Doha

Korean Air wins World's Most Innovative Airline at World Travel Awards

Korean Air last night received the accolade of being named the World’s Most Innovative Airline at The World Travel Awards Grand Final Ceremony 2011, held in Doha, Qatar.
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Qatar Airways launches new Airbus A320 route to Shiraz

Qatar Airways has launched scheduled flights to the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, marking the first of three route start-ups this month. Read more

Passenger traffic up 10% - cargo tonnage up 21% in April for Abu Dhabi airport

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) have released its monthly traffic report for Abu Dhabi International Airport, which shows the double-digit growth experienced since the start of 2010 is still holding strong.  In spite of cancellations of flights due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland which grounded many flights to and from Europe during the month, the airport recorded a passenger traffic increase of 10.1%, up to 866,475, in the month of April.

The month of April 2010 saw aircraft movement increase by 11.1%, compared to the same month in 2009. Cargo movement through the airport also increased substantially in April, with tonnage handled up by 21.3% over the same month in 2009.

London, Doha, Bangkok, Manila and Jeddah were the top five city destinations; whilst the USA was the fastest growing country destination for the month, with a 160% increase in passenger traffic over the same period in 2009. This growth can largely be attributed to the launch of Etihad’s Chicago route and its growing connectivity to the American market through its code share agreement with American Airlines.  

Ahmed Al Haddabi, Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, ADAC, said: 

 “In spite of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the volcanic ash cloud that spread from Iceland across Europe during several days in April and thereby grounding numerous flights to and from the continent, Abu Dhabi International Airport continued to record double-digit growth, which is a great result. The increases illustrate the strong fundamentals of our economy and the strength of our tourism offering in Abu Dhabi. ADAC will remain focused on enhancing the facilities and services we offer to our passengers, and to attracting new airlines to our airport hub.”

Qatar Airways touches down in Tokyo

Qatar Airways has fulfilled its long-standing ambitions to fly to Japan’s capital city when flight QR802 touched down at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport last night.

The addition of Tokyo, following the 13½ hour journey from Doha, marks the airline’s 89^th international destination and second in Japan with the carrier already serving Osaka.

Tokyo also becomes the airline’s fourth new route launched so far during 2010 in a year of continued aggressive expansion.

Over the past two months, Qatar Airways has begun services to Bengaluru (Bangalore), Copenhagen and Ankara, with flights set to start to Barcelona and the South American cities of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the Argentine capital Buenos Aires during June.

The launch of the new Tokyo flights comes ahead of Japan’s Golden Week holiday season, and sees Qatar Airways become the only carrier from the Gulf operating daily flights to the Japanese capital, providing convenient connections for passengers travelling on the airline’s global network via its Doha hub.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker expressed delight that the airline was at long last able to fly to Tokyo after years of campaigning.

“Tokyo has been a destination of choice for Qatar Airways for a very long time, and as the largest metropolitan area in the world, it represents an important feeder market into our growing international network,” he said.  

“This is a momentous occasion for Qatar Airways. I would like to offer my thanks to the Japanese government and officials at Narita International Airport for their support and assistance in facilitating the development of our newest route. Tokyo is certain to become a popular route on our ever growing network.”

“The Japanese are among the world’s most travelled people and we are pleased that Qatar Airways can now extend its award-winning hospitality to the people of Tokyo and the surrounding area to our Doha hub and beyond.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Narita International Airport to celebrate the first flight linking the two capital cities of Tokyo and Doha.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice President East Asia and South West Pacific, Marwan Koleilat, who presided over the launch event at Narita, said:

“It is no coincidence that this route is launched at such an auspicious time as Golden Week. Qatar Airways appreciates Japan’s culture and traditions and we are delighted to honour this most special occasion in the Japanese calendar with our very first flight from Tokyo.”

The new flights strengthen the relationship between the State of Qatar and Japan, with both countries having close bilateral ties and enjoying growing trade.

