The Arabian Gulf: best connections to the US East Coast?

(eTN) – As an American “ex-pat” living in Asia, the need to travel to the United States comes up frequently. The proliferation of airlines that one could take is also varied and includes some of the “world’s best.” Five-star service remains five-star service in Asia, particularly when it comes to the likes of Singapore Airlines or Cathy Pacific.

For the last several years, I was on a quest to find the best airline with the shortest flight from SE Asia to the US East Coast. If money is no object, then Singapore Airlines (SQ) comes out ahead with its nonstop all business class flight from Singapore to New York, Newark Airport.

My problem is two-fold. Firstly, I live in Kuala Lumpur, so there would be a stop in Singapore to connect to the SQ flight, and secondly, the business class fare can be as much as US$9,000 round trip, way out of price range for us mere mortals.

Hence the quest continued to find that great airline with the least amount of stops.

Enter Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines, both of whom have created mega hubs in the Gulf States of Doha and Dubai, respectively. The rationale is incredibly simple, both Doha and Dubai are equal distance from Asia and Europe, and throughout the short history of aviation, have been refueling stops on those routes. Emirates and Dubai have created and successfully marketed themselves as “world central” and for the past few years, have been succeeding in capturing a significant proportion of European and American traffic away from the older legacy carriers based in Europe and the USA.

Qatar Airways entered the market a little later but has successfully marketed themselves as “The World’s Five-Star Airline,” and its hub in Doha has a major advantage over Dubai’s “world central;” its airport is far less congested at peak hours. Runway takeoff waiting time in Dubai can easily exceed half an hour. Doha is much more manageable and also has shorter connecting times.

As Qatar moves closer to 2022, the year they will host the World Cup, Qatar Airways continues to develop apace, with 250 new aircraft on order to be delivered in the next decade. This includes orders for Boeing’s new Dreamliner. With an annual growth rate of 35 percent, the airline’s future looks set to remain positive.

Qatar is also building a new international airport, which should make the already seamless connectivity even better. Speaking of that Asia to USA connection, and most specifically from my base in Kuala Lumpur, Qatar airways has 17 flights a week to Doha, and from there, one can chose 3 USA destinations – Houston, New York, and Washington DC. Connecting times in Doha are minimal, and the efficiency of the airport coupled with its five-star service make it my favorite choice. The seamless connection to the US flights operate five times a week from Kuala Lumpur. The US flights operate on a daily basis from Doha, and most depart between 8:00 and 9:00 am in the morning and arrive in the early afternoon on the same day.

It is worth noting that Qatar Airways’ Akbar Al Baker has been voted onto the Board of Governors of the global aviation industry body, International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Watch out legacy carriers – there is a new aviation world order out there.