Qatar Airways now flying into maputo in southeren africa!

Mozambique (Maputo) — Qatar Airways has announced that from November it will fly into Maputo International Airport three times a week, making it the company's twentieth African destination. The service will be operated by the airlines long-haul Boeing 777 aircraft.
In a press release the company stated, "Mozambique is another example of Qatar Airways' commitment to open up access to destinations that are largely underserved by international airlines and have great market potential".
The airline has recently launched a daily scheduled service from its Doha hub to the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
Next month it will start daily flights to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and in August it will begin flying to Mombasa in Kenya. These are in addition to its current routes to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.They are also considering to start flights to zimbabwe.
According to Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, "at Qatar Airways we have a robust planning team that is always busy evaluating and researching potential markets with the underlying mission to open up new destinations that are highly underserved internationally. Whether in Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East or Americas, we have identified great opportunities where other carriers dare not venture into".
He added, "Mozambique is a great example of a market that we believe has great potential linking up with key feeder markets in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world."
Several other companies fly into Maputo, including the Portuguese airline TAP, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways and Kenya Airways.
However, not all airlines have found the route to be profitable. Over the last twelve months Comair and 1Time have dropped their flights on the Johannesburg - Maputo route due to a mixture of high airport taxes in Johannesburg and aviation authorities refusing to allocate favourable flights.

Qatar Airways opened a premium lounge at London Heathrow

Qatar Airways opened a premium lounge at London Heathrow at the end of Jan-2012, the carrier’s first premium lounge facility outside of its home hub at Doha. Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, said that London Heathrow was the “obvious choice” for the new premium lounge, as the London Heathrow service is one of the carrier’s best performing routes.

The new lounge reinforces London’s position as one of the airline’s most important destinations. Qatar Airways operates four daily services to London Heathrow, offering more than 11,000 seats per week with a mix of A330-200/300, A340-600 and Boeing 777-300ER equipment. The carrier also codeshares with bmi and United Airlines on the Doha-London Heathrow service.

Qatar Airways’ London Heathrow lounge follows, after some time, similar lounges from competitors Etihad Airways and Emirates. Etihad Airways opened a dedicated premium lounge at Heathrow in 2009 while Emirates has operated a dedicated first/business class passenger lounge since 2006.

London Heathrow is the most heavily trafficked destination in Europe for Middle Eastern airlines, beating out other hubs such as Frankfurt, Milan and Paris. It is a particularly strong destination for GCC airlines, with more than 140 weekly frequencies operated by Gulf region carriers alone.

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 showcases Boeing 777 long-haul in Bahrain International Air Show

Qatar Airways has taken part in its first major event of the year, displaying one of its flagship Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft at the Bahrain International Air Show.

Thousands of trade and public visitors attended the three-day event which took place at Sakhir Air Base in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Qatar Airways also had a luxury chalet at the show.

Now in its 15th year of operations, the airline has a modern fleet of 104 aircraft flying to 110 key business and leisure destinations across six continents.

Almost a quarter of Qatar Airways’ fleet is made up of Boeing 777 Long Range (LR) and Extended Range (ER) passenger and cargo aircraft, forming the backbone of its long-haul fleet.

On display in Bahrain was a 259-seat Boeing 777-200 Long Range (LR) aircraft, capable of flying to any ultra long-haul business or leisure destination worldwide non-stop from the airline’s hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar.

Qatar Airways currently operates nine Boeing 777-200LRs, deployed on many long-range routes from Doha, such as Sao Paulo, Houston, Melbourne and Montreal.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: “We were extremely delighted to showcase our flagship Boeing 777 aircraft in Bahrain giving people an opportunity to see the aircraft and its wonderful features first hand during the static display.”

The Boeing 777-200LR on display featured 42 seats in Business Class in a 2–2–2 configuration, which is one less seat per row than competitors and offering far more space than other airlines.

Equipped with seat-back TV screens measuring 17 inches in Business Class, the seats recline to 180 degrees offering fully flat horizontal beds and have a pitch of 78 inches.

Economy Class onboard the Boeing 777-200LR features 217 seats in a 3–3–3 configuration, again more space than competitors with one less seat per row. With a pitch of up to 34 inches, all Economy seats also have individual TV monitors measuring 10.6-inches.

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 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 offers more seats to Kolkata

Less than four months after Qatar Airways introduced daily flights between Kolkata and Doha, it is considering the viability of introducing a bigger aircraft to augment seat capacity by 40%. Apart from seven passenger flights, Qatar Airways also operates two freighters to Kolkata every week.

