Qatar Airways is making a significant move in the UK market, expanding its flight operations to London and solidifying its partnership with British Airways. By collaborating with its oneworld alliance partner, Qatar Airways plans to operate up to 12 flights daily to London, specifically targeting the Heathrow airport. This impressive schedule underscores the strategic importance of the London market for both airlines, particularly during the winter travel season.
The joint operations with British Airways mark a notable milestone, establishing a new record for winter services to the British capital. This collaborative effort reflects a robust partnership between the two airlines and highlights their commitment to providing travelers with increased flexibility and convenience.
In mid-August, Qatar Airways secured an additional slot pair at Heathrow, a coveted asset given the airport’s congestion, high operating costs, and lucrative traffic. This new slot, acquired from TAROM, Romania’s national airline, will enable Qatar Airways to launch its eighth daily flight between Doha and Heathrow, starting on October 27. This new service, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, will arrive at 14:05 and depart at 15:30.
While this expansion increases the airline’s frequency, it doesn’t represent the highest number of flights Qatar Airways has operated to the UK capital. The airline previously operated eight daily flights to Heathrow, mainly on Saturdays, since April 2023. Although initially planning to maintain this frequency on Saturdays during the upcoming winter season, the updated schedule now includes eight daily flights to Heathrow on four days each week.
Qatar Airways plans to further boost its Heathrow service to nine flights daily on Saturdays during the winter. This expansion is possible due to the relative ease of securing Saturday slots. These nine daily departures are available for booking, starting November 2, and are set to continue throughout 2025.
Due to the close partnership between Qatar Airways and British Airways, the London-Doha route – which sees around 85% of passengers connecting to destinations beyond Doha – should be viewed as a joint operation. This collaboration will result in up to 12 daily flights between London and Doha this winter. While this sets a seasonal record, it doesn’t break the overall record as the two airlines already scheduled 12 daily flights on 24 days from April to August 2024.
The joint operations will see up to 11 daily flights to Heathrow, a new level of frequency never before seen. This increase enhances their competitive stance against Emirates, although Emirates continues to lead in terms of seat availability and passenger numbers due to its use of larger aircraft, particularly the A380. Despite Emirates operating flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted, it still offers slightly fewer total flights to London than the combined services of Qatar Airways and British Airways to Doha.
This expansion at Heathrow has come at the cost of Gatwick services. British Airways has ceased its flights to Doha from Gatwick, instead doubling its Heathrow operations. Qatar Airways, which used to operate three daily flights from Gatwick, reduced its presence there in early 2020. For the winter 2024/2025 season, the combined Heathrow offerings from these two airlines will reflect this strategic shift.
Heathrow-Doha Route (Aircraft types in order of frequency)
* Qatar Airways: Seven to nine flights daily (Boeing 777-300ER, A380, A350-900, A350-1000, 777-200LR)
* British Airways: Two flights daily (Boeing 777-200ER, 787-10)
Gatwick-Doha Route
* Qatar Airways: One to two flights daily (Boeing 787-8)
* British Airways: None
London-Doha Winter Flight Schedule
| Day | Heathrow Departures | Gatwick Departures | Total London Departures |
|—|—|—|—|
| Monday | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| Tuesday | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Wednesday | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Thursday | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| Friday | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Saturday | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| Sunday | 10 | 2 | 12 |
This significant expansion in London operations by Qatar Airways and British Airways signifies their commitment to this lucrative market and underscores the importance of the London-Doha route within their global networks. By combining resources and strategically optimizing flight schedules, both airlines offer travelers increased options and convenient connections, strengthening the economic and cultural ties between Qatar and the UK.
