Total seats down 1.4%, ASK up 0.4% — the headline numbers mask a rich redistribution. China surging, South Africa building, Caucasus cracking open. Every gain displaces something else: San Francisco cut 42%, Kigali halved, Jeddah trimmed 22%. HIA capacity constraints make every new frequency a hard trade-off.
Routes with the largest Q4 seat increases from DOH. China, Southern Africa, and East Africa dominate — reflecting both post-COVID demand recovery and deliberate strategic reallocation within HIA's slot ceiling.
Teal arcs — biggest seat gains from DOH. Red arcs — biggest reductions. The geographic pattern is clear: east and south growing, North America and some European routes retreating.
Routes absent from Q4 2026 that were operated in Q4 2025, and the single net-new destination. QR had just 1 new destination in Q4 2026 — all other shifts are frequency and gauge changes on existing city pairs.
HIA slot constraints mean QR's entire Q4 2026 network evolution is driven by frequency and gauge changes — not new city pairs. The rebalancing is deep despite the near-zero headline route count change.
Share of total scheduled seats by aircraft type, Q4 2025 vs Q4 2026. The B787-8 is the standout growth platform. A330-300 is accelerating out. A350-1000 losing share despite being the flagship — SFO halving drives much of that.
Qatar's Q4 2026 schedule is not a contraction — it's a redirection. The ASK base is virtually unchanged; where those ASKs go has shifted meaningfully.