"With passenger load in excess of 90% on the Kolkata-Doha sector, we are considering replacing the narrow-bodied Airbus A-320 aircraft with wide-bodied A-330 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner," Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said on Wednesday.
Speaking to TOI, the airline official said consistent loads on the sector despite the economic turbulence worldwide had instilled enough confidence for the carrier to consider a capacity hike. "At Qatar, we are very careful while launching new sectors. We usually commence service with narrow bodied aircraft before switching the wide-bodied when the market grows. We don't believe in jeopardizing existing carriers in a market by dumping capacity or slashing fares beyond the promotional period," Baker said.
The Gulf state has 500,000 Indians, including a sizeable community from Bengal working in IT and construction sector. This generates a good market for visiting friends and relatives. Moreover, with the airline offering the shortest connection to Europe via the region, many passengers have opted for it in recent months. Incidentally, one in every four employee in the airline is an Indian.
"At present, we are receiving a new aircraft every 18 days. From next year, the frequency of delivery will increase to 15 days and will peak in 2013 when a new plane will arrive every 12 days. To match the pace, we induct 300 new pilots a year and recruit 250 flight attendants every month," the CEO said.
Sometime mid next year, the company will also go green with the introduction of gas to liquid (GTL) fuel being developed by Qatar Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. The synthetic fuel that does not contain sulphur will be mixed with aviation fuel in equal measure to fly aircraft fitted with Rolls Royce engines. With GE, the other engine manufacturer, yet to ratify the fuel, flights to Kolkata will continue to run on ATF.
On the turbulence in the air over high fuel price, Baker said every time the price of oil went up by $1, Qatar Airways bottom-line took a $40-million hit. "Nearly 42% of the operational cost of a carrier is fuel, up from 35% two years ago," he said. On the proposed foreign direct investment in Indian aviation sector, Baker said the airline was in talks with some airlines but did not elaborate further. The airline had been similarly tightlipped when it acquired 35% stake in Luxembourg-based cargo airline Cargolux.
Providing an alternative in aircraft will not be a problem for the airline as it has ordered a huge number of aircraft to both augment its fleet and replace existing aircraft to keep the average age down to five years.

Qatar Airways to Add Seven New Routes in 2012

Qatar Airways will expand its network in Australia, Europe, Africa and Saudi Arabia. In 2012, the airline will offer flights to Perth, Helsinki, Zagreb, Zanzibar, Kigali, Mombasa and Gassim.

Qatar Airways has announced its 2012 route expansion program that focuses on Australia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. A gamut of new destinations is set to join the airline's international flight network.

The five-star rated airline made this major announcement on Friday at the Dubai Air Show.

In 2012, Qatar Airways will offer flights to 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 (Tanzania), Kigali (Rwanda) and Mombasa (Kenya).

All these seven new routes will operate from the airline's hub in Doha and will be operational over the next few months. Other than these, flights to Baku and Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively will also be operational from February.

Qatar Airways' Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker revealed the new destinations at the Dubai Air Show and spoke about the airline's aggressive expansion policy.

"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,” Al Baker was quoted in the company's press release published last week.

"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.

"Today's announcement shows the confidence Qatar Airways has in such a diverse range of destinations. We look forward to offering even greater choice to the travelling public that they so deserve,” Al Baker added.

New Routes

Perth will be Qatar Airways' second route in Australia. Nearly two years ago, the airline launched its maiden flight to Australia - to Melbourne.

The addition of Helsinki and Zagreb in its European network will boost Qatar's presence in the continent. The carrier has already launched seven routes in Europe this year. After Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo, Helsinki will become the five-star airline's fourth Nordic route.

Qatar Airways will amplify its network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by adding fifth destination in the country, Gassim. Qatar Airways presently serves Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Medina.

As far as the African continent is concerned, the launch of three new routes will strengthen the presence of the airline in the region. While Kenya's Mombasa and Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean are hot holiday destinations, Kigali, Rwanda's capital city, is a prominent commercial hub of the region.

The launch of all these flights on significant international routes will surely lure travellers to book tickets with Qatar Airways, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. Qatar may not be renowned for operating cheap flights but the airline is exceedingly popular as a full-service quality airline with top of the line in-flight services. Moreover, with the increase in the competition, budget travellers will have better chances of lapping up cheap flight tickets on the routes.

In 2011, the airline's aggressive expansion program witnessed launch of flights to 14 destinations - Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Stuttgart (Germany), Aleppo (Syria), Shiraz (Iran), Venice (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Medina (Saudi Arabia), Kolkata (India), Sofia (Bulgaria), Oslo (Norway), Benghazi (Libya) and Entebbe (Uganda).

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.

Qatar Airways joins tight airline market competition

National carrier, Qatar Airways, has announced a further expansion of its international route network with Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia, joining its growing list of countries served direct from the airline’s Doha hub.

