Qatar Airways Cancels Philadelphia Flights

Qatar Airways Cancels Philadelphia Flights

122

I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but I kind of am…

Qatar Airways ends Doha to Philadelphia route in late 2023

Qatar Airways has updated its schedule to reflect that the airline will discontinue its route between Doha (DOH) and Philadelphia (PHL) as of October 30, 2023, which is the start of the winter airline season. This 6,797-mile route currently operates with the following schedule using a Boeing 777-300ER

QR727 Doha to Philadelphia departing 7:55AM arriving 3:55PM
QR728 Philadelphia to Doha departing 9:30PM arriving 5:05PM (+1 day)

For what it’s worth, Qatar Airways launched its Philadelphia route in 2014, shortly after the airline joined the oneworld alliance. Philadelphia is of course an American Airlines hub, so presumably that was the logic for launching service at the time, since the airline would have extensive connectivity beyond Philadelphia.

Qatar Airways has hugely expanded in the past decade, and this is the first route to the United States that Qatar Airways has cut, as far as I know.

Qatar Airways will end its Doha to Philadelphia route

Why Qatar Airways is ending Philadelphia flights

It’s not too hard to figure out what exactly is going on here:

  • American recently revealed that it would cut its New York to Doha route, replacing it with a Philadelphia to Doha route
  • Qatar Airways then announced it would add a third daily flight between New York and Doha, as of the same date that American would end the route
  • Up until now there had been questions as to whether or not Qatar Airways would cut its Philadelphia route, so now we know the answer

So we’re essentially seeing American and Qatar Airways swap routes — Qatar Airways takes over American’s New York frequency, while American takes over Qatar Airways’ Philadelphia frequency.

Let me remind everyone that American and Qatar Airways don’t have anti-trust immunity, so they couldn’t actually coordinate this change. That means the airlines made all of these decisions independently, which sure makes you wonder, no?

On the surface, I’m not surprised to see this change. I can see how American is better off flying to Doha out of Philadelphia, given that there are a lot more American loyalists out of Philadelphia, and it’s not as competitive of a market in terms of product.

Meanwhile New York is very competitive in terms of passenger experience, and American was competing directly with airlines like Emirates and Etihad for traffic via the Gulf. Furthermore, Qatar Airways has a partnership with JetBlue for connectivity in New York, while American and JetBlue had to terminate their partnership.

Still, I’m a bit surprised to see Qatar Airways cut Philadelphia service. Why? Well, the airline has been growing at such a fast pace, and I’ve often seen Qatar Airways management quantify growth based on the number of destinations served. The airline wants to be able to promote that it serves X number of destinations.

Now, many would argue that Philadelphia to Doha could never sustain two daily flights. On some level that’s true, but Philadelphia is also a big connecting hub for oneworld, so the route is very much about traffic beyond both Philadelphia and Doha.

American will fly from Philadelphia to Doha

Bottom line

Qatar Airways will cancel its Doha to Philadelphia route as of late October 2023. We’re seeing American take over Qatar Airways’ Philadelphia to Doha frequency, and seeing Qatar Airways take over American’s New York to Doha frequency. Oh yeah, and apparently they did all that without actually coordinating. 😉

What do you make of Qatar Airways cutting its Doha to Philadelphia route?

Conversations (122)
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  1. Nick C. Guest

    I'm shocked to see Qatar Airways actually cut service to PHL. I think American should have kept their Doha route out of JFK while serving the route out of PHL as well. All the while coordinating with Qatar Airways as joint Oneworld members on adding service to JFK or another American hub not serving Doha.

  2. Asad Guest

    So pissed off at Qatar!
    Shame on them.
    Also shame on Philadelphia corrupt city government. Just like the city their airport is trash!

  3. Diane Guest

    Been flying Philadelphia/qatar route since it’s inception…
    Never flown on American over seas !
    Hope they are better than domestic services!!!!
    I’ll miss qatar service and what happens to the avios points

  4. D W Guest

    No!!! I love Qatar Airways. It is, by far, the best airline I have ever travelled on. Great service. I loved the PHL flight. I guess I will try the AA Doha flight.

  5. Darin R Guest

    Qatar cancelled our flight from IAD in Q-Suites and rebooked us the next day on a non Q-Suites aircraft. There is a flight on the original day however we booked with British Airways and they are stating there has to be award inventory open to rebook us. Only option is to accept the change to the next day or cancel the ticket. Anyone know of a way to have British Airways pull from the revenue bucket to secure the tickets?

