Qatar Airways launched daily flights to Tbilisi, Georgia via Baku, Azerbaijan

Qatar Airways’ 2012 expansion programme is underway after the carrier launched scheduled daily flights to Tbilisi, Georgia via Baku, Azerbaijan.

Qatar Airways chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, led a high-profile delegation on the Baku and Tbilisi inaugural flight QR976.

Guests included Eldar Salimov, ambassador of Azerbaijan to Qatar; Ekaterine Meiering-Mikadze, ambassador of Georgia to Qatar; and Abdul Razzaq Al Abdul Ghani, ambassador of Qatar to Turkey and Georgia.

The delegation was welcomed to Baku by Sheikh Mubarak Fahad Al Thani, ambassador of Qatar to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Addressing guests at the ceremony, Al Baker said Azerbaijan’s developing tourism industry and energy resources were key factors in Qatar Airways’ decision to start operations there.

“We assessed Azerbaijan as a destination with great potential that would create a new air corridor providing wider choices for both leisure and business travellers,” he said.

“Azerbaijan’s rich energy resources offer great business opportunities, and a landscape that provides a good base for family and independent tourism.

“As well as enabling visitors from around the world to visit Baku, we also look forward to providing Azerbaijanis with the opportunity to fly to global destinations on Qatar Airways via our Doha hub.

Flight QR976 continued to its final destination, Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi, where it was welcomed by an arrival ceremony at Tbilisi International Airport.

Addressing guests on arrival in Tbilisi, Al Baker said Georgia was a highly underserved part of Europe, which prompted the airline to consider opening up the route.

“Tbilisi becomes Qatar Airways’ 112th destination worldwide and it gives me great pleasure to celebrate our arrival here.

“We sincerely look forward to growing this route with additional capacity in the future and we look forward to welcoming more destinations into our ever increasing European network,” said Al Baker.

After inaugurating seven new routes across Europe last year, the addition of two cities in South Eastern Europe further diversifies Qatar Airways’ portfolio on the Continent.

Destinations currently served across Europe include Ankara, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Venice, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Madrid.

From Doha, the airline offers excellent onward connections to cities across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, including Dubai, Muscat, Kuwait, Entebbe, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, Delhi, Goa and Melbourne.

Qatar Airways is operating an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration on the Baku and Tbilisi routes, which features 12 seats in Business Class and up to 132 seats in Economy.

Regardless of class of travel, the aircraft offers all passengers seatback TVs to enjoy the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system with a choice of more than 900 audio and video on demand options.

Qatar Airways is considered as offering the World’s Leading Airline Business Class by the World Travel Awards.

Qatar Airways announces launch dates for new routes

Qatar Airways is gearing up for yet another year of massive expansion with the announcement of launch dates for new routes in Africa, Europe and Australia.
The African expansion drive is set to continue with scheduled services starting to the Rwandan capital Kigali on March 21.
Zagreb will boost the airline’s European portfolio further with the launch of flights to the Croatian capital from May 9.
And beginning July 3, Qatar Airways adds Perth as its second route in Australia.
Ahead of the newly-announced launch dates, Qatar Airways is busy preparing for its 2012 route expansion programme which starts on February 1 with new services to the south eastern European cities of Baku and Tbilisi in Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively. Plans are also underway to begin flights to Zanzibar (Tanzania), Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Mombasa (Kenya) and Helsinki (Finland).
At the height of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the airline unveils its second Australian route, to the Western city of Perth. Since launching flights to Australia in December 2009 with direct services to Melbourne, Qatar Airways has been considering additional capacity Down Under and will soon offer Perth.
Last year, Qatar Airways’ expansion focused on Europe with the introduction of seven new routes – Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Stuttgart, Venice, Sofia and Oslo, taking its European capacity to 27 destinations.
The addition of Baku, Tbilisi and Zagreb is a significant move for the airline, probing underserved markets which have limited capacity. All three routes will provide excellent connections to diverse destinations across the airline’s rapidly-growing international network.
Kigali, rich in mining and a key African business centre, becomes the latest stop on Qatar Airways’ 16-strong city African network, which last year saw two destinations added on the Continent – Entebbe and Benghazi.
Operating via Entebbe, the daily Kigali flights provide excellent connections over Qatar Airways’ Doha hub to cities across the Middle East, Europe and Far East.
Flights to Kigali and Zagreb will be operated with an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy.
Following on from a highly successful launch of scheduled flights to Melbourne, Qatar Airways is venturing further into Australia with thrice-weekly non-stop services to Perth. The route will be upgraded to a daily service from December 1.
The Perth route will be operated with the long range version of the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 aircraft featuring 259 seats, configured in two-classes – 42 seats in Business Class that convert into fully horizontal flat beds, and 217 seats in Economy Class.
Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar al-Baker said the airline was expanding on different continents as part of its aggressive growth strategy to open up new routes to key business and leisure destinations.
“We are delighted to be forging ahead with our expansion with today’s announcement of dates for three new routes on three continents,” he said.
“These are exciting times for Qatar Airways as we begin our route expansion programme in just a few days’ time by inaugurating services to two European capital cities.
“In keeping with our highly focused and tailored growth strategy to enter underserved and thriving markets all over the world, the latest additions very much match our plans to open up a host of new destinations.”
Added al-Baker: “I am extremely confident that the wave of new route announcements for 2012 will bring much excitement to our passengers and partners in the new destinations, as well as across our global network.”
Qatar Airways now flies to 110 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a modern fleet of 104 aircraft. By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to serve over 120 destinations worldwide with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft.

