Popular Qsuite Business Class fares slashed to Africa, Asia, Australia, India, and the Middle East.
There’s a growing tactical fare trend to celebrate and you’ll love it if you long for Qatar Airways Business Class.
What Are Tactical Fares (TFs)?
Tactical fares (TFs) are unusually low fares that come about for a variety of reasons:
- Holiday TFs: when discount premium fares are offered around holidays to entice more sales when business travelers fly less.
- Departure-Specific TFs: when lower fares between two specific airports are offered to increase sales on that route. For example, we’ve found Newark to Tokyo for $2,000 less than JFK to Tokyo. Not a bad savings for catching a cab and driving less than an hour into New Jersey.
- Destination-Specific TFs: when, for example, “softer” European markets like Copenhagen and Sofia are much cheaper than usual-city-suspects like London or Paris.
- Advance-Purchase TFs: when airlines throw in (seemingly random at times) low fares in advance. Put this one down to airlines crunching big data numbers.
Tactical fare fans, we’ve recently written more about this topic and approach, covering Bangkok, Bologna, India, and Russia.
Let’s Get Tactical
In this case, we’re discussing a different reason airlines offer tactical fares, and that trend is Uncompetitive-Airline TFs. These fares are being slashed by a particular airline on routes where they have lower market share.
In other words, most people wouldn’t normally think of flying them, either because they are a smaller airline, lack a competitive overall schedule (i.e. layover time or total elapsed time), or loyalty program benefits or partnerships. These airlines are trying to enter a new or soft market for them and spur interest by offering the most competitive prices.
This month, we look at Qatar Airways, a provider to the Middle East (and beyond) whose hub is in Doha, Qatar. The airline traditionally competes with Emirates and Etihad for the American business market that travels to the Middle East.
To whet your whistle, here are some recent unusually low Business Class fares found with Qatar Airways: Africa – $2,948; Asia – $2,784; Australia – $3,946; India – $2,452; and Middle East – $2,948
Qsuite: Quintessential Quality
When you snag one of Qatar’s tactical fares, you’ll have the sweet Qsuite to look forward to on many routes. Lots of travelers enjoy the Qsuite’s popular sliding doors and lie-flat seats, and their quad configuration makes meetings or face-to-face family time theoretically possible if you book far enough in advance. My take? I’ve experienced three of these flights and found them pretty satisfying, if overrated. It’s not First Class.
The Qsuite is available from the U.S. on select flights from Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. All fly to Doha, Qatar’s hub. (Qatar does have other U.S. departure cities, but at this point there’s no Qsuite service on these routes: Atlanta, Miami, and Philadelphia.)
Layovers AND TOTAL ELAPSED Time
Like we said, Qatar Airways’ home hub is the city of Doha, and it’s where you’ll connect on your way farther afield. These layovers can be longer, at times, but the most recent fares we’ve seen have super-reasonable layovers. Depending on your route, the total flight time can be higher, but often not. Just something to be aware of.
If you do happen to find a special fare with longer times, know that you can stay at the airport and take advantage of the extraordinary Al Mourjan Business Lounge. Spread over 108,000 square feet, you’ll find facilities galore.
Qatar Calls
Depending on how long your layover is, you could even head out for a half- or full-day trip to explore the city with its striking modern architecture set on Doha Bay. Do some shopping at the exotic Souq Waqif, take a dhow boat ride or escape the skyscrapers and head into the desert by buggy (or camel). If your layover is more than five hours long, sign up for the Doha City Tour offered by Qatar right in the airport and discover the iconic highlights of the city in a few hours.
If you’re looking to extend your adventure, grab a (visa-free) entry and stay for a few days, turning one destination into two for next to no additional cost, as Qatar offers special hotel rates for a stopover in Doha. Details here. If you do stay on in Doha for awhile, here’s a link to Qatar Airways’ suggestion for what to do on a 48-hour stay.
You can make a stop in Doha when traveling to Asia, Australia, Africa and India. Note that the Qsuite operates from Doha to places like Adelaide, Auckland, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Sydney, and many more. Details.
Earn American miles and Elite Credit
American elite status members earn additional bonus miles on base flight miles earned when traveling with Qatar.
Sample Special Business Class Fares
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