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Tag: QR

  • Qatar PM: “We will continue trying ​to seek de-escalation”

    Reuters:

    Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in a ​Sky News interview aired on Sunday ‌urged all sides involved in the Iran conflict to de-escalate.

    “We will continue talking to the ​Iranians, we will continue trying ​to seek de-escalation,” the prime minister said ⁠in the interview.

    …”For the U.S., we would like to see ​a de-escalation, we would like to ​see … a diplomatic solution that addresses our concerns ‌as ⁠well as their concerns,” he added.

    “We need to ensure, first, that Iran should stop all attacks against Gulf countries ​and other ​countries ⁠that they are attacking and are not party of this ​war,” he said.

  • Fiji becomes the second oneworld airline to offer on-demand dining

    Tim Chan, writing for The Hollywood Reporter:

    Fiji Airways first rolled out their on-demand dining program over the summer on routes to and from Dallas/Fort-Worth and Los Angeles to Nadi International Airport. Routes from San Francisco and Vancouver followed in November. Now, Fiji Airways has announced that on-demand dining will be implemented across their full network this year by April.

    Business class only. Fiji will also continue to offer their popular Supper Sets, where the appetizer, main, and dessert are all on one tray.

    Qatar is the only other oneworld airline to offer full meals at any time on board. Outside the alliance, only three other airlines are experimenting with this (Emirates, Etihad, and SWISS).

  • Qatar Privilege Club members get a chance at winning a rare Toblerone

    Did you know there is such a thing as a Toblerone Pink Crush?

    The limited-edition Toblerone Pink Crush reimagines the brand’s iconic recipe with white chocolate blended with honey, almond nougat, and tangy berries to create a distinctive pink color infused with a vibrant and berry essence. Only 6,000 individually numbered bars have been crafted, with a limited number of bars released per day, making each one a rare collectible..

    If you like the sound of that and you’re a Qatar Privilege Club member, head to the duty free at Hamad. Qatar is giving away scratch cards to win one until the end of the month.

    (A more convenient gift than the giant Toblerones at every other duty free store.)

  • oneworld in 2026

    (If you’re new here, welcome. Spheres is where I post news and commentary about flying with oneworld and whatever goes along with that. You can also get these posts in a free newsletter. One email per week.)

    Here are the routes, planes, services, and other changes that caught my eye for 2026.

    oneworld

    Alaska

    American

    British

    Cathay

    Fiji

    Finnair

    Iberia

    JAL

    Malaysia

    Oman

    • New routes from Muscat to Singapore, Copenhagen (via Baghdad), and Taif
    • Retiring the B737-800 and 900-ER

    Qantas

    • New routes between the Gold Coast to Auckland; Sydney to Samoa (via Auckland), and Port Moresby
    • New lounges: refurbished Business lounge in Los Angeles,4 new lounge in Hobart, and refurbished regional lounges
    • Free wifi on international routes flown by the A330, B787, and A380
    • Project Sunrise test flights

    Qatar

    Royal Air Maroc

    Royal Jordanian

    SriLankan

    —

    1. If there is a new member airline from India, it will be IndiGo. The only other major airline, Air India, is a Star Alliance member. IndiGo partnered with four SkyTeam members in June, but it also has ties with American, British, JAL, Qantas, and Qatar. ↩︎
    2. Alaska and American are following the same playbook for wifi: it’s free because a cellular network is sponsoring it, and you’ll only get it if you’re a member of the airline’s loyalty program. I hope they’ll spare members of each other’s programs or non-US oneworld airlines from having to sign up for an account that will never get used. ↩︎
    3. Ditto. ↩︎
    4. The concept photo suggests that the iconic Eames Lounge Chairs aren’t coming along for the ride. ↩︎

  • Monocle: How New York airports are making US air travel great again

    Henry Rees-Sheridan:

    At $8bn (€7bn), LaGuardia’s redevelopment was one of the most expensive airport projects in US history. But it is dwarfed in cost and scale by the ongoing redevelopment of JFK, which is focused on two largely independent terminal refurbishments. A new Terminal 1 will cater exclusively to international passengers, while a redeveloped Terminal 6 will serve domestic and international routes.

    …For Barry Yanku of architecture firm Corgan, the project’s lead designer, the challenge is to create a sense of civic grandeur, as Saarinen managed, while meeting the technical requirements of a modern terminal. “This is our front door here in New York,” he says. There is hope that if the JFK project is successful, it will prove the effectiveness of public-private partnerships as a way of funding airports and provide inspiration for other long-maligned American hubs. 

    LGA is still hamstrung by poor ground connectivity, but deserves every award it’s been given. Meanwhile, the new JFK terminals look fantastic. One caveat: Cathay and Qatar travelers with a domestic connection will soon have to change terminals, since those airlines are moving out of T8, while American and the newly-moved-in Alaska are staying put.

  • Qatar is flying to Canberra again

    David Flynn, writing for Executive Traveller:

    Qatar Airways will return to Canberra in December 2025, reconnecting the Australian capital with Doha and beyond as the Gulf airline boosts flights across its global network.

    These daily Canberra flights won’t be direct to Doha – they’ll run via Melbourne, as an extension of the current QR988/QR989 service, with the 18-hour trek being broken up by a 2½ Melbourne stopover in both directions.