Flight Route Planning (1927): Qatar Airways Route Feasibility Study

This report presents a route planning study proposing a new route for Qatar Airways, based on a feasibility analysis of three potential routes (DOH-MEX, DOH-MVD, and DOH-CWL) in anticipation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The study includes an introduction to Qatar Airways, an evaluation of three potential destinations using the WEF Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, and the selection of suitable aircraft types for each route considering factors like maximum range, takeoff weight, and fuel capacity. The report also discusses the frequency of flights per week, a brief audit of cabin classes, and a social and economic status assessment of Qatar and the destination countries. Furthermore, it explores legal requirements for flying each route, including airspace considerations, and outlines suitable service approaches based on the gathered data.

1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
Task
You are required to complete a Route Planning study to propose one new route, based on a feasibility study of 3 proposed routes for an airline. This is
based on the case study of QATAR AIRWAYS and potential routes they may implement in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP.
The task is split into 5 different areas that you will be required to complete on a week-by-week basis throughout the module using a toolkit given to you in
the first week of the module. You will be required to:
o Introduce the airline and the three routes being studied within the report
o Choose an aircraft type for each of the given routes, as well as the service offering that will be provided on board for customers
o Discuss legal requirements for flying each of the routes in the departure country, arrival country and any airspaces flown
o Create a draft marketing plan for the promotion and sale of these three routes
o Choose a route - giving justification as to why this route has been chosen - and investigate how to the performance of the route will be
monitored
Learning Outcomes
1. Explain the process involved in route planning.
2. Investigate the feasibility of new routes for an airline.
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
3. Justify the selected new route for an airline.
Task 1: Introduce the airline and the three routes being studied within the report (5%)
1.1 To help contextualise your report, it is beneficial to research the airline QATAR AIRWAYS and basic information around the airline such as history, hub
location and current route approach [100 words]
QATAR AIRWAYS is a flag carrier of Qatar that is owned by state which operates a hub-and-spoke network and flying to around 150. The global
destinations in which the organisation operates its business operations include Africa, Europe, America, Asia and Oceania from its base at Hamad
international Airport, utilising fleet of more than almost 200 aircraft. The company has employed over 43,000 people. Since October 2013 the
organisation is a member of Oneworld alliance. The respective company was founded in the year 1993 on November 22 (Zhou and et. al., 2018).
Amman was among the first airlines which served in May 1994. In the late 1996, the services were suspended from Istanbul, Tunis, Madras and Athens.
On the other hand, in January and September in the year 1997, Muscat as well as Calcutta were eliminated from the route network. In the beginning, the
organisation took delivery of two second-hand 231 seater Airbus A300-600R. The organisation is selecting present route methods which includes a
resilient international brand by choosing highly publicized sponsorship and events opportunities(Kügler and Holzapfel, 2018).
1.2 Using the WEF Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, complete the following table to give the scores and rankings of the different countries
that Qatar Airways could fly to as a result of this study
Mexico (Mexico City) Uruguay (Montevideo) United Kingdom (Cardiff)
Prioritization of Travel & Tourism 10 8 10
Air transport infrastructure 8 9 10
Tourist service infrastructure 7 8 9
International Openness 9 9 9
1.3 Using the following world map, locate the three potential destinations that Qatar Airways could fly to as a result of the report:
1.) Lusaka,Zambia
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
2.) San Francisco in United States
3.) Khartoum, Sudanudan
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Task 2: Choose an aircraft type for each of the given routes, as well as the service offering that will be provided on board for customers (30%)
2.1 Firstly, we need to make the decision as to which aircraft type is the most suitable within Qatar Airways’ fleet to operate the three proposed routes.
Using the manufacturers websites, fill out the following details regarding each of Qatar’s Long Haul fleet.
Airbus A330-300 Airbus A350-900 Airbus A350-1000 Boeing 777-300 Boeing 787-8 Boeing 787-9
Maximum Range 11576 km 16,000 km/ 8,1000
nautical miles.
