Qatar Airways (Doha) on September 3 further expanded its operations in China with the launch of scheduled flights to Chengdu, the airline’s sixth destination to China.
Flight QR 884 arrived at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to an impressive water salute, following its nonstop journey from the airline’s operational hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar. All passengers and operating crew of the maiden flight received a warm welcome from the airport officials.
The new thrice weekly flights now join Qatar Airways’ five other Chinese gateways – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Chongqing – for a total of 41 flights per week.
Chengdu becomes the 130th destination in the Qatar Airways global network, and now adds to over 15% of the airline’s routes which fly across Asia.
The Chengdu route is operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class configuration of up to 248 seats in Economy and 36 in Business Class. The aircraft features seatback TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system – a choice of more than 900 audio and video on demand options.
Added Al Baker: “2013 has been a fantastic year for Qatar Airways and today we expand to eight new routes since this January. Over the next few years, we will increase our global footprint, providing greater travel options for business and leisure passengers, taking them to key business markets, holiday hotspots and underserved regions around the world.”
Flight schedules, between Chengdu and Doha, are as follows:
DOHA – CHENGDU: 3-times-a-week, effective September 3, 2013
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
QR884 Depart Doha at 0200 hrs Arrive Chengdu at 1430 hrs
CHENGDU– DOHA: 3-times-a-week, effective September 3, 2013
Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
QR885 Depart Chengdu at 0100 hrs Arrive Doha at 0350 hrs
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 130 key business and leisure destinations worldwide.
Qatar Airways has so far launched eight destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq) and Chengdu, China.
Over the next few months, the network will expand with the addition of further destinations – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Ta’if, Saudi Arabia (October 2), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 27) and Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014).
In other news, Qatar Airways has announced frequency increases to destinations in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific in preparation for the busy winter season.
Strong passenger demand and additional aircraft inducted to the fleet has prompted the Doha-based airline to add frequencies to its popular and growing routes. Highlights of the frequency increases are:
Ankara (Turkey) 4 flights a week from 3 beginning Sep 18
Belgrade (Serbia) 4 flights a week from 3 beginning Sep 18
Bucharest (Romania) 5 flights a week from 4 beginning Sep 17
Dubai (UAE) 91 flights a week from 77 (13 daily flights) from Aug 1
Islamabad (Pakistan) 7 flights a week from 4 (daily flights) beginning Oct 27
Jakarta (Indonesia) 14 flights a week from 11 (double-daily flights) beginning Sep 1
Manama (Bahrain) 49 flights a week from 47 (7 times a day) beginning Sep 15
Moscow (Russia) 12 flights a week from 10 beginning Sep 3
Sofia (Bulgaria) 5 flights a week from 4 beginning Sep 17
Yangon (Myanmar) 7 flights a week from 3 (daily flights beginning Oct 27
On August 1 Qatar Airways increased its frequency on its very popular Doha – Dubai route with two additional daily flights, taking its capacity up to 13 services per day. Dubai has the highest frequency in the airline’s route network; this popular Gulf destination is served 91 times a week.
Flights to the Gulf region will see another increase as services to Manama in Bahrain will rise by seven to a total of 49 flights each week.
Expansion highlights also include one additional weekly flight to key European routes Ankara, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia and flights to Moscow will grow from 10 to 12 weekly flights.
Yangon, which was re-launched last October with three flights a week, will be upgraded to a daily nonstop service.
Another popular far-eastern route Jakarta will see increase in capacity from 11 to 14 flights a week, resulting in double-daily flights to the Indonesian capital city.
Qatar Airways will also be strengthening its commitment to Pakistan; the recent frequency increases to Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar will be supplemented by Islamabad moving from four weekly services to a daily service.
Copyright Photo: Qatar Airways.
Video: Richard Quest’s Interview with Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker:
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