Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Qatar Airways has returned to Birmingham with daily flights

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

This article is sponsored by Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has returned to Birmingham Airport with a new daily service.

The first flight touched down last Thursday, and I was lucky enough to literally be standing on the tarmac as the aircraft pulled on to its stand.

The return of flights from Birmingham is a big deal for both the airline and the airport, which is now back to the full quota of long haul carriers that it had pre-pandemic.

I got to spend time with Gary Kershaw, UK & Ireland Country Manager for Qatar Airways, as well as Andy Street, West Midlands Mayor, Nick Barton, Birmingham Airport Chief Executive and – not announced in advance – Formula 1 legend David Coulthard.

When is Qatar Airways flying from Birmingham?

The service operates daily, but with two different departure times. If passengers are connecting to an onward flight to another of the 160 destinations served by the airline, they can pick the service which provides the optimum waiting time.

  • On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, QR34 will depart Birmingham at 14:45, arriving in Doha at 23:40
  • On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, QR36 will depart Birmingham at 09:00, arriving in Doha at 17:55
  • On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, QR33 will depart Doha at 08:05, arriving in Birmingham at 13:15
  • On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, QR 35 will depart Doha at 02:20, arriving in Birmingham at 07:30

Gary Kershaw, who runs the UK and Irish operation for Qatar Airways, told me that he is hoping to move to two flights per day in the future in order to maximise connection options.

What aircraft is being used?

The flights are operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. This has 254 seats: 22 in Business Class and 232 in Economy Class.

The 787-8 uses a non-suite Business Class seat because the aircraft is too narrow for Qsuite, albeit one that I have flown many times and been perfectly happy with:

In terms of airport lounges, passengers in Business Class (excluding Business Light tickets but including Avios redemptions) can use the Clubrooms lounge. This is, by far, the best lounge in the airport and was where we spent much of our time on Thursday.

Passengers in Economy or on Business Light tickets who hold oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status – which includes British Airways Executive Club Gold and Silver members – can also access the Clubrooms lounge if flying on Qatar Airways.

Why was David Coulthard there?!

David Coulthard was an unexpected guest on the day. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised given that Qatar Airways is now the Global Airline Partner of Formula 1 and Sunday saw the British Grand Prix at nearby Silverstone.

Coulthard won 13 grand prix races during his career and – whilst never world champion – came second in 2001.

Qatar Airways and Qatar Airways Holidays are currently offering exclusive travel packages to the Qatar Grand Prix in October starting from as little as £854 per person for three nights. Paddock Club and other hospitality options are available for those who want to experience the race in style. All packages include complimentary access to the Geneva International Motorshow which will be held in Qatar this year. You can find out more on this F1 section of the Qatar Airways website.

Whilst we haven’t covered it in detail on HfP yet, you now earn Avios and tier points in Qatar Airways Privilege Club when you book with Qatar Airways Holidays.

Remember that you earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points when flying with Qatar Airways

Whilst you can choose to earn Avios and tier points in Qatar Airways Privilege Club from your Qatar Airways flights, for the majority of HfP readers the most relevant benefit is earning Avios and tier points in British Airways Executive Club.

Most long haul routes from the UK on Qatar Airways will earn 560 tier points for a Business Class return flight – almost enough (you are 40 short) for British Airways Executive Club Silver status, as long as you had flown four BA or Iberia-coded flights for cash as well.

You earn 140 tier points each way between the UK to Doha, plus another 140 tier points each way on your connecting flight if it is over 2,000 miles.

Shorter connecting flights under 2000 miles, eg to Dubai, earn 40 tier points each way in Business Class. Birmingham to Dubai on Qatar Airways would earn 140 + 40 + 40 + 140 = 360 British Airways Executive Club tier points.

Earn or spend Avios at Qatar Duty Free during your connection

From earlier this year, you can earn or spend Avios in a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account at Qatar Duty Free, with virtually all outlets in Hamad International Airport taking part.

You can link your British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club accounts by following the instructions here.

Current offers

There are currently some offers exclusively available for Privilege Club members in the UK. These offers are:

  • Up to 12% off UK flights to South Africa, India & Doha
  • Up to 12% network wide discounts for flights departing from Birmingham
  • Up to 12% off Business Class flights on the Qatar Airways network

You can find out more on the Qatar Airways website member page here.

Conclusion

It was good to be back in Birmingham (I’d forgotten how easy it is to reach the airport from London, at just 80 minutes from Euston to Birmingham International) and welcome back Qatar Airways.

The seven weekly flights from Birmingham add to an extensive schedule which includes:

  • 47 weekly flights from Heathrow
  • 7-14 weekly flights from Gatwick
  • 18 weekly flights from Manchester
  • 14 weekly flights from Edinburgh

…. as well as a further 14 weekly flights from Dublin.

You can check pricing and timings from Birmingham on the Qatar Airways website here.

Comments (24)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • trickyuk says:

    Looking at the photos of the queues at Birmingham I would not be impressed queuing outside and not having decent lounge, Qatar need a dedicated lounge.

    • Ironside says:

      BHX do seem to have a genuine and predictable problem with security, at least at peak time.
      I’ve been through twice this year on a Monday morning for an 08:30 flight. My advice: don’t do that! Even FastTrack only takes off about 75% of the hour-long queuing time, in part because so many people do it. Otherwise you might as well just be stood in a static holding pen waiting for a staff member to ask “Who’s on the xx:xx flight?”
      Afternoons, I hear, are better.

      • Rob says:

        Could be fun for the 15 new routes that easyJet is about to launch then!

      • ADS says:

        Part of the annoyance with Birmingham security is that once you get to the end of the main queue, it’s complete luck how long it takes in the next set of queues – it’s not a fair system

    • Aston100 says:

      Does one daily flight justify a dedicated lounge?

      • tony says:

        Probably not. But by that virtue where does the line sit? EK have been 2x but maintain their lounge.

        Interestingly EK premium fares to DXB are around 10% higher from BHX than LHR.

        Maybe enough folk will pay for a premium product???

  • Pogonation says:

    If only they had plans for NCL! I am not a fan of EK at all and generally would rather go to Manchester to use QR.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.