Qatar Airways has announced plans for a new route to Seattle, alongside a frequent flyer partnership and codeshare agreement with Alaska Airlines.
The four times weekly service will launch in March 2021, with flight QR719 departing Doha at 0800, arriving into Seattle–Tacoma International airport at 1220, and the return leg QR720 leaving Seattle at 1705 and landing back into Doha at 1715 the following day.
Qatar Airways is a Oneworld member, and ahead of Seattle-based Alaska Airlines joining the alliance on March 31, 2021, the Gulf carrier has announced a new reciprocal frequent flyer partnership beginning on December 15, followed by a codeshare agreement which will take effect next spring.
There are currently no direct, nonstop flights between Seattle and Doha – fellow Gulf carrier Emirates flies between Dubai and Seattle (although this route has yet to resume following Covid-19 suspension).
Qatar Airways is also set to launch flights to San Francisco next week, and this, coupled with the new Seattle route will bring the carrier’s US network to 11 destinations.
Flights to Seattle will be served by the airline’s A350-900 airctraft, fitted with 36 Q Suite business class seats.
Commenting on the news Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, said:
“Qatar Airways is committed to enhancing connectivity within the US market, and the launch of flights to Seattle, our second new US destination since the onset of the pandemic, epitomises this commitment.
“We are excited to welcome Washington State’s largest city as our seventh new destination announced this year, and our eleventh US gateway, surpassing the number of destinations we operated in the US pre-Covid-19. Home to a large tech industry and a portal of innovation, Seattle is a destination that is internationally renowned for business and leisure travel.
“Despite the challenges of 2020, Qatar Airways has remained committed to exploring every opportunity to further enhance the travel experience for our millions of passengers and is proud to secure another important strategic partnership in North America.
In Alaska Airlines, we will have a very strong partner to connect customers from the US West Coast to Doha and beyond via its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, complementing our existing strategic partnerships with American Airlines and Jetblue.
We look forward to further deepening our cooperation with the newest joiner to the Oneworld family and continuing to provide our passengers the reliable, safe and award-winning service that they have come to trust from us.”