  6. Mohammed Kalam Guest

    We need Qatar in Philadelphia for Bangladesh India and Pakistan please

  7. Mohammed Kalam Guest

    Well I'm from Bangladesh and I was so happy that Qater airlines provide the good service to back our home. Now Qatar didn't want to give us the service it's not fair. It was so easy we have family leaving Philadelphia so that we can get the service easy now we have to go back to New York and get the Qatar service. Please if you can give us the service from Philadelphia international airport thank you

  8. Ram Guest

    I am hoping Qatar Airways keeps it pleasant from PHL- DOHA-PHL. Thanks.

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      ?? This while post is about the fact that ‘Qatar has cancelled the route. Hope all you want, but the decision has been made.

    2. Neeru S Guest

      I am flying back from Delhi to Philly with Qatar on Nov 18, 2023 and now they change to AA from Doha to Philly. Can I change AA from Delhi to Philly or Delhi to Newark direct flight without paying extra?

  9. Np Guest

    Worst Decision ever! These flights are always at full capacity throughout the year!

  10. Azm Rahman Guest

    Need more flights philadelphia to middle east like philadelphia to Doha or Dubai or Istanbul. Newly can operate Emirates, Ittehad, Turkey airlines. We live in philadelphia area. New York is too far and lots of traffic. Average philadelphia to New York Need 4( four) hours drive. Round trip like 8( eight) hours? Like one day. So request we need more airlines and flights from philadelphia to middle east. Thanks

  11. Donald Guest

    Qatar service going down lost my bag then found it empty till now they playing emails back and fourth and still have not fixed my damaged bag or the lost cloth inside been flying united and emmerrites

  12. Bhupendra Singh Guest

    No good. This route is very fruitful for indians. Now they have to look another airlines

  13. Jim Guest

    Emirates Turkish Airlines and Etihad need to begin flights to PHL They can make very their airlines successful.

  14. Rosalind Kulasegram Guest

    I will start flying from New York or Newark to get to Asia ! 13 or 14 hours on AA will be a nightmare! Horrible service! Now will change departure destinations once it’s confirmed that Qatar airways will stop operating out of Philadelphia

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      It *is* confirmed.

  15. S. Biswas Guest

    Qatar Airways offered the best route from Phl to India and Bangladesh. Sorry to see it leave. There will be many unhappy travelers.

  16. Jeff Guest

    I feel sorry for the poor residents of PHL, stuck as a hub for the lowly AA. Who would have guessed AA would turn into just a minor step up from Spirit?

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      Stop…. AA is on par with DL and UA, not Spirit. It may not be as good as DL and UA, but many would beg to differ. Me, I’d love it if PHL wasn’t AA hub-captive and I could fly Delta or United. But stop comparing it to Spirit - no lounges, no international flights (other than Latin America?), etc.

    2. PHLFlyer67 New Member

      AA is on par with UA and DL. But AA, at least in terms of what they offer out of Philly, it’s completely different and I would say barely a step up from spirit. No premium transcon service line JFK/Lax/SFO. Our admirals clubs are older, dirtier, and worse offerings than any club I’ve been to anywhere, despite the fact that we’re a hub. No flagship lounge despite us allegedly being AA’s international hub (yet can’t...

      AA is on par with UA and DL. But AA, at least in terms of what they offer out of Philly, it’s completely different and I would say barely a step up from spirit. No premium transcon service line JFK/Lax/SFO. Our admirals clubs are older, dirtier, and worse offerings than any club I’ve been to anywhere, despite the fact that we’re a hub. No flagship lounge despite us allegedly being AA’s international hub (yet can’t get one single flight to Asia and only one to the Middle East). They even stick us with the worst backward facing 788s on most international routes. Forgot about the nice 777-300ERs that are offered on plenty of AA international routes out of JFK, BOS, ORD, LAx, DFW, and MIa. AA clearly views us as the red headed stepchild and it’s quite frustrating .

    3. OCTinPHL Diamond

      @PHLFlyer67 - I don’t disagree with anything you wrote except “barely a step up from Spirit.” Anyone who has flown 5 hours on Spirit (or Frontier) would take AA in a heartbeat.

    4. PHLFlyer67 New Member

      I don’t disagree with you. Maybe what I meant to say was that AA domestically out of PHL is a worse experience than what you’d typically get out of a UA hub like EWR/DEN or DL Hub like JFK. As far as international premium experience goes, AA out of JFK is light years ahead as terminal 8 has 3 fantastic lounges, better food options than A west, and all of AA’s best premium cabin products...