Qatar Airways moves Barcelona operations to Terminal 4

Qatar Airways has announced it will move its operations at Madrid Barajas International Airport to Terminal 4 (T4) from today.

The Doha-based carrier’s move from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 will allow passengers access to improved amenities, enhanced baggage facilities, as well as a wider selection of restaurants and retail shopping outlets.

The city of Madrid conveniently connects to T4 by metro, buses and train, and passengers can also take advantage of the ample parking facilities available at Barajas Airport.

Operated by Iberia Airport Services (IBAS), T4 is considered to be one of the world’s most modern and best equipped terminals.

Thanks to the commercial agreement reached with Spanish national carrier Iberia, all Qatar Airways passengers will be able to seamlessly connect to their domestic flights operated from T4.

The terminal move will also see the change to IBAS for Qatar Airways’ ground handling, passenger and ramp handling services.

Qatar Airways check-in counters at Terminal 4 will be 910 to 917.

T4 was designed by world known architects Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers.

The award-winning design (2006 Stirling Prize winner) attempts to use its sweeping visual effects to create a stress-free feeling among passengers prior to their journey.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker (pictured) said that the airline’s services at T4 in Madrid will provide added improvements for travellers, including expanded check-in facilities and enhanced lounge amenities.

“Qatar Airways’ move to Terminal 4 at Madrid’s Barajas International Airport allows the airline to deliver its Five-Star services while operating from one of the world’s most modern terminals.

“In addition, our premium passengers will benefit from a fast track service to quicken security control clearance and will have the opportunity to enjoy the exclusive Five Star services of Iberia’s VIP lounge,” he said.

“Madrid plays an important part in our overall route network and we are pleased to be enhancing our operations here,” added Al Baker.

Qatar Airways introduced its flagship Boeing 777 aircraft on the Doha – Madrid route 12 months ago, featuring 42 seats in Business Class and up to 293 seats in Economy.

The airline currently flies 14-times-a-week from Spain – non-stop daily from both Madrid and Barcelona to its hub in Doha with convenient onward connections to destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Qatar Airways was recently recognised as offering the World’s Leading Airline Business Class by the World Travel Awards.

Qatar Airways expands its network in East Africa

The office of Qatar Airways in Kampala has announced that from early February the airline will fly to two additional destinations, Tbilisi in Georgia and Baku in Azerbaijan. This will help the inflow of Georgian and Azeri tourists to East Africa and increase of trade and investments of which East Africa offers plenty of opportunities. Azerbaijan, rich in oil and gas, is expected to show a particular interest in the exploitation of oil and gas resources in Uganda, to where Qatar Airways now flies daily from Doha, connecting Entebbe to their global network.

The news of added destinations are important to the success of Qatar Airways in Uganda and also in Rwanda, when the scheduled daily flights will extend to Kigali in March. Other Gulf airlines have in recent days made hay over their new destinations in South America and Ireland and the Qatar Airways team in Kampala will be happy to tell the market of similar good news of a growing network, now spanning much of the globe with its legendary 5 star service. A source close to the airline in Kampala said: ‘Qatar Airways will continue to spread the wings to ever new destinations as more aircraft are delivered. QR will be uniquely positioned to fly Ugandans to their destinations with the best service in the skies and bring a lot more business and holiday visitors to the country.’

Qatar Airways to begin add-on flights to Kigali

A usually well-informed source within Uganda’s aviation regulatory system has confirmed that Qatar Airways, since early November coming daily to Entebbe, will commence onward flights between Entebbe and Kigali, come March 21, 2012.

The flights will, on arrival in Entebbe, disembark passengers destined for Uganda before continuing to Kigali, from where then the return journey to Doha via Entebbe will begin. It is understood that Qatar Airways will have full 5th freedom traffic rights between the two destinations, according to the same source, giving the airline a clear competitive advantage over other Gulf aviation rivals, none of which is yet flying to Kigali.

