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NEWS: Qatar drop some UK departure points, rumour about Qatar layoffs, Airline capacity for summer 20 & Virgin update

Qatar dropping some UK departure points 

Qatar has revised its schedule for summer and as we reported, will be flying to 80 destinations soon. However, there are some noticeable absences from the UK. Currently, there are no flights scheduled for summer 2020 from Cardiff, Birmingham or Gatwick. However, they are showing these returning for Winter 20/21. In the meantime they have the following planned from the UK for summer 2020:

Doha – Manchester
01JUN20 – 30JUN20 1 daily 787-8
01JUL20 – 31JUL20 11 weekly 787-8
eff 01AUG20 2 daily 787-8

Doha – London Heathrow
01JUN20 – 30JUN20 2 daily A350-1000XWB
eff 01JUL20  3 daily A350-1000XWB

Doha – Edinburgh
01JUN20 – 30JUN20 3 weekly 787-8
01JUL20 – 31JUL20 4 weekly 787-8
eff 01AUG20 5 weekly 787-8

 

Qatar rumours about pilot layoffs

Qatar Airways flies all-female flight from Brussels to Doha

There is an interesting letter from Qatar circulating on the internet to a pilot who has been laid off. People have reacted with outrage about the letter which gives the person 7 days notice of termination and asked for the money for their pilot training back. But as usual, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.

For a start, many airlines that train pilots will ask for a bond – that is a guarantee that the pilot will fly for them for a length of time or repay the costs of the training. In this case, it would seem harsh that they would request the money back for the training if they are making someone redundant. However, according to other sources, the women in question initially trained as a pilot with Qatar before getting married and then never flying again. So whilst Qatar doesn’t have the best record with staff according to many, sometimes there is more than one version of the story. 

 

European airline capacity for summer 2020

One of the most frequently asked questions for travellers is when will we be able to travel again. A lot depends on countries re-opening their borders, but it is interesting to see what airlines themselves have planned. Forbes had an interesting article looking at airline capacity this summer. 

From July onwards, most of the airlines are resuming some sort of schedule from the 5% or less schedules they are currently running. Here is what some of the airlines have planned from July – September 2020.

  • Lufthansa group- around 20% of the usual schedule
  • Air France/KLM – 20%
  • IAG – 45%
  • Ryanair 50%

I would suspect this could change dramatically if the plans for a 14-day quarantine for the UK continue for more than a couple of months. It is also likely that airlines may well adjust to match each others schedules. Ben Smith, Air France/KLM CEO predicts that intra European demand will pick up more quickly than long haul due to the travel restrictions in place. 

By the end of 2020, IAG is forecasting 70% of previous capacity and KLM/Air France at 60%.

 

Virgin Atlantic appoints administration advisors

Virgin Atlantic Airways is due to start briefing 12 potential investors today in an attempt to rescue the airline. Last week they announced job losses of over 3000 employees and leaving Gatwick airport altogether. They also appointed specialist company Alvarez & Marsal to develop contingency plans for administration should it fail to secure financial backing, according to Sky News.

Virgin Atlantic has enough cash to survive the summer but is desperately pursuing a bid to secure about £500 million pounds in government loans. It has already been turned down once because it lacks an investment-grade credit rating. 

There has been a considerable backlash about giving funding to Virgin purely because of Richard Branson’s holdings in the company. I am totally against this thinking. The fact that the majority shareholder does not live in the UK is absolutely nothing to do with whether the UK based company should be given a loan. Not only are thousands of people’s jobs at stake, having more competition from Heathrow can only be a good thing for consumers in the long run. Virgin has also been profitable in the past, albeit not consistently. Finally, we will all be out of pocket potentially if thousands of Virgin miles are wiped out. Richard Branson will carry on living on his Caribbean island wealthy but slightly poorer, but we will all be the worse off for it should Virgin fold. 

Virgin commented

“We are exploring all available options to obtain additional external funding,” a spokeswoman said. “Discussions with a number of stakeholders continue and are constructive, meanwhile the airline remains in a stable position.”

If you are concerned about your Virgin miles, have a read of our article here.

 

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10 comments

  1. Richard Branson is not the major shareholder of Virgin Atlantic
    Delta own 49% and KLM AIr France own 31%
    Virgin Holdings own 20%

    1. The Air France deal did not go through in the end. Virgin Group own 51% still.

  2. Hi Michele. Can you shed some light on the QR situation. Like you I’m ex travel industry just retired- airlines and tour ops. Spoiled by the industry, I only turn left!
    I’m stranded in Oz on a BA Amex Companion ticket in F. BA cancelled SYD SIN again for my dates in June back to LHR but I can be protected via DOH with QR. Here’s the confusion and in light of your post re QR, they are showing the A380 as well as the A350 SYD DOH but no F availability on the A380. Last week they were allowing a booking via the Avios call centre in Warrington to move my reservation to F on the A380 so I said I’d think about our return for a week. Now there’s nothing on Skyscanner or the QR website for June and I’ve enough experience to no they can’t be full in F.
    So, are they or aren’t they opening the A380 or are they showing a “ghost” flight?
    By the way, BA on the LHR SIN service in F on the A380 were just superb- the best they have been. DOC (can’t give my full name as was a Board Director and I might well be critiquing my own brand in future posts so “Doc” is all you’re getting!)

    1. Hi Doc. It looks like they do have the A380 but are not selling first in June on the route. This could be because they don’t think there is demand for it and plan to operate it as business to fill it up. Or that they want to remain flexible on aircraft type as they are not sure about demand. Personally I would take business as there is not that much difference between the two and at least it gets you home!

  3. Hi Michele, do you have any information on Qatar vouchers? I had a very confusing call with a Qatar representative yesterday after finally getting through on the telephone. Although I applied online for the voucher back in March, I have never received an email to confirm the voucher exists. I had become concerned about reports that the voucher could not be used against discount tickets. The representative just kept telling me that I had one year to use it and that if I booked after 1st September I would pay the difference between the voucher value and the cost of the flight. After promising that the voucher would be emailed to me, it didn’t happen. Very frustrating! Any advice gratefully received! Thanks John

    1. It looks like there is a way around the discount flights. Just “hold” them on line. Then call to pay with a voucher. This seems to work. If you want to book something and the voucher has not arrived just call Qatar. If it is the same as BA they can do it if you have your old booking reference. I suspect it is taking a long time to issue vouchers.

  5. Since September am waiting my refund with Qatar am very struggling to to get that refund back they said by starting of December all customers will receive they refund am still waiting as I can see December I’d leaving soon.

    1. Have you tried contacting them to chase it? My last one was around October and took around 4-5 weeks.

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