Qatar Airways is ramping up its capacity on flights to Montreal in early 2021. From mid-January, the frequency of flights will begin to increase. By the end of February, Qatar Airways will fly to Montreal daily. The decision ties in with Qatar Airways' recent codeshare agreement with Air Canada. That airline is looking after the Toronto - Doha route while Qatar Airways keeps people moving on the Montreal - Doha route.

“We are delighted to increase our services to Montréal, further enhancing connectivity for our Canadian customers, says Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker in a statement seen by Simple Flying.

“We remain committed to serving our customers in Canada and have worked hard throughout the pandemic to ensure we can operate as many flights as possible."

Qatar Airways to sent a daily Airbus A350-900 to Montreal

By February 25, Qatar Airways will send an Airbus A350-900 to Montreal every day. QR0763 will push back at Doha at 08:20 every morning before arriving in Montreal at 14:10 the same day. Flying time is approximately 13 hours and 50 minutes. Heading back to Doha, the aircraft departs Montreal at 20:30 every evening and lands in Doha at 16:35 the following day. The east-bound journey is quicker, taking just over 12 hours to complete.

Qatar Airways has been flying to Canada since 2011. The airline began flying to Montreal three times a week, later ramping up to four times a week. But the airline never put the capacity into Canada that it put into comparable markets.

The travel crunch in 2020 seems to have shifted that lack of focus, putting Canada back onto the radar in Doha. According to Qatar Airways, they spent much of 2020 liaising with Canada's Government and its various embassies. In addition to Montreal services, Qatar Airways temporarily ran thrice-weekly services to and from Toronto. The airline also put on numerous charter flights to Vancouver. Those charters helped get 44,000 Canadians homes.

Qatar Airways new codeshare agreement with Air Canada has kicked off

Just ten days ago, Qatar Airways' new codeshare deal with Air Canada took flight. In a nice free-kick for Qatar Airways from a Star Alliance member airline, Air Canada's CEO Calin Rovinescu said the following, according to a press release seen by Simple Flying;

"I am delighted to strengthen our relationship with Qatar Airways, one of the world's best airlines."

The codeshare agreement is another dint in the influence of the big airline alliances. Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam have been eroded for years by member airlines making bi-lateral agreements with airlines from competitor alliances. This codeshare agreement is an example of that.

Not that it is a bad thing for either airline or their passengers. Qatar Airways ex Doha service can land in Montreal and feed passengers into Air Canada's domestic and North American network. Air Canada's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner service out of Toronto can feed passengers onto Qatar's network out of Doha. That passenger flow also works in the opposite direction. It opens up a host of one-stop options for passengers on either airline. For the airlines, it helps funnel passengers onto their services.

In contrast to Qatar's daily Montreal service, Air Canada's Doha service will run three times a week and use Boeing 787-9s. Both airlines point out this kind of partnership where they co-operate and run complementary flights helps put the necessary networks and infrastructure in place to capitalize on an inevitable travel rebound.

What are your thoughts about this progress? Let us know what you think in the comment section.