Weird politics in Qatar = super cheap one-ways with Qatar Airways?

About a week ago, in a rather surprising move, a whole bunch of Arab countries severed ties with Qatar, claiming it destabilizes the region by supporting terrorist groups. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the UAE cut all flights to/from Qatar, which includes major gulf airlines like Etihad and Emirates. The US has just said it's a complicated political situation and hasn't issued any travel warnings or cut off flights (other than the widespread carry-on laptop ban), so I wouldn't worry about traveling to Qatar unless you're from the aforementioned countries.

Now, modern Middle Eastern politics may not be my forte, but cheap flights are,
and I couldn't help but notice some unusually cheap one-way flights between the US and Asia this summer with Qatar Airways, as low as $341 from New York to Bangkok. This is exciting because one-way flights are often the same price as round trip on Qatar and other major airlines, meaning you can't easily fly into Asia and hop around countries, which is a shame because of the super-cheap flights (like, $15 is not unusual) between countries in Southeast Asia. But now you can! Even better, it's not a whole lot more to fly from a non-hub airport. I found a flight from Philadelphia to BKK for $471 one-way, and there may be more. The website is not super helpful, but try searching on google flights or kayak for your ideal flight. It's unclear how extensive this sale is and when it will end, but my guess is that it may coincide with their sale ending the night of June 16, so book soon.


All Qatar Airways flights between the US/Europe and Asia (to my knowledge) stopover in Doha, and Qatar Airways advertises a free visa AND free tour AND free hotel stay for all passengers, and I have found them to have a pretty enjoyable economy-class flight experience, so this is a pretty sweet deal. Check out my review of Qatar Airways here.