18,100 km 251,290 kg 7,305 nmi (13,530
km)
14,140 km (7,635
nmi)
Max. take-off
weight
254.00 tonnes 350.00 tonnes 400 tonnes 774600 pounds 227,930 Kg
(502,500 lb)
264,011 kg
Max. ZFW 165.00 tonnes 175.50 tonnes 225 tonnes 273.682 Kg 171,000 kg 191, 000 kg
Max. fuel capacity 156 069 litres 164000 litres 179000 litres 181175 35328 15,100 km
No. in Qatar fleet 9 24 19 58 40 8
2.2 Now using FlightRadar24 or SkyVector, fill out the following details regarding the three potential airports we may fly to as a result of this report
Mexico (MEX/MMMX) Montevideo (MVD/SUMU) Cardiff (CWL/EGFF)
Elevation 1273 175.0 feet MSL 207
Runway Lengths 144° 324° 119°
Distance from DOH/OTHH 2,412 km 13,121 km 6,862.1 km or 70 hour
Flight time from DOH/OTHH 25 hours 30 minutes 24 hours 22 minutes 8 hours 25 minutes
Significant features nearby plateaus, mountains, and
coastal lowlands
littorals of the Río de la Plata
and the Río Uruguay are
somewhat broader and merge
more gradually into the hilly
interior.
City's Victorian Arcades,
Cardiff Bay, Wales
Millennium Centre,
National Museum
Cardiff
2.3 Based on the above data, decide on an aircraft type for each route and discuss why you have chosen each of these routes [300 words].
The aircraft is facilitating various kinds of facilities to its potential customers that could assist to create performance of business. There are distinctive
types of aircraft Airbus A330-900, Airbus A350-900, Airbus A350-1000, Boeing 777-300, Boeing 787-8 and Boeing 787-9 that are started by Airline sector
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
for the aim of giving travelling and tourism facilities to its potential consumers. The reason of selecting like aircraft is Crew accessibility, drastic
modification in booking that includes organising properly, increasing range to fly, zero fuel weight and fuel ability that could assist to provide the safe and
secure journey to potential customers (Ozmen Koca, Dogan and Yilmaz, 2018). Whenever individuals decides to went outside and in various nations or
places in minimum time period. The route which is utilised by airline industry in order to reach them should be suitable and little that could assist people
to get facilities and organise higher performance. Airbus A350-1000 possess good ability to fly, providing seats to their consumers and zero take off
weight. The range is around 16,100 km, 319 tonnes is the upper limit to take off weight, 223 tonnes is ZFW that motivates people and make purchasing
decisions. The management of airline industry utilise updated technologies and digital facilities for the aim of forming their consumers happy and
satisfaction that provide support to create organisational probability and productivity (Kan, Okamoto and Lee, 2018).
2.4 Following on from this, how many times per week will you operate this route considering flight time to and from the destinations and the number of
that type of aircraft that Qatar Airways are currently operating [150 words]
The flight possess capability to reach from one place to another in minimum period of time that could assist in attracting large customer base and
maintain high performance. From the above discussion, it could be seen that the airline could operate three times one way, this path where flight time to
reach UK to Mexico takes approximately 25 hours 30 minutes. During second route, from UK to Montevideo the flight would take around three times one
way as it take around one day to reach destination (Majeed and Lee, 2018). Furthermore, the other path from UK to Cardiff takes almost seven times one
ways to reach the specific destination. The people who want to go to their desired destination by choosing best airline facilities. Qatar Airways airline
runs a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Presently, around 234 aircraft are in services and around 159 are order. This understand the requirements of
their guests and facilitates airlines facilities which could assist to maintain higher performance by enhancing customer base (Tan and et. al., 2019).
2.5 It is now time to complete a brief audit on the different cabins that Qatar Airways currently offer on their long haul product, using the Qatar Airways’
website and any other relevant sources.
First Class Business Class Economy Class
Features of the seat
The seats of first class of Qatar are
23 inches wide between armrests
(Ayhan and et. al., 2019).
This provide relaxation in comfort
with reclining seats, facilitates direct
aisle approach or rejuvenate with
exclusive, Bric's amenity bags
The fitting of seats are with
13.3 inches with in-flight
entertainment program along
with 4K resolution for display
(Suteris, Rahman and Ismail,
2018).
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Features in the airport This also provides bag allowance,
lounges and boarding services in the
airport (Yang and et. al., 2018).
Experience nonpareil comfort and
space on broad in their business
class cabin.
Fast charging USB outlets, personal
entertainment devices on board and
good structure.
2.6 Using the Country Navigator Tool, complete research on Qatar and the three potential destination countries to determine their social and economic
status.
