Qatar Airways is set to launch three new routes in the coming months, which will add four destinations to the carrier’s global route network. While cities such as Tokyo Haneda, and Helsinki are returning destinations, the airline is also launching a brand-new triangular route to Caracas, Venezuela, which will be operated via Bogotá, Colombia.

Despite the city tag on the route to South America, it is worth noting that the airline does not appear to have traffic rights for its short flight between Bogotá and Caracas,

Two New South American Destinations

Credit: GCMap

The Qatari flag carrier, Qatar Airways, announced earlier this week that it will be adding two new destinations in South America by launching a triangular service from its hub in Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH). This new service will see the airline’s hub connect with Caracas Airport (CCS) in Venezuela, via Bogotá Airport (BOG) in Colombia. Upon launching this service on July 22, the two cities will join São Paulo, Brazil, which is the airline’s existing gateway in South America.

The carrier is set to operate this route on a twice-weekly basis, with the flights scheduled to operate on Wednesdays and Sundays, with all three legs of the flights operating under the same flight code. The following is the scheduled itinerary:

It is worth noting that the airline is not selling tickets on the BOG – CCS route (at the time of writing), which indicates the carrier does not have fifth-freedom traffic rights. Therefore, the Middle Eastern carrier will not be competing against operators such as Avianca, LATAM Airlines, or Wingo. The airline has already published that it is scheduled to operate this triangular service using Starlink-equipped Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, which also offers the airline’s QSuite business class product.

Resuming Service To Tokyo Haneda

Credit: Shutterstock

Starting July 15, the Qatari operator will be resuming flights to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), which the carrier last served in 2023. Data published by AEROROUTES indicates that the service will initially be operated four times weekly, and it will progress to becoming a daily service from August 1. The airline will operate these flights utilizing a mix of 777-200LRs and its Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

As per the schedule data, Qatar Airways flight QR812 has a scheduled departure of 7:50 AM from DOH and is expected to arrive in HND just past midnight, at 12:05 AM, the following day. The return leg has a scheduled departure time of 1:35 AM from HND, and the flight is expected to arrive back in DOH at 6:45 AM, the same morning. The carrier’s services to Haneda will also complement Qatar Airways’ existing flights to Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT), which sees up to two departures on most days.

With services to HND resuming, the airline can now offer its passengers more connectivity through its oneworld alliance partner Japan Airlines. Since the Japanese carrier operates extensive networks out of both NRT and HND, the airline will be able to offer better regional connectivity, or connectivity beyond Japan, for Qatar Airways passengers.

Returning To Helsinki After Four Years

Credit: Shutterstock

The carrier used to operate direct flights to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, until 2022. Since then, the service has been operated in partnership by fellow oneworld member Finnair. The European carrier operated this service until the end of February, but suspended operations to Doha when the conflict in the Middle East started.

At the time of writing, Finnair’s website does show the service resuming on July 3, which could see both Finnair and Qatar Airways operating flights on this route this cummer. The Qatari carrier will resume four weekly flights starting July 15, which will then increase to become a daily service starting August 1. The two carriers together will operate the following itinerary this Summer:

Rather interestingly, the Finnish capital will also be receiving another Middle Eastern carrier this year, as Dubai-based Emirates has announced its launch of year-round daily service to Helsinki, starting October 1. Dubai was another route to which Finnair operated until earlier this year, and if the services are resumed, the airline will face competition when Emirates launches its operations.