Shiraz.
Award-winning airline continues expansion with launch of flights to its fifth Thai destination. Qatar Airways will also launch services to Thailand’s Chiang Mai in December.
DOHA, QATAR – Qatar Airways has responded to increased customer demand for services to Thailand by launching direct flights to Pattaya, the airline’s fifth route to the country. The new four-times-a-week service, which starts on 28 January 2018, is in addition to the airline’s existing flights to Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket and soon to be launched, Chiang Mai. The launch of the service to historic Chiang Mai is scheduled to start on 12 December, 2017.
Located on the popular southeast coast of Thailand, Pattaya and nearby Rayong are major destinations for sun-seekers looking to soak up the local culture or relax and bask on one of the areas extensive beaches. Holiday-makers on the route are expected to come from Qatar Airways’ extensive network of destinations across Europe and the Middle East.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of our newest route to Pattaya in Thailand, our fifth route to one of Southeast Asia’s most popular destinations. Thailand is continuing to grow in popularity with our passengers, who love travelling to this beautiful country to enjoy its incredible culture, cuisine and natural scenery.
"Qatar Airways is committed to responding to customer demand by flying our passengers where they want to go and providing them with our unrivalled five-star service to destinations around the world.”
Qatar Airways will operate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class on flights between Doha and U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport, on its winter schedule. It will be the first five-star Middle East airline to offer flights to and from Pattaya.
Qatar Airways’ new service to Pattaya will help to reinforce the strong ties between Qatar and Thailand. Qatar Airways currently operates flights to three destinations in Thailand, with services 35 times a week to Bangkok, 14 times a week to Phuket and daily to Krabi commencing 1 December 2017. From 12 December 2017, Qatar Airways will also fly four times a week to Chiang Mai, which will take the airline’s weekly frequency to 60 flights a week.
Qatar Airways currently holds the title of ‘Airline of The Year’ as awarded by the prestigious 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards. In addition to being voted Best Airline by travellers from around the world, Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’
Qatar Airways operates a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft to a network of more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. The airline is launching a host of exciting new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018, including Canberra, Australia; St Petersburg, Russia and Cardiff, U.K, to name just a few.
Flight Schedules
- Doha (DOH) to Pattaya (UTP) QR828 departs 20:05 arrives 06:30 (next day) – Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
- Pattaya (UTP) to Doha (DOH) QR829 departs 07:50 arrives 11:40 – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Qatar Airways Upgrades Its Doha-Shiraz Route to an Airbus A330
Also, Qatar Airways will upgrade its operations to the southern Iranian city of Shiraz from an Airbus A320 to an Airbus A330 on 2 November, in order to meet increasing demand from passengers. The 260-seater Airbus A330 aircraft increases capacity on this route by 81 per cent, with 464 more seats available per week for those travelling on the highly-popular Doha-Shiraz route.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our Doha-Shiraz flights have performed exceptionally well since we launched the route six years ago. We have gradually increased capacity on the route by adding additional flights, and are delighted to now offer a larger aircraft with more seating capacity onboard our Airbus A330. Responding directly to increased demand clearly demonstrates our commitment to delivering five-star service to our passengers.”
Qatar Airways has been flying to Iran for 13 years, and first launched services to Tehran in 2004. Flights to Mashhad started the following year, and Shiraz was introduced to the network in 2011. The award-winning airline currently serves Iran with a total of 58 flights per week to and from Doha’s award-winning Hamad International Airport (HIA).
Qatar Airways currently operates a total of 26 Airbus A330 aircraft in its fleet. The airline’s Airbus A330 features 24 Business Class seats and 236 Economy Class seats. Passengers travelling in Business Class can look forward to relaxing in one of the most comfortable and high-tech, fully-flat beds as well as enjoying Qatar Airways’ award-winning five-star food and beverage service. Wi-Fi services are also available onboard Qatar Airways' Airbus A330 aircraft.
The 260-seater A330 aircraft also offers passengers an award-winning entertainment system with countless entertainment options. Passengers can enjoy latest blockbusters, TV box sets, film collections, music and games available on the airline’s award-winning Oryx One entertainment system.
Now in its twentieth year of operations, Qatar Airways has one of the world's youngest airlines fleets, with an average aircraft age of approximately five years. The award-winning airline has received a number of accolades this year, including 'Airline of the Year' by the prestigious 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards, which was held at the Paris Air Show. This is the fourth time that Qatar Airways has been given this global recognition. Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including 'Best Airline in the Middle East,' 'World’s Best Business Class' and 'World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.'
Qatar Airways will be adding many more exciting destinations to its network in 2017 and 2018, including Canberra, Australia; Chiang Mai, Thailand and St. Petersburg, Russia, to name a few.
Flight Schedule
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
- Doha (DOH) to Shiraz (SYZ) QR476 departs: 01:55 arrives: 03:45
- Shiraz (SYZ) to Doha (DOH) QR477 departs: 04:55 arrives: 05:45
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.
He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