      I don’t disagree with you. Maybe what I meant to say was that AA domestically out of PHL is a worse experience than what you’d typically get out of a UA hub like EWR/DEN or DL Hub like JFK. As far as international premium experience goes, AA out of JFK is light years ahead as terminal 8 has 3 fantastic lounges, better food options than A west, and all of AA’s best premium cabin products seem to fly out of there and shun us (777W, A321 to the west coast etc). Despite us allegedly being the transatlantic hub.

      However, things come around. Delivery of the new 789s and A321XLRs will help PHL tremendously. As will the flagship lounge if they can actually get their act together. These 2 changes will make PHL back to an average international hub again (as opposed to a grotesquely subpar one). Not great but average. If I had unlimited resources I would also make some small upgrades to A West itself (it was state of the art when it opened but it’s seen better days), improve the inadequate BA lounge (no idea why AA doesn’t push for this if they want PHL to be a transatlantic hub). Terminals A east, B, C, D, and E also need to be completely redone, but we can have that convo after they actually make the improvements above.

    5. PHLFlyer67 New Member

      I also meant to say, AA needs both a regular admirals club in addition to the flagship lounge (which is hopefully just as good as LAX, DFW, etc). BA or another one world premium lounge. Add services to other European markets not currently served like Munich, Vienna, Manchester again; Oslo, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva. Bringing back the Tel Aviv Route would be great too. With these upgrades, which aren’t wishful thinking IMO, PHL can go back...

      I also meant to say, AA needs both a regular admirals club in addition to the flagship lounge (which is hopefully just as good as LAX, DFW, etc). BA or another one world premium lounge. Add services to other European markets not currently served like Munich, Vienna, Manchester again; Oslo, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva. Bringing back the Tel Aviv Route would be great too. With these upgrades, which aren’t wishful thinking IMO, PHL can go back to being a respectable international hub again.

    6. Neeru S Guest

      I am flying back from Delhi to Philly with Qatar on Nov 18, 2023 and now they change to AA from Doha to Philly. Can I change AA from Delhi to Philly or Delhi to Newark direct flight without paying extra?

    7. OCTinPHL Diamond

      You are correct - we are pretty close in what we are saying. Though I think you are more optimistic than am I about the new 789s and XLRs. I fear PHL will get the old 789s with only 28 J seats (unless those planes are retrofitted?). And while the XLR plan to fly transatlantic is great (I think), I don’t think we will see premium XLRs on domestic routes. For domestic routes we will...

      You are correct - we are pretty close in what we are saying. Though I think you are more optimistic than am I about the new 789s and XLRs. I fear PHL will get the old 789s with only 28 J seats (unless those planes are retrofitted?). And while the XLR plan to fly transatlantic is great (I think), I don’t think we will see premium XLRs on domestic routes. For domestic routes we will continue to have the standard 321s. AA is turning the 321Ts into “standard” 321s with 190 seats. It would be nice if they were converted into something less premium than now but still semi-premium and used on transcon routes, but AA does not feel PHL (or CLT) warrants premium planes.

      As far as the lounges - the Chelsea lounge at JFK is very nice, though I think FFD was better. Soho is decent - a bit nicer than the Flagship Lounge was. As far as PHL, I’ll be happy if the FL is on par with the other FLs in MIA, DFW, LAX, and ORD. It would be great if AA & BA combined their lounges in PHL into one very nice FL and let the Centurion expand into the BA lounge. As far as AA pressing BA to improve its lounge - never going to happen. BA almost never allows AA OWE in when flying on AA, though OneWorld says that is the policy…

  17. John Guest

    I heard Emirates coming to Philadelphia on November

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      Really? What is the source?

  18. Ali Ochoa Guest

    For those of you familiar with Doha airport, will 2 hours be enough time to transfer from QR to AA for flight to PHL? I am so upset with this news as I had booked Qsuites flights to Bali next year as a 70th birthday present to myself. QR are asking me if the new flight times are acceptable, but I’m not sure whether to accept or not owing to only 2 hours to transfer at Doha. Any advice?

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      Ali - you should have no problem transferring in 2 hours. I hope the DOH-Bali portion is still QSuites?

    2. TravelCat2 Diamond

      I once had a scheduled transfer of 1 hour, 25 minutes in DOH. Both flights were business class on QR. My arriving flight was on time. Even after a bathroom stop, I ended up waiting several minutes for boarding to begin for my next flight (which was departing on time).

