Amsterdam is one of the most important airports in the European aviation market. Despite the Netherlands having a small population, its capital’s airport sees huge volumes of passengers transiting through it. The airport among other things is home to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a key member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Therefore, it becomes quite interesting for airlines of competing alliances, such as Qatar Airways, to try and poach traffic from such a rich market. That seems to be the plan for winter 2024 as the Qatari airline prepares to enhance its existing service to Amsterdam. Here are all the details.
Qatar Airways Brings its Amsterdam Service to Double Daily Frequency
Long story short, more Qatar Airways flights will be coming Amsterdam Schiphol’s way in winter 2024. The Qatari national carrier has announced that it will be upping its current service from a 10x weekly service to a double daily one.
The increase, for now, is only regarding the 2024 winter season. There is no indication for now whether the increase in weekly flights will continue onwards into spring 2025. Officially the new 4 weekly flights will be available from November 12th 2024 to March 29th 2025.
Qatar Airways has 2 flights from Doha to Amsterdam:
- QR273 – Daily flight available 7 days per week.
- QR275 – At the moment available every Monday, Friday, and Sunday
What will happen is that QR275 will also become a daily flight available throughout the week. Therefore, the additional 4 weekly flights will fall into the empty slots of:
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Saturday
There will be a very slight difference between the currently standing service and the new additional flights for the 2024 winter season. It is a very minor timing difference that sets the flights apart on the various days of the week. Here’s how it will work:
On Monday, Friday, and Sunday:
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arriva Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | QR275 | Doha | DOH | 06:10 | Amsterdam | AMS | 11:15 |
| QR276 | Amsterdam | AMS | 12:50 | Doha | DOH | 21:00 |
On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday:
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arriva Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QR275 | Doha | DOH | 07:55 | Amsterdam | AMS | 13:00 |
| QR276 | Amsterdam | AMS | 15:20 | Doha | DOH | 23:30 |
While the other flight on the Doha to Amsterdam route operated by Qatar Airways will fly on this other, similar, schedule:
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arriva Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QR273 | Doha | DOH | 08:15 | Amsterdam | AMS | 13:20 |
| QR274 | Amsterdam | AMS | 15:05 | Doha | DOH | 23:15 |
Why Is Qatar Increasing its Flights for Winter 2024?
Well, there are at least a couple of reasons to increase flights on this route in the winter seasons for Qatar Airways.
First, the airline can intercept the higher demand for air transport in the cold months around the winter holidays. Many Europeans love getting aways from the cold heading to warm destinations in southeast Asia. Among the most appreciated destinations are Bali, Bangkok, and Phuket. Qatar Airways has a strong presence in those leisure markets and offers one of the most convenient transit experiences in the Middle East.
Second reason is that it bothers some direct competitors quite a bit on these profitable routes. Qatar Airways is part of the OneWorld alliance and has invested in the IAG Group. Therefore, having an even stronger presence in Amsterdam can divert passengers from the hometown carrier, and one of SkyTeam’s main airlines, passengers to OneWorld.
QSuites or No QSuites, that is the Dilemma
Travellers might be drawn to Qatar Airways by the more luxurious experience offered aboard. However, let’s put it this way, the Qatari airline isn’t exactly well known for its cabin consistency. What I mean by that is that even though a route is often served by its best product, the QSuites, it isn’t uncommon for aircraft to be swapped even last minute.
Amsterdam is regularly served using the A350-900 on flight QR275, that aircraft comes in two different configurations in business class:
- One featuring 36 QSuites
- The other featuring 36 Collins Aerospace Super Diamond Seats
They are both nice products and its extremely rare for the airline to operate its ageing A330s on these routes. Therefore, you are not assured to get a QSuite ride but at least if you don’t, you’ll get one on the airline’s second-best product.
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