This development could tighten competition in the respective markets.

The daily non-stop scheduled flights to Uganda are due to begin on November 2, marking the carrier’s first new route to the African continent since early 2007.

This will be followed by the airline’s expansion into Central Asia where it is expected to introduce daily non-stop flights to Baku then continue onto Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia respectively.

The announcement comes as the Doha-based carrier prepares for a busy few months ahead with the launch of scheduled flights to Shiraz, Venice and Montreal in June; Kolkata (Calcutta) in July; Sofia in September and Oslo in October.
Qatar’s entrance into the country brings the total number airlines to21.

Unveiling the expansion plans in Dubai on may 2, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the new routes demonstrate the airline’s ambitious strategy to continue opening up new routes to popular and underserved markets.
Uganda is fast emerging as a regional trading centre with links to Europe and the Far East, but has limited international air services.

Qatar Airways is set to fill this gap with its huge international network of routes via its Doha base.

The three newest routes will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.

“There is clear demand and huge potential and, as a network global carrier, we shall be able to fulfill the needs of the travelling public from these three countries and for those wanting to travel there from markets we serve around the world,” Mr Al Baker said.

“Qatar Airways already has a successful operation to the Russian capital Moscow. Expanding our presence deeper into Central Asia has been a focus of ours for some time so it is with extreme delight to be able to announce we will soon have new routes to add in this part of the world.”

He said the Airline is proud to reinforce its presence in Africa, four years after its last move thereas it launched flights to Tanzania’s capital city of Dar es Salaam.

Qatar Airways suspends Tripoli flights as uprising spreads

Qatar Airways has suspended scheduled flights to Tripoli as civil unrest continues to engulf the North African state, it said Thursday.
“Due to the political unrest in Libya, Qatar Airways’ flights to and from the Libyan capital Tripoli have been suspended until further notice,” the Doha-based airline said in a statement.
Dubai’s Emirates Airline, Royal Jordanian, British Airways and others suspended flights to the capital city Tripoli with immediate effect on Tuesday.
Emirates, one of the Arab world's largest carriers, also flies to the Libyan city of Benghazi, but has not confirmed whether flights will continue.
Governments around the world have rushed to send planes and ships to evacuate their citizens after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to crush a revolt against his 41-year rule.
Turkey, with 25,000 citizens in Libya, is mounting the biggest evacuation operation in its history, and 21 other governments have asked Ankara for help getting their nationals out, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference.
European Union states are evacuating some 10,000 EU citizens from Libya, a spokesman for the EU executive said during a European Commission news briefing.
The US State Department said a chartered ferry with room for about 600 passengers was due to leave Tripoli for Malta.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and panic as foreigners tried to escape the violence. Italy said estimates that 1,000 people had been killed in the uprising were credible.

Qatar Aairways increasing flights to tanzania and east africa!

Tanzania – Rapidly growing tourism in Tanzania and East Africa, Qatar Airways has increased its flights in the East African region with additional flights across the two capital cities of Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in Tanzania and Kenya, respectively.

As part of the Doha-based airline's growth strategy, Tanzania and Kenya have been marked strategic destinations in Africa with a step to increase its frequency on existing routes to 12 flights per week, which is a strong lever to facilitate growth in the business and tourism sectors in this part of Africa.

Dar es Salaam, on the immaculate beaches on the shores of the Indian Ocean, is currently served daily and has already received an additional four flights a week from January 2, this year. An additional flight will commence from February 14 to make its flight frequency up to 12 weekly services.

On the other hand, the daily Nairobi-Doha flights have increased to 12 flights a week. From January 3, an additional two flights will take capacity up to double daily. The expansion comes after five successful years of operations to Kenya's capital city.

"We have been serving Nairobi since November 2005, and this has proved one of our biggest success stories in Africa, so we are extremely pleased to be offering our passengers even more choice with additional frequency going to double daily," Al Baker added.

Both routes are operated with an A320 aircraft, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 Economy seats.

The African subcontinent is one of Qatar Airways' largest markets by the number of destinations served, and the region alone makes up over ten percent of the airline's international network.

The award-winning, Doha-based airline currently flies to 17 cities across Africa, including Alexandria, Algiers, Cairo, Luxor, Casablanca, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Douala, Seychelles, Tripoli, and Tunis, Zimbabwe, Ghana.

From each of these cities, the airline offers convenient connections via its Doha hub to many points on the airline's network covering Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and North and South America and somewhere code share flights connected.

The airline currently operates a modern fleet of 93 aircraft to 95 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North and South America. The latest addition was the French Mediterranean city of Nice in November last year.