      I agree with OCTinPHL.

  19. Don in ATL Guest

    Why do the airlines still have anti trust immunity? And how can we get rid of this? Does it take legislation or simply a new DOJ rule?

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      Generally speaking, airlines do NOT have antitrust immunity. AA do QR do not.

    2. OCTinPHL Diamond

      That should be “AA and QR do not.”

    3. Don in ATL Guest

      Here is a list of Antitrust Immunity Alliances. https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-10/Active-ATI-cases-list-2022_Oct_f1.pdf

    4. OCTinPHL Diamond

      @Don - that is 12 total. 12. Like I said, base line is that airlines do not have antitrust immunity. They have to apply for it. So what would you change - never allow it?

    5. Naomi Guest

      I am very hurt by this move I always enjoyed the evening flight it was always full . This the airline I use it’s convenient for me .very sad . New York is too far me .

  20. Abby Guest

    We have been flying this route the last 5 years happily and now it comes to an end!!! What a bummer!!

  21. Ron Adam Guest

    Obviously Qatar and American Airlines are operating in a non-competitive agreement, coordinating their operations for mutual success. These airline agreements are called Pool Agreements and have reduced competition between members of the same Alliance groups. I remember the days of deregulation, and good or bad, we are now way beyond that approach!

  22. Md islam Guest

    My favourite route. Philadelphia- Doha-Dhaka is everything was going well except occasionally long wait at Doha transit.
    Yet this is one of the fun journey to Dhaka from Philadelphia.

  23. Joe Guest

    As someone who routinely flies this route, I am disappointed. Perhaps they can add a CLT-DOH flight.

  24. Rez1 Guest

    Its a win win for Qatar. They get the 3rd flight to JFK, and then they will get PHL back in a few months! Just wait and see....

  25. Jarrerr Guest

    Yep. They just cancelled my PHL-DOH-JRO itinerary on October 29 because of this. They would now allow me to rebook from another point of origin because I was on an award ticket. Very disappointed with this customer service. They may be five star in the air but their pre-flight service is definitely one star.

  26. Lee Guest

    Certainly, it is AA network planning that is driving this change. After stating that AA's focus would be on its domestic routes (save a handful of key international routes) and feeding traffic to its international partners, AA's head of network planning, Brian Znotins, rolls out international routes contrary to those statements. Flight crews are perplexed by on-again/off-again New Zealand, the eye-popping suggestion of Singapore, etc. If Attention Deficit Disorder were a crime . . .

    Certainly, it is AA network planning that is driving this change. After stating that AA's focus would be on its domestic routes (save a handful of key international routes) and feeding traffic to its international partners, AA's head of network planning, Brian Znotins, rolls out international routes contrary to those statements. Flight crews are perplexed by on-again/off-again New Zealand, the eye-popping suggestion of Singapore, etc. If Attention Deficit Disorder were a crime . . .

  27. Vb76 Guest

    I'm kinda surprised that QR didn't just keep the PHL flight while still getting the 3rd JFK flight.

    The aircraft utilization for AA is probably terrible on this flight and I'm pretty sure that QR has enough widebodies to keep PHL

  28. Scott Moyer Guest

    I thought QR would stay on the PHL-DOH route and probably drive AA off the route! I didn't think QR was afraid of AA. In the schedule, QR was downgauging to an A359 from the B773.

  29. Jake Guest

    So - if I was booked DOH-PHL in business using AA miles do they have to reroute me or am I out of luck?

    1. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      Well, you very likely wouldn't have been in a Q-suite anyways. About 80% of the complaints I read about this QR route is there being older planes, 6 seats across, and no Q-suites. I would assume QR will attempt to re-route you.

    2. Sarah B. Guest

      Depends on what the partner airline will do for you and what they can find. American can probably rebook on their new route.

      Personally, I’m in a HUCA loop. My November flights were cancelled. I booked via BA. BA first said they can only offer a refund. The next rep later could only find economy on my outbound and nothing without two stops on my return. I’m hoping another call will yield different results, but I’m not holding my breath.

    3. Ed Guest

      PHL - Doha has Q-Suites. I used the service (family of 4 in a pod configuration) in late July 23.
      I will miss Qatar Airways leaving PHL… I wish Emirates starts PHL-DXB

    4. shellyphl Guest

      I had to HACU once but got rerouted on the AA flight. If you get an experienced agent they'll open the award space no question.