The aircraft used will continue to be an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 in business class and 132 in economy class. The new add-on destination will benefit tourism and trade in Rwanda as "The Land of a Thousand Hills" will be linked to Qatar Airways’ global network, through which passengers can reach the capital Kigali with but two stops enroute, in Doha and in Entebbe.

Qatar Airways will, in early 2012, also commence flights from Doha to Mombasa and Zanzibar, and the addition of Kigali will round up a comprehensive presence with daily flights, and in the case of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, double daily flights between Qatar and East Africa.

Qatar Airways has outlined route expansion plans for 2012

Qatar Airways has outlined route expansion plans for 2012 focused on Australia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, with a raft of new destinations set to join the airline’s rapidly-growing global network.

Highlights include Perth in Western Australia, the Finnish capital Helsinki, Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb, Gassim in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and three East African cities – Zanzibar, Kigali and Mombasa, in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, respectively.

Operating from the airline’s hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, all seven new routes will be launched over the next few months.

They will join previously announced Baku and Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively, which will become part of Qatar Airways’ family of routes from February 1st 2012.

“We are continuing what we started back in 1997 when Qatar Airways was launched with new routes and new aircraft being introduced at an unprecedented rate to further strengthen what is truly a global network airline,” said Qatar Airways chief executive officer, Akbar Al Baker (pictured above).

“Our mission has been to operate to key business and leisure destinations around the world, but also to underserved markets where others dare not venture into.

“We take bold decisions to serve certain markets because we believe it makes strong business sense.”

Qatar Airways was recognised as the Middle East’s Leading Airline Business Class by the World Travel Awards earlier this year.

The carrier will defend the title on home soil during the WTA Grand Final in Doha on January 11th.

Qatar Airways to Launch Seven New Routes in 2012

Qatar Airways’ 2012 route expansion plans focus on Australia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East with a raft of new destinations set to join the airline’s rapidly-growing global network.

Highlights include Perth in Western Australia, the Finnish capital Helsinki, Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb, Gassim in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and three East African cities – Zanzibar, Kigali and Mombasa, in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, respectively.

Operating from the airline’s hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, all seven new routes will be launched over the next few months.

They will join previously announced Baku and Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively, which will become part of Qatar Airways’ family of routes from 1 February 2012.

“We are continuing what we started back in 1997 when Qatar Airways was launched with new routes and new aircraft being introduced at an unprecedented rate to further strengthen what is truly a global network airline,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker. “Our mission has been to operate to key business and leisure destinations around the world, but also to underserved markets where others dare not venture into. We take bold decisions to serve certain markets because we believe it makes strong business sense.”

Qatar Airways to start fifth daily flight to Heathrow

Qatar Airways is to introduce a fifth daily flight between Doha and London Heathrow from the start of the Northern Summer schedules on March 25 next year.

The additional service on the highly popular route takes capacity up from 28 to 35 flights each week. Flight times have been scheduled to offer more convenient connections over its Doha hub to and from the carrier's route network across Asia Pacific.
Flight QR075 departs Doha at 0635 every day, arriving into London Heathrow at 1200 hrs local time.
The return flight QR076 leaves London Heathrow at 1600 hrs, arriving into Doha at 0050 hrs local time the following day.
Qatar Airways' flagship Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft will be deployed on the new service with a capacity of 42 seats in Business Class featuring lie-flat beds, and 217 seats in Economy.
Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker said the additional capacity reflected the growing importance of London to the airline's international operations and would also help meet demand for the Olympics taking place in the British capital next summer.
"This increased capacity will provide greater connectivity for our passengers to and from Heathrow across key business and leisure destinations, including Bali, Bangkok, Delhi, Islamabad, Maldives, Melbourne, and launching summer of next year, Perth."
Commenting on the frequency increase, Qatar Airways Country Manager UK & Ireland Richard Oliver said: "The extra flight is welcome news, appealing to both the business and leisure travel community, giving them greater options to plan their travel arrangements."
Qatar Airways currently operates scheduled flights to 110 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Qatar Airways launches new route to Chongqing in China

Qatar Airways launched a new route to its fourth destination in Mainland China on 28 November. The airline now flies from its Doha (DOH) hub to Chongqing (CKG) in Southwest China – known as the world’s most populous municipality at 29 million inhabitants. The flights, which complement the airline’s services to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are operated three times weekly with A330-200 aircraft. This is the first intercontinental route to Chongqing, which also will gain a connection with Europe in May next year when Finnair launches operations to the city. Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker commented: “Qatar Airways has been closely monitoring the dynamic Chinese market and looking at viable opportunities. Qatar Airways is demonstrating confidence of doing business with partners in China and the opening of Chongqing, particularly being an up-and-coming city, shows our commitment to a vibrant economy.”

