Qatar Airways is one of the few international airlines that has been busy adding routes during the pandemic to the United States. Qatar recently announced new service to San Francisco, which begins December 15, 2020. Now, Qatar Airways is announcing new service to Seattle in March 2021. As part of the announcement, Qatar Airways and Alaska Airlines will start codesharing and offer frequent flyer ability to earn and burn miles on each airline, months before Alaska formally joins the OneWorld Alliance.
Qatar Airways Seattle Service
Qatar Airways will begin 4x weekly service to Seattle on March 15, 2021. The 7,411 mile flight will operate with Qatar’s new A350 with the fabulous Qsuite configuration. The plane offers 36 seats in the award-winning Qsuite Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class and take approximately 15.5 hours in each direction.
Seattle Flight Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Doha (DOH) to Seattle (SEA) QR719 departs: 08:00 arrives: 12:20
Seattle (SEA) to Doha (DOH) QR720 departs: 17:05 arrives: 17:15+1
The timing of Qatar’s flight to Seattle arrives early enough to connect to Alaska Airlines destinations throughout the Western United States and Canada, including Hawaii and Alaska. From Doha, Seattle passengers can easily connect throughout Africa, India and the Middle East. Per the Port of Seattle, the new service will provide connections to additional destinations including 13 cities in India and 20 in Africa.
The new service represents Qatar’s 11th destination in the United States. Qatar Airways’ U.S. network will grow to 59 weekly flights. Seattle joins existing U.S. destinations including Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington, D.C. (IAD).
Alaska Airlines and Qatar Airways
Along with the new service, Qatar Airways and Alaska Airlines are announcing a new partnership. The two airlines will offer both a codeshare and frequent flyer reciprocity. Qatar Airways already offers service to Alaska Airlines’ hub in Los Angeles and soon to San Francisco. Alaska Airlines will offer connecting traffic and feed for Qatar Airways across the Western United States for all three Qatar Airways destination.
Starting December 15, 2020, the same day Qatar begins service to San Francisco, Alaska Mileage Plan members can earn miles on Qatar Airways.
Unfortunately, award bookings on Qatar Airways will not begin until March 31, 2021. The same day Alaska joins the Oneworld alliance.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club members can also earn miles on Alaska Airline flights starting on December 15, 2020.
Alaska Air Group Chairman and CEO, Mr. Brad Tilden, said: “We’re thrilled to be joining the oneworld alliance and to begin this new partnership with an outstanding airline like Qatar Airways. As more of us resume international air travel next year, we are excited to offer our guests new nonstop service on Qatar Airways from Seattle to Doha, in addition to service to Doha from our hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco. This partnership opens up tremendous destinations around the world and amazing opportunities for our guests.”
My Thoughts
Qatar Airways new service to Seattle is a fantastic opportunity. As someone who resides in Seattle, I am happy to see that Seattle is continuing international expansion. When Alaska Airlines first announced OneWorld membership, I predicted Qatar Airways would add service to Seattle. The new flight offers great connectivity for Seattle’s tech companies to India and the Middle East. Plus, great award opportunities for myself! I had the opportunity to fly Los Angeles to Zanzibar and back with Qatar Airways in September 2020, and I can say, the Qsuites are a game changer.
Currently, Emirates is the only Middle Eastern carrier to serve the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver to the north, sees new service from Turkish airlines in 2021. An airline sometimes grouped in with the ME3. I hope that Alaska and Emirates partnership will continue despite this new service from Qatar Airways. Years ago, Emirates was flying a 777 twice daily to Seattle. For the last several years, it’s only been daily and even less frequently due to the pandemic.