    5. Kathy Guest

      I was booked PHL to DOH on miles in business and today they just rebooked me in business on AA.

  30. Ole Guest

    They’ll fly 3 times a day from JFK but won’t add a DTW to DOH flight even though, MI has largest middle eastern population in the US, not to mention the Indian and Pakistani traffic that they’ll get. There is enough traffic to sustain a daily flight, but at the very least twice/thrice a week.

    1. Fed UP Guest

      they want top paying customers out of NY, not low paying leisure customers out of DTW

    2. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      Businesses care about the expendable money of a customer. Not their ethnicity.

  31. Siva Vayali Guest

    AA shifting its DOH flight to PHL makes sense. So does QR moving the service to JFK, making it three times a day to compete with the likes of Emirates! No matter how good a connecting hub PHL is, it can never sustain two daily frequencies. There is not much O&D traffic to justify two flights. Also, I am not sure if Ben and the readers have noticed this: QR runs two daily flights from...

    AA shifting its DOH flight to PHL makes sense. So does QR moving the service to JFK, making it three times a day to compete with the likes of Emirates! No matter how good a connecting hub PHL is, it can never sustain two daily frequencies. There is not much O&D traffic to justify two flights. Also, I am not sure if Ben and the readers have noticed this: QR runs two daily flights from IAD, just south of PHL! And IAD is not even a One World hub. This shows that there is a strong O&D demand from IAD and of course JFK can take an additional flight too. So, why bother PHL? That is the rationale behind QR's decision!

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      JFK is easier to get to than IAD from PHL.

    2. Evan Guest

      No one is driving from anywhere in the Philadelphia region to Dulles to catch a flight to Doha. JFK is much closer.

    3. Siva Vayali Guest

      What I meant in my comment was that PHL cannot support two daily flights to DOH, no matter how good a connecting hub it can turn out to be! You need strong O&D traffic to support two flights. I agree no one would travel from PHL to IAD!

  32. tcdtcd Guest

    Poor Philly. Once again the ugly stepsister (City and airport)!

    1. OCTinPHL Diamond

      "No one likes us and we don't care."

    2. OCTinPHL Diamond

      Love the Den! Easy to get to from London Bridge, great sight lines…. Just don’t wear opposing colors!

    3. PHLFlyer67 New Member

      I don’t care that no one likes us, but I do wish we had nice things like they do at virtually every airport in all the major cities in the US. Can we just get the flagship lounge to finally open? That would be a huge step up.

    4. Md Islam Guest

      Then Come and fight with Phily Eagle the King in the sky!

  33. MrChu Guest

    Hi Lucky. I had a trip booked with AA miles bom-doh-phl for Feb 2 2024. I did not receive any notification and the trip is gone from both my AA and QR websites. The only way I'm able to look it up is with my AA ticket number and the AA website is only giving me an option to cancel and reinstate my miles.

    Am I totally out of luck and AA won't try to accomodate me on their flight, Should I call them.

    Thanks

    1. Jarrett Guest

      Same with me. I booked directly with QR using miles and they will not allow me to rebook from another origin city because it is an award ticket. Only offered to cancel itinerary and refund points.

    2. Linda J Guest

      I had booked JFK-DOH-BKK for December using miles. I did not want to lose my business class on Qatar from DOH to BKK. I called AA Exec Plat number and was able to change the JFK-DOH business class leg to MDT-PHL-DOH without impact on the DOH-BKK leg. If I had reinstated the miles, I would have lost the business class on Qatar but saved about 100,000 miles. I am very happy losing the miles, keeping...

      I had booked JFK-DOH-BKK for December using miles. I did not want to lose my business class on Qatar from DOH to BKK. I called AA Exec Plat number and was able to change the JFK-DOH business class leg to MDT-PHL-DOH without impact on the DOH-BKK leg. If I had reinstated the miles, I would have lost the business class on Qatar but saved about 100,000 miles. I am very happy losing the miles, keeping the business seats on Qatar, and being able to fly from my home base, which is MDT (a 14 minute flight to PHL). AA never notified me of the cancelation of the JFK to DOH flight - just removed it from my itinerary. If I had not read about it here, I would not have known to take action. By the time AA got around to telling me, who knows if I would have been able to keep business class for PHL to DOH, as there are fewer business class seats and a number of them were already taken. So be pro-active and call.

  34. Tim Dunn Diamond

    of course AA and QR execs didn't meet in a bathroom to work out the swapping of a JFK for PHL flight to DOH.

