international flights to Perth had “proven to be a very sound move”.
Passengers flying from Perth to Doha or onwards to their final destination can also experience the new Hamad International Airport – and if eligible, the 'premium' first class lounge – for themselves.
Covering 600,000 square metres, it features an impressive 138 check-in counters, family friendly activity nodes, 40,000 square metres of retail, food and beverage outlets and an array of lounges with five-star facilities.
For longer layovers, there are also squash courts, a swimming pool and a gym with its own juice bar, or for the more artistic, the terminals are scattered with artwork and sculptures from international artists.
From Perth, Qatar's QR901 flight pushes back at 11:30pm, touching down in Doha at 5:50am the following morning.
On the return from Doha, QR900 is wheels-up at 2am, with an arrival in Perth of 5:55pm the same calendar day, and just in time for an evening meal.
Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn points and status credits on Qatar Airways flights through the airlines’ mutual partnership in the global Oneworld airline alliance.
But, as we've found, you could actually wind up earning fewer points on Qatar Airways between Australia and London than you would between Perth and Melbourne on Qantas – and the prospect of status credits isn't much better for members of Qantas Frequent Flyer...
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Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 444
Following this upgrade, I wonder if they will deploy an A359 (~10% fewer seats) after earmarking it for the route??
28 Apr 2012
Total posts 22
Considering Qatar Airways has previously mentioned the B787-8 being used on this route, the upguage to B777-300ER (and still daily) must mean an increase in demand for the route. I'm now 50/50 whether the A350 will eventually be deployed on this route now. It would seem strange to reduce capcity, and I don't see Qatar going double daily with the A350 either. (The B787-8 would be more likely if it were to happen)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Aug 2014
Total posts 3
Yah from perth
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jan 2014
Total posts 340
"His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said"
Didn't know Al Baker was royalty?
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Jan 2012
Total posts 259
Quote found on FT: It is his official title, he has been appointed the rank of Minister many years ago when he headed the Qatar Tourism Authority. The title of ministers in Qatar is 'His Excellency'
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2014
Total posts 204
Hardly surprising considering most flights (60/70%???) are already flown by the 300...No increase of J seats, just more in steerage.....How long before EY upgauge....
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 444
I thought that too, but the current schedule only shows the 77L. Maybe the 77W was just for the summer and is now going permanent.
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