Qatar Airways buys 55 Airbus planes after impasse

Booming Gulf carrier Qatar Airways agreed to buy at least 55 Airbus planes Tuesday, just hours after its hard-bargaining boss blasted the European planemaker and said the multibillion-dollar talks were at an impasse.

The deal announced by Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker includes 50 A320neo narrow bodies and five A380 double-decker jumbos with options for more.

Airbus says the package before options is worth $6.4 billion at list prices, but airlines typically negotiate lower prices for large orders. The planemaker left little doubt that was the case with Qatar's order.

"Unfortunately Akbar doesn't pay catalog price," Airbus' chief operating officer, John Leahy, joked after the deal was signed.

He called the agreement, which includes options for Qatar Airways to buy another 30 A320neo planes and three more A380s, "an important, if not the most important" Airbus deal at this week's Dubai Airshow.

As part of the agreement, Qatar Airways will be first in line worldwide for each of the three models in the A320neo series.

The order gave Airbus a trifecta of new deals Tuesday for the A320neo, which has proved to be a hot seller since sales began earlier this year. The plane, due out in 2015, offers new engine options and other features designed to cut noise and use 15 percent less fuel than older models of the widely used A320 series of planes.

Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding — short of a firm order — with U.S. discount carrier Spirit Airlines Inc. for 45 A320neo planes and 30 A320 aircraft.

Airbus' Leahy said that deal is worth $7 billion at list prices with the wingtip configurations that Miramar, Florida-based Spirit requested. He and Spirit President and CEO Ben Baldanza said they hope to firm up the deal by year's end.

Airbus also signed a purchase agreement for 30 A320neo planes with Newport Beach, California-based aircraft leasing company Aviation Capital Group. That deal is worth $2.7 billion at list prices.

Meanwhile, Canada's Bombardier Inc. signed a letter of intent with Turkey's Atlasjet Havacilik A.S. for 10 CS300 jetliners and options for five more. It valued the deal before options at $776 million.

It was Qatar Airways' order, however, that generated the most attention — and drama.

The Doha-based carrier's fleet of 101 aircraft is dominated by Airbus planes, though it also has orders or options for nearly 90 Boeing jets.

The fast-growing airline is increasingly challenging Dubai-based Emirates in the race for long-haul customers using the Gulf as a transit hub. Emirates placed a record $18 billion order for another 50 Boeing 777s shortly after the opening of the Middle East's biggest airshow on Sunday.

Their voracious aircraft appetites and relatively deep pockets give both airlines, along with Abu Dhabi-based rival Etihad Airways, considerable clout in the industry. That allows them to bargain hard on big bulk orders and ensures their concerns are taken seriously in the two major planemakers' boardrooms.

Qatar Airways' Airbus afternoon announcement capped a startling flurry of comments by al-Baker, who earlier in the day said negotiations with the European aircraft maker were stalled after Airbus was forced to abruptly cancel a news conference presumably organized to announce the Qatar deal.

In that earlier session, al-Baker blasted the European manufacturer for "still learning how to make airplanes." He later said he was referring to the A320neo program, but didn't elaborate.

Those comments, made during a news conference to announce a $560 million deal to buy two 777 cargo planes from Airbus' U.S. rival Boeing Co., threw into question the future of the Airbus order, with al-Baker saying he was pessimistic a deal would get done.

Only a few hours later, the deal appeared back on — though al-Baker kept Airbus executives guessing up until the last minute, turning up with his entourage 15 minutes late for the rescheduled news conference.

In the end, Airbus left the deal announcement in the hands of the Qatar Airways boss, just in case.

"Because it might have changed in the last 30 minutes, I'd rather hand it over to Akbar to make the announcement," Airbus' Leahy told a packed room of chuckling journalists.

Qatar Airways launches Benghazi flights

Qatar Airways has launched scheduled flights to the Libyan port city of Benghazi in North Africa.

Operating four-times-a-week from Doha, Libya’s second largest city is a leading economic centre, ideally located on the Mediterranean for trade and export.

Benghazi, together with the Ugandan city of Entebbe, are the airline’s latest African destinations launched within the space of two days taking the number of new routes started by the Doha-based carrier this year to 14.

Benghazi is home to numerous industries, including oil refining, food processing, cement production and fishing, which would benefit from the new flights to and from Doha and Qatar Airways’ connecting points across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Qatar Airways is operating an Airbus A320 aircraft, configured with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy on the route.

Qatar Airways is already well established in Libya, despite having to temporarily suspend flights to Tripoli due to the recent political situation, but hopes to resume services in due course.

Qatar Airways is to launch its last new route of 2011 on November 28th with services from Doha to the Chinese city of Chongqing.