    Given their success with the NEA, just wait til the DOJ hears about this.

    1. Extraordinary1 Member

      Tim, they don't need to communicate to make a decision like this, it's only logical.

    2. ConcordeBoy Diamond

      This is hardly novel. It's not like the switch happened with metal ready to operate overnight.

      Besides, we saw AA and QF do this @LAX long before their J/V was approved on both sides.

  35. lavanderialarry Guest

    Hardly surprising with AA moving its flight from JFK to PHL. The market can't sustain 2 x daily service.

  36. MH Hossain Guest

    Yup, I got email that my flight is cancelled Philadelphia to Doha. It’s disappointing.

    1. Tara Guest

      Did you book directly with Qatar? And did they offer to reroute you? I had phl-doh qsuites booked with AA miles and haven’t received notification from anyone yet. I’m wondering if Qatar is attempting to rebook people at all or just canceling tickets outright.

  37. Jub Guest

    This isnt all bad for PHL fliers.

    Probably going against the mass view but having lost month flown both AA and Qatar on the JFK-DOH-JFK route AA exceeded my expectations but Qatar failed to match my expectations.

    Accepting I set my expectations lower for the AA flight the food and service offered was better than I expected and sleep comfort on AA beat Qatar Qsuite probably due to the superior bedding offered by AA.

    Qatar...

    This isnt all bad for PHL fliers.

    Probably going against the mass view but having lost month flown both AA and Qatar on the JFK-DOH-JFK route AA exceeded my expectations but Qatar failed to match my expectations.

    Accepting I set my expectations lower for the AA flight the food and service offered was better than I expected and sleep comfort on AA beat Qatar Qsuite probably due to the superior bedding offered by AA.

    Qatar overall edged it but the gap was smaller than I expected. The privacy Qsuite offers is nice but the seat comfort I don't find great and Qatars offering in terms of pillow and blanket looks plush but is poor in terms of substance. IMO.

  38. Fahad Al Kuwari Guest

    The airport at Philadelphia is worse than Johannesburg. The staff behavior is appalling and the place is absolutely filthy. Delays and operational problems whether it's winter or summer they are completely inept at PHL. I hope this is not how all the USA is going to be soon but I'm afraid so. I worked for QR for many years and the CEO is surely glad to be gone. Let AA fly in that awful place.

    1. Anthony Guest

      As a PHL resident I do agree the staff can be rude and the airport itself is filthy for the most part but trust me that applies to a majority of metropolis airports in the USA. As for delays and operational issues that just a common issue for majority of airports in the Northeast including Boston, New York, ect so PHL is no different.

    2. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      You right, in the Midwest and NE. The South and Southwest has MUCH better airports and cleanliness. The staff can still be "meh" though. No overtly rude and nosey like up there though. For some reason at JFK the TSA likes to fondle the jewelry I'm wearing and call over their co-workers to make a big deal about what I'm wearing. VERY unprofessional, rude, and unsafe (for me after I walk away).

    3. PHLFlyer67 New Member

      I hate to say this, but as a lifelong Philadelphia resident who flies to the Middle East and Asia you are 100% right. It’s not only that we’re a third world airport compared to third world countries; we have a third world airport compared to airports in most major US cities. Every time I go, it just feels like more and more of a joke. The place always seems dead. Even the nicest terminals (A...

      I hate to say this, but as a lifelong Philadelphia resident who flies to the Middle East and Asia you are 100% right. It’s not only that we’re a third world airport compared to third world countries; we have a third world airport compared to airports in most major US cities. Every time I go, it just feels like more and more of a joke. The place always seems dead. Even the nicest terminals (A West and F) seem third rate compared to say terminal 5 at JFK or E at Boston. We are the 7th largest population center in the country, and for all intents and purposes have just as many people as any metro area outside of NYC/LA/Chicago. Why then, does it seem like, we have the by far the WORST airport in terms of cleanliness, modernity of the terminals, international destinations offered (no direct service to Asia), quality lounges, etc, out of all the major MSAs in the US? Can someone explain it?

  39. wpr8e Guest

    Regarding other canceled QR flights to the US. I'm pretty sure QR flew EWR-HAM-DOH with A330s at one point.

    1. shoeguy Guest

      They flew EWR-GVA-DOH.

    2. Wpr8e Guest

      You’re right. HAM was Emirates

    3. shoeguy Guest

      Yes, and EK flew JFK-HAM-DXB, not from EWR, I believe.