Qatar Mexico Uruguay United Kingdom
GDP per Capita 60,584.56 USD 8,250.50 USD 15,456.41 USD 50, 258.65 USD
Attitude to Money Pessimist Optimist Optimist Optimist
Lifestyle & Aspirations Moderate High Moderate High
2.7 Based on the information gathered in section 2.5 and 2.6 as well as information gathered in lectures, discuss which service approach is best suited to
each of these routes and why it is the most appropriate [300 words]
In context to tourism and travel industry, to facilitates better quality of commodities and facilities could be possibilities for company to grow their
business operations and maintain higher performance. Aircraft industry is facilitating types of services in tourism and travelling that attracts large
customer base and organising activities (Yang and et. al., 2018). A service method is an approach of becoming consumer centred and staying
effectively (Zhou and et. al., 2018). This is essential for company to provide the utilisation of advances technologies and innovation that cold assist
to encourage people and enhance large customer base. In case of aircraft company, various types of facilities must be provided to consumer which could
assist in reaching targeted consumers and maintaining effectiveness. The kind of service methods include procedure quality, service delivery, system
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
based and contingency approach (Schopferer and Benders, 2020). The system method is suitable for Mexico route because it assist in developing
better relationships between customers and company. This could help to bring modifications on time if required and improve performance. Service
delivery method is utilised by MVD which determines and defines procedure, resources and interfaces that supports to provide and present airline
facilities to reach consumers. This could assist in managing all activities and functions effectively through understanding demands of people in order to
reach specific destination and improve the performance of business. This is essential for every industries to evaluate market and launching new facilities
that could assist in reaching potential customers, therefore, such method is suitable for choosing path and develop productivity for business.
Furthermore, quality service method is preferable for UK path that is implementing by Qatar for the aim of providing better quality of airlines of facilities
to their consumers and enhancing consumer base. It has been observed that people needs various types of facilities that could assist in providing level of
satisfaction and encouragement to reach potential consumers (Ntakolia, Caceres and Coletsos, 2020).
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
Task 3: Discuss legal requirements for flying each of the routes in the departure country, arrival country and any airspaces flown (15%)
3.1 Using SkyVector (this will be discussed in a Student Based Activity), identify all airspaces that will be overflown in the three potential new routes for
Qatar Airways
DOH-MEX DOH-MVD DOH-CWL
Airspaces Overflown 24 hours
Safety and health regulations,
customers protection for airline
customer, aviation law.
22 hours
National Transportation,
environmental Protection Agency,
Safety Board, CSR (Liu and et. al.,
2019).
7 hours
Nationals Transportation,
environmental Protection Agency,
Safety Board, CSR.
3.2 In order to operate to certain countries, we need to understand the Aviation Law that governs the area – using the relevant aviation authority websites
fill out what you feel are the key headlines of their governing law (This will also be a Student Based Activity).
Mexico Uruguay United Kingdom
Key relevant information from
aviation law in each potential new
route
This could assist in governing
functions of aircraft and organising
aviation facilities (Huang and et.
al., 2019).
This path could assist in making feel
to their potential consumers and
enhancing customer base.
This ensures people that Qatar is
facilitating safe journey along with
new experience to their consumers.
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
3.3 Using the information that you have gathered in Task 3.1 and 3.2, now analyse any potential legal risks there may be in launching the new routes from
DOH [450 words]
It is essential for a airline company to introduce new products and services on timely basis to attract new customers. The customers of airline industry
are preferring to use those services more which are new to the industry and help the to satisfy their needs and wants. It is essential for the company to
focus on the performance of their employees and make sure that they will work to satisfy their customers more(Huang and et. al., 2019). Hence, the
quality of services matters more than quantity of services. It is recommended to Qatar Airlines that they will have quality services which will further help
them to achieve their organisational goal. There are various kinds of risks associated in launching new route and these risks are mentioned below-
Managing the supply chain- This is one of the biggest challenge which is faced by airline industry for selecting a new route. Defining new route by a
airline company require high investment, taking permission from various countries, quality of services and many others which can directly impact upon
operational activities of the company. Hence, managing supply chain in the process of launching new route for the company is time consuming and
require effective decision.
Volatility in the geopolitical and economic environment – Economical, social, political and environmental factor of a nation plays an important role
deciding new route for the airline company (Iranmanesh and et. al., 2019). Hence, it is essential for the company to analyse political factors of the
country which covers in their new route and than make decision whether the selected area should be chosen or not. In selecting new route by Skyvector
from DOH to China is considered as risky due to changing in government legislation, and trade disputes
Competition in domestic and international market- Boeing and Airbus are two main companies in aviation market which focuses to offer different types
of airline services to their customers to satisfy them. It is essential that the airline company which plans to launch a new route must focus on adopting
new technology, well structured airports between their routes and quality services as compared to their competitors which consume lot of investment
and time. This will help them to attract more customers (Razzaq and et. al., 2018). Secondly, the existing competitors can make the strategies to
decline the performance of specific airline by creating various obstacles for them to launch their new route. Thus, it could be risky to select new route
from DOH to international country such as Sweden.
