It’s not just Paris that has been changed. In a scheduled filing over the weekend, Qatar Airways informed that it’s making changes to next summer’s A380 network.
Most notably, it has completely removed the A380 from Doha to Paris CDG and halved the number of flights to Bangkok. It arrives as it schedules the double-decker quad jet to Perth next summer, which will be Australia’s winter.
Qatar Airways cuts A380 to CDG
As of October 10th, Qatar Airways doesn’t plan to fly the A380 to Paris next summer. That’s quite dramatic, as it had scheduled 2x daily flights scheduled by the equipment. Of course, it might change again.
The A380 was replaced in Paris last December and currently runs 1x daily on the route. Until last week, Qatar Airways was to cease using the A380 to CDG on December 5th before bringing it back for the peak summer on March 26th. Now it won’t return. The changes are summarized below, with all times local:
| Routing | Flight one | Flight two | Flight three |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doha to Paris CDG | 01:25-07:25; was to be A380 next summer, but now the 777-300ER | 07:55-13:55; was to be A380 next summer, but now the 777-300ER | 14:55-20:55; was to be the 787-9 next summer, but now the 787-8 |
| Paris CDG to Doha | 09:30-16:50; was to be A380 next summer, but now the 777-300ER | 16:05-23:25; was to be A380 next summer, but now the 777-300ER | 22:25-05:45+1; was to be the B787-9 next summer, but now the 787-8 |
As you can say from the above table, the A380 has been switched for the 777-300ER, while even the 3rd flight of the day, previously down for the 787-9, has been downgauged.
When all the changes are considered, the frequency remains the same, but seats for sale have reduced by 28%, Cirium indicates. That’s a significant reduction.
It means that, between March 26th and September 30th (the farthest date currently scheduled), Doha and Paris’s capacity totals 363,000 seats, down from the 508,000 scheduled last week. Unless things change for the better, it’ll remain far below pre-pandemic levels.
Qatar Airways
Next summer, Qatar Airways will still serve the Thai capital 3x daily, exactly as planned. However, while the A380 was to operate 2x daily, along with 1x by the A330-300, it’ll now be 1x daily A380, 1x daily 777-300ER, and 1x daily A330-300. The change means that seats for sale have fallen from 506,000 to 466,000, down by 8%.
- Its Bangkok summer schedule is as follows, with all times local. Notice the very long ground time for the A380 and 777-300ER:
| Routing | Flight one | Flight two | Flight three |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doha to Bangkok | 02:20-13:10; remains A380 | 08:05-18:55; remains A330-300 | 19:25-06:15+1; was to be A380 next summer, but now the 777-300ER |
| Bangkok to Doha | 02:30-05:45; remains A380 | 19:25-22:40; was to be A380 next summer, but now the 777-300ER | 20:25-23:40; remains A330-300 |
With Doha-Paris CDG flights ending on December 5th, Doha-Perth will again see the A380 from December 6th, as already known. It’s in time for the Southern Hemisphere’s peak summer season. And not surprisingly, the route is now scheduled through 2023.
Thank you