  40. Planeswapneeded Guest

    Where are those QSuites planes going to get reallocated? Is this good news for other US routes that have been stuck with old configs as of late?

  41. Syed Guest

    Disappointed.
    Was good to have qatar airways flying out of Philly. Bad idea to terminate this service.

    1. ConcordeBoy Diamond

      LOL, why's it a "bad idea" for QR to leave a place almost entirely reliant on connections (that now has a new competitor), versus a gateway with significant origin traffic (while retaining feed)?

  42. T- Guest

    Thanks for the information Ben. I don’t travel with AA a lot but Qatar Airways is such a great way to go. This service will be missed for those who fly out of Philadelphia.

  43. Elizabeth Guest

    If they cancel flights why did they issued tkt from Philadelphia to kochi for 2024.ehat about that people who took tkt

    1. Sarah B. Guest

      Unfortunately, there’s a whole bunch of people affected. 2 round trip tickets PHL-DOH-DXB for November cancelled for me.

  44. Paralex Guest

    Zero surprise. PHL can't sustain 2x to DOH, even with it's massive AA hub.

  45. John Guest

    Horrible. American is a far cry from Qatar Air and time to go to Newark or JFK again.

    1. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      LOL, QR was RARELY flying it's best planes put of here. 6 across in J. So silly. AA planes will most likely be an upgrade in this scenario.

    2. Joe Guest

      No kidding, on 6/8 of my last flights from PHL-DOH I was switched from QSuites to the old 6 across seats. I love the room of those seats but they're just so old.

    3. Gregg Guest

      Planes maybe but not the service. That's a huge downgrade and all I care about.

  46. SR Guest

    Not very confident that AA can make PHL - DOH work. There are not that many AA loyalists that want to fly to DOH through PHL. QR was a great option from phl to fly to india, there are not many airlines at PHL that offer that. In fact, QR changed their PHL- DOH departure time few years ago for better connections to india.

    AA should move their JFK - DEL flight to PHL and start PHL-BOM. Indians are big fans of non stop flights to india these days.

    1. Evan Guest

      You've got to admire all the breezy armchair second-guessing of an entire team of people at AA who analyze network operations.

      AA knows exactly how many customers they are feeding to QR every day from ex-JFK cities, and they have figured out what percentage of that traffic they can hope to capture for themselves via PHL.

      As for nonstop flights to India, I think AA has figured out it can maximize aircraft utilization...

      You've got to admire all the breezy armchair second-guessing of an entire team of people at AA who analyze network operations.

      AA knows exactly how many customers they are feeding to QR every day from ex-JFK cities, and they have figured out what percentage of that traffic they can hope to capture for themselves via PHL.

      As for nonstop flights to India, I think AA has figured out it can maximize aircraft utilization and revenue by handing off passengers to QR in DOH and turning around. There may be demand for nonstop routes to India, but incremental extra revenue from running a 787 all the way to BOM or DEL instead of DOH...doubt it.

  47. Luke Guest

    I'll bet either Emirates or Turkish will announce a Philadelphia service within a year, thereby eventually killing off AA's PHL-DOH service!

    1. Nik Guest

      Don't think this would happen. However, would love to see Turkish bring in some affordable Star Alliance (given Lufthansa is always pricey) love to the city.

    2. ConcordeBoy Diamond

      What interest would Emirates have?

      PHL's international traffic is extremely European centric, hence its comparative dearth of Latin American service and utter lack of east Asian service.

      Heck, pre-2020, cities like Orlando, Austin, Nashville, and even Indianapolis had more east Asian PDEW than Philly does!

      Turkish backtracks a fair degree of traffic to Europe, so there's that.

      But with Africa, the Middle East, and south Asia being Emirates' primary markets, and no hub partner...

      What interest would Emirates have?

      PHL's international traffic is extremely European centric, hence its comparative dearth of Latin American service and utter lack of east Asian service.

      Heck, pre-2020, cities like Orlando, Austin, Nashville, and even Indianapolis had more east Asian PDEW than Philly does!

      Turkish backtracks a fair degree of traffic to Europe, so there's that.

      But with Africa, the Middle East, and south Asia being Emirates' primary markets, and no hub partner in PHL, why would they have the slightest incentive to fly there?

  48. sullyofdoha Guest

    No collusion to see here. Move along!!!

    1. TravelCat2 Diamond

      I'm all in favor of this but QR would likely charge significantly more for CLT-DOH than CLT-(any connecting city)-DOH.