Fluctuation in foreign currency- It is also one of the biggest challenge for airline industry to select a new route for the company. Qatar airlines are
operating internationally and their customers are from different countries using the currency of their own country. Hence, sudden change in currency
rate will be risky for the company.
Hence, from the above information it is evaluated that there are various kinds of risks and challenges for Qatar airlines to launch a new route. From DOH
to various other countries. The biggest risk is high investment, time consuming, change in currency rate, legal permission and many others (Ni and et.
al., 2018).
Task 4: Create a draft marketing plan for the promotion and sale of these three routes (20%)
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
4.1 Before we can put a route on sale, we need to decide how much to sell our tickets for. Using Skyscanner or a price comparison tool of your choice, find
three other airlines that operate this route (this will most likely be with connections) and find out how much they are marketing tickets for on this route.
DOH-MEX DOH-MVD DOH-CWL
Economy Option 1 5368 7716 10058
Economy Option 2 4525 6545 11588
Economy Option 3 4528 5875 16584
Business Option 1 15099 26485 17600
Business Option 2 16582 22095 20500
Business Option 3 20888 22095 20800
First Option 1 26656 36085 21458
First Option 2 24858 35485 25487
First Option 3 21377 30400 30498
4.2 Based on information gathered in Country Navigator as well as your own research, fill out the following table as to who you are going to target
marketing your new routes to. Remember that this is predominantly for the 2022 World Cup.
DOH-MEX DOH-MVD DOH-CWL
Key target market Mexico Montevideo CWL
Main marketing channel Digital marketing Social media and content writing YouTube and Websites
Marketing strapline Fell healthy and good. Make your journey Have a better experience
4.3 In order to attract a new audience to your flights, it is often the case to link up with a partner when starting a new route. Suggest a marketing partner
for each of these new routes and justify a reason as to why you have chosen each of these partners
DOH-MEX DOH-MVD DOH-CWL
Marketing partner and reason why
chosen
The sponsorship was provided by
Google as it provides overall
information that consumer requires
to choose (Chauhan, 2019).
Online website as it helps
consumers in reaching their desired
destination.
Other airline sector that has tied up
to facilitate new paths.
4.4 Using 200 words per route, using the elements from 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 create a marketing plan including tag lines and the pricing of your key cabin in the
route – the beginnings of this will be in a Student Based Activity.
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1927 Flight Route Planning Toolkit
DOH-MEX
Marketing plan is an approach that is implemented by company for the aim of reaching their potential consumers and enhance the performance of firm.
This is essential for every company to understand what are needs of customers and then provide them types of services and commodities. In the path of
DOH-MEX a marketing plan has been developed like:
Executive Summary: This path would assist people to reach their destination and enhance performance.
Situational evaluation: By evaluating the market, management department of airline industry must focus on demographical sections that could assist in
attracting large base of customers (Zhang, Yu and Qu, 2019).
Threat and weaknesses: New government policies and modification in trade regulation that could be threat to provide new path.
Marketing strategies: The company is implementing facilities differentiation strategies that could assist in reaching the customers who requires different
services in airline industrial sector.
Action program: The management is needed to choose correct path by offering good quality of airline facilities which supports to develop performance of
organisation.
Budget: To choose this path overall cost would be $55000 which is categorised into distribution, selling, infrastructure and utilisation of advanced
technologies (Zhang and et. al., 2018) .
Control: This is essential for company to operate its business by evaluating and controlling the activities of business through managing all functions and
activities. This could assist to develop the probability and productivity of company. In context to present route, KPI tool would be utilised by marketing
management that could assist in managing performance.
DOH-MVD
Executive summary: This path is utilised to facilitate new experience and areas to their consumers.
Situational analysis: By evaluating the market, management of airline industry must pay their attention over geographical areas that could assist in
attracting large customer base from various countries and places.
Threats and weakness: Modifications in tax rates, enhancing inflation in nations could become threat for company to keep effective business operations.
Marketing strategy: The company is implementing service effective cost strategies that could assist to motivate individuals to get low price airline
facilities.
Action program: The management is needed to take correct decision by offering good quality cabins and comfortable seats in their airline sector that
supports to create organisational performance.
Budgets: To choose this path the overall cost would be $45000 that is divided into trading, distribution, infrastructure and usage of new
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