Further A350 XWB route expansion to take place throughout 2015; New route expansion in South Africa and across Pakistan announced.
Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, announced the extension of the A350 XWB service throughout 2015, during the airline’s press conference, the first to take place on the opening day of the world’s largest tourism fair, ITB Berlin.
The press conference, attended by more than 100 international media, also celebrated Qatar Airways’ strong connections with Germany and highlighted the 10-year anniversary of the airline’s first flight to Berlin in 2005 with an A319 aircraft, a route now operated with an A330 wide-body aircraft.
Further expansion was also announced with the new routes of Durban, via Johannesburg in South Africa, which will debut this December, alongside the inaugural flight to Amsterdam, which takes place this June. Pakistan was also cited as a key growth market for the airline, with three new routes launching this summer to Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan, complementing the airline’s four existing gateways of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.
Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, commented: “The last 12 months have been characterised by significant fleet expansion for the airline, which is set to continue throughout 2015. This year we are pleased to be able to offer our passengers additional innovative new products within our broad destination network, most notably with the introduction of the world’s newest aircraft, the A350 XWB.
“It is fitting that we are back in Germany today, celebrating not only the recent launch of the A350 XWB on the Frankfurt route and the fact that this destination will soon be the recipient of the world’s second A350 XWB, but also acknowledging the 10-year anniversary of our Berlin route.”
Qatar Airways maintains a strong annual presence at ITB Berlin, highlighting its unique Five-Star offering and uses the show as a platform at which to update the travel industry on its latest products and initiatives. This year, not only is the airline celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its route to Berlin, but also the newly inaugurated A350 XWB’s first commercial route, for which the airline chose another of its German destinations, Frankfurt.
Those attending the press conference were also updated on the latest amenities on board for First, Business and Economy Class passengers. First Class passengers will now enjoy luxurious male and female sleeper suits from Italian designer Missoni, complemented by amenity kits by Giorgio Armani. Business Class passengers will also enjoy Giorgio Armani amenity kits, tailored to male or female passengers and enjoy newly introduced Laduree Parisian delicacies, available in both First and Business cabins, while Economy Class passengers will also benefit from a newly designed amenity kit.
Qatar Airways is also doubling its movie content on board this spring, with a selection of over 500 movies to enjoy, including the world’s latest premieres, while increasing its selection of TV programmes from 700 to over 1,500, including the latest box sets, complementing its range of over 200 CDs and 50 games, which cater for all ages.
As the global launch customer for the new Airbus A350 XWB, the first flight of the all-new family of wide-body aircraft took place on 15 January 2015 on the Frankfurt – Doha route, and it will soon be joined by Qatar Airways’ second A350 XWB, taking this service with the world’s newest aircraft to double-daily.
With a total of 80 A350 XWB aircraft on order, the airline is one of the world’s fastest growing and has one of the most modern fleets in the sky. His Excellency, Mr. Al Baker, also announced that Qatar Airways will become the first airline to operate the A350 XWB to Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region from June this year, adding the airline’s third, fourth and fifth A350 XWB aircraft on the three daily flights to Singapore.
The A350 XWB is significantly quieter than previous models due to its aerodynamic characteristics, thus promoting localised noise reduction for aircraft arriving in Frankfurt. The external noise level of the A350 XWB is up to 21 perceived decibels below prescribed guidelines, and overall the aircraft also has lower fuel consumption for reduced CO2 production.
Visitors to the Qatar Airways stand experience first-hand the airline’s A350 Business Class seat.
To mark this occasion, the airline announced that visitors to the Qatar Airways’ booth in Hall 22B would be able to experience first-hand the luxury of the A350 XWB, with a display version of the Business Class seat and unique welcome dome, accompanying the airline’s new First Class A380 seat, which is also on display.
Qatar Airways unveils three ne destinations in Pakistan
Qatar Airways also unveiled the launch dates of three new passenger destinations in Pakistan as part of the airline’s continued expansion strategy. Beginning 16th July 2015, the airline will begin four weekly passenger services to Sialkot where it already operates dedicated freighter services three times a week. Sialkot also marks Qatar Airways’ first new passenger route to Pakistan since 2004.
A day later, on 17th July 2015, Qatar Airways will add Faisalabad to its Pakistan network with three flights a week, and from 1st August 2015, Qatar Airways will spread its wings further in Pakistan with the launch of three flights a week to Multan.
Qatar Airways currently operates 45 flights a week spread across four cities in Pakistan – double daily flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and three flights a week to Peshawar. Karachi was first launched by the airline in 1995, Peshawar in 1998, Lahore in 1999 and Islamabad in 2004.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker explained the importance of the new routes to Pakistan, saying: “We have had a well-established operation in Pakistan for many years, but have always been looking to expand more, and now thanks to new agreements in place between the relevant authorities, we will soon enjoy significantly greater capacity between Qatar and Pakistan.
“Our passengers will be able to take advantage of an enhanced choice of destinations when we launch our operations to Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan in Pakistan adding greater convenience for both business and leisure travellers.
“With our state-of-the-art new home at Hamad International Airport and its rapid and convenient connections, these three new routes offer a significantly enhanced offering for our passengers to and from Pakistan and we look forward to welcoming them onboard with our five-star service.”
Faisalabad is Pakistan’s third largest city and has experienced rapid industrial development as it has nurtured itself into a major growth centre with high economic activity. Key markets in Qatar Airways’ route network for Faisalabad will include destinations in the Middle East and the Americas – Jeddah, Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait, New York, Washington, Chicago and Montreal.
Sialkot is a large economic hub as the city boasts of several manufacturing industries. It is the world’s largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40-60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 70% of the total world production. Europe, the Americas and the Middle East are important regions for travel to and from Sialkot and key destinations include London Heathrow, Manchester, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Rome, Dammam, Abu Dhabi and New York.
As a commercial and industrial centre Multan is very well connected with industrial hubs in the rest of the country through rail and air. The city is also an important agricultural centre as it is home to a wide variety of crops and livestock. Qatar Airways’ key destination markets to Multan include routes in the Middle East and North America.
Qatar Airways will operate an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of up to 12 seats in Business Class and up to 132 in Economy Class on all the new routes to Pakistan.
With five new destinations on the horizon (Amsterdam, Durban, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan), Qatar Airways will increase its global portfolio to 151 destinations across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, North America and South America. The carrier currently operates a modern fleet of 149 aircraft.
Photo caption: Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, reinforced the five-star airline’s expanding route network in Africa with the announcement of its third destination in South Africa, Durban, served via Johannesburg.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
