Unperturbed by the continuing crisis in the Persian Gulf that grounded most of its planes for weeks on end, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it is finally making good on its promise to become the only airline in the Middle East to fly to Venezuela and non-stop to Colombia.
The Doha-based carrier originally announced its planned expansion into South America in January 2025 with the intention to launch the service just a few months later. That timeline quickly slipped, and the plans seemed to have been put on hold indefinitely.
It appears, however, that with the ousting of the Maduro regime in Venezuela and the lifting of U.S. airspace restrictions on the country, Qatar Airways has not rethought that decision and is not going to make a shot at flying to Caracas and Bogotá.
Set to launch on July 22, the flight will operate as a fifth freedom service from Bogotá to Caracas just two times per week on Wednesdays and Sundays, as follows:
- Flight QR783 will depart Doha Hamad International Airport at 7:30 am and arrive in Bogotá the same day at 4:05 pm.
- Just an hour and a half later, the flight will depart Bogotá at 5:05 pm and fly onto Caracas, where it will arrive the same day at 8:40 pm.
- The plane will then depart Caracas at 10:40 pm and fly non-stop to Doha where it will arrive at 7:55 pm the following day.
The service will be operated on a Boeing 777-200LR, of which Qatar Airways currently operates in two configurations.
The first configuration features 42 QSuite Business Class suites and 230 Economy Class seats, whereas the second configuration features one of the airline’s oldest Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 setup with 42 premium seats in this cabin and 234 Economy Class seats.
The only other airline in the Persian Gulf to serve Bogotá is Emirates, which has been flying to Colombia via a stopover in Miami in both directions since June 2024.
One of the main reasons that Emirates does not serve Bogotá nonstop is that El Dorado International Airport sits at an elevation of 8,360 feet, making it one of the highest-altitude airports in the world.
Such a high altitude presents significant challenges for large widebody aircraft departing the airport, especially on ultra-long-haul flights to the Middle East, in which weight penalties would be incurred
The easiest way around this problem is to add a stopover so that fuel can be topped up for the return journey. Emirates had added its stopover in Miami, whereas Qatar Airways is flying onto Caracas.
While Qatar Airways will likely be able to tap into plenty of demand for its flight to Caracas, the real money maker will be on non-stop tickets to Bogotá.