    2. Alec-14 Gold

      I don’t think it would be about local DOH traffic. Only other international carriers at CLT are BA and LH so this would open up a ton of one stop travel to India/Asia/Africa not currently possible. But question is if there’s enough demand from there to CLT. But very least opens up more connection opportunities across US

    3. TravelCat2 Diamond

      I agree that most flights to DOH will connect onwards.

      BTW, BA hasn't operated at CLT for over a decade. Fortunately, LH stuck around when US exited the Star Alliance after the AA merger.

    4. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      CLT is a domestic hub with a few Western European jaunts. That's it. The flyers put of CLT overestimate their importance to the network all the time. DFW & MIA are the true long haul hubs from AA and to a lesser degree PHL. CLT, LGA, JFK, & PHX will never have more than a handful of cruise ship ports and other major connecting hubs. That's all folks!

    5. TravelCat2 Diamond

      QR has been adding flights, or getting OW partners to add flights, between OW hubs and Doha. CLT has over 500 AA fights daily; it's a hub. It certainly has the potential to provide sufficient connecting traffic for a DOH flight.

      AA's three daily CLT-LHR flights indicate that there's a fair amount of long-haul connecting underway.

      And, just so other readers don't get confused: don't expect to find your cruise ship waiting for you,...

      QR has been adding flights, or getting OW partners to add flights, between OW hubs and Doha. CLT has over 500 AA fights daily; it's a hub. It certainly has the potential to provide sufficient connecting traffic for a DOH flight.

      AA's three daily CLT-LHR flights indicate that there's a fair amount of long-haul connecting underway.

      And, just so other readers don't get confused: don't expect to find your cruise ship waiting for you, or find many OW connections, on your next nonstop from CLT to, say, FRA or CDG.

    6. BenjaminGuttery Diamond

      Yeah, so what of CLT has 500 flights. DFW has 900+. What I said stands. CLT is a DOMESTIC "Hub" with A FEW Western European destinations so that travelers can make it to places in 2-3 stops total. That's it. CLT has very little originating traffic. Y'alls comment(s) are uneducated buffoonery. Wow, you have 3 flights to the biggest airport in the world, cool. Take away all that CONNECTING traffic and you might not even...

      Yeah, so what of CLT has 500 flights. DFW has 900+. What I said stands. CLT is a DOMESTIC "Hub" with A FEW Western European destinations so that travelers can make it to places in 2-3 stops total. That's it. CLT has very little originating traffic. Y'alls comment(s) are uneducated buffoonery. Wow, you have 3 flights to the biggest airport in the world, cool. Take away all that CONNECTING traffic and you might not even have 1. CLT is a pass through. No Flagship Lounge, and a place to shine my shoes, buy a belt at Johnston & Murphy, and use the restroom. Oh, and grab a breakfast biscuit at BoJangles. THAT'S IT.

  49. Scott Guest

    QR doesn't consistently fly Q suites out of PHL (today's flight is Q suite; tomorrow is 6 across configuration). In addition, the fares in J from PHL are consistently 50% more than from JFK. Being based in PHL, I almost always end up driving the 2-3 hours to JFK to get a Q suite at a more reasonable fare. So this announcement doesn't change much for me.

  50. Chesterwilson Guest

    The should reinstate the second ORD frequency...

  51. Daniel from Finland Guest

    Well who could have guessed…

  52. Bob Guest

    not news. Not even mildly interesting. This was clear as soon as AA announced PHL-DOH.

    1. Ben L. Diamond

      Love when people are so uninterested in a topic that they rush to make the first comment about it

    2. Leigh Guest

      I do not understand the sophomoric responses to Bob. He was correct in his evaluation, and correct that anyone with even a mid IQ could see this happening.

    3. ConcordeBoy Diamond

      I do not understand the sophomoric responses to Bob.

      Doesn't take a genius to understand.

      ACTUAL uninterested people don't spend time troll-posting about how uninterested they are. Others are annoyed as a result, thus some react to the troll accordingly.

      Pretty straightforward, really.

    4. Leigh Guest

      You have zero understanding of nuance…or literal versus figurative, in other wording.

      I roll my eyes at your type…of feeble-minded

    5. Gregg Guest

      Very interesting to me - and very depressing. I'll need to take to NYC now....

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

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Ben L. Diamond

Love when people are so uninterested in a topic that they rush to make the first comment about it

9
Shar Guest

Bob the Loser!

5
Shar Guest

AA is trash. Philadelphia gets screwed

3
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