Qatar traded US$26.23 billion worth of oil, gas and other exports with Japan in 2008, contributing 11 per cent of Japan’s total crude oil imports and almost 12 per cent of Japan’s liquefied natural gas imports.

There are currently over 30 Japanese companies operating in Qatar, with the Japanese community in Doha growing substantially from less than 200 members six years ago to over 1,100 in 2009.

Qatar’s imports from Japan, including motor vehicles, totalled over US$2 billion in 2008 and have grown significantly over the past six years.

Qatar Airways serves Tokyo with an Airbus A330 in a three-class configuration. With 12 First, 18 Business and 208 Economy Class seats, passengers are assured of Five Star comfort and service no matter which class of travel.

Qatar Airways’ passengers transiting onwards in First or Business Class through Doha onto connecting cities can use the airline’s exclusive Premium Terminal, where they can unwind and relax, enjoying facilities including fine dining, spa treatments and duty free shopping.

In March, Qatar Airways announced a summer expansion programme that included massive capacity and frequency upgrades as well as several new route launches.

From June 24, Qatar Airways will serve Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires with daily scheduled flights direct from Doha. Both cities will be key markets for Japanese business and leisure travellers.

The addition of South America will see Qatar Airways operating to six continents – a remarkable feat in just 13 years since its launch.

Qatar Airways spells out commitment to Indian market

Qatar Airways today spelt out its continued commitment to India, helping strengthen commercial and economic ties thanks to the launch of its latest flights to the country – daily services to the southern Indian IT city of Bengaluru. (Bangalore)

Otherwise known as India’s Silicon Valley due to its huge infrastructure in information technology, Bengaluru has helped put the country on the global IT map, with large international corporations setting up operations in and around the city.

Since the launch in February of daily non-stop flights between the airline’s operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, and Bengaluru, Qatar Airways reports the new service proving to be one of its most successful start-up routes.

Qatar Airways currently operates 74 flights a week spread across 11 Indian cities – in addition to Bengaluru, daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin, Trivandrum, Kozhikode, Ahmedabad and Goa, with four services-a-week to Amritsar.

Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru today, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the newest addition to the airline’s Indian network further strengthened its presence in one of the world’s most vibrant markets.

“I am delighted that Bengaluru has finally joined our international network. The route has performed exceptionally well and further demonstrates our commitment to give the travelling public greater choice,” he said.

“This new strategic air link fosters a stronger partnership between India and Qatar, and further provides excellent connectivity through our flights to rest of the world via Doha.

“India has grown rapidly into a dynamic market and we at Qatar Airways are extremely delighted to be part of the great success story of India Inc, working with the relevant authorities here to open up more air links to the world.”

Bilateral trade between India and Qatar stands at US$3.7 billion, according to figures for 2008 – a staggering increase from US$140 million in 2000. Trade focuses on oil and gas, food and agricultural products, health care and IT services.

Added Al Baker: “In the last six months alone, we have stepped up capacity to India from 56 to 74 flights-a-week thanks to the introduction of services to Bengaluru, Goa and Amritsar. This represents a remarkable 30% increase in frequency to and from India.

“Our Doha – Goa flights increased to daily only last week and we plan to step up capacity on the Amritsar route to daily within the next few months. And we will continue to explore new strategic opportunities to expand our presence to even more cities across this wonderful country.”

Home to India’s largest IT software industry, Bengaluru also has some of the country’s most affluent colleges and research institutions with numerous public sector companies across the aerospace, telecommunications and defence industries.

Bengaluru has been at the heart of India’s software industry for years, enabling it to capitalise on establishing commercial and social ties with cities around the world, including its US west coast IT centre counterpart, San Francisco.

Through code share flights operated by partner carrier United Airlines, Qatar Airways provides convenient connections to many cities across the US, including San Francisco.

And with excellent connections from Europe, Middle East, Africa and the United States, the new route is expected to be popular among expatriates returning to Bengaluru, as well as the international business community having strong commercial links with the city.

Flying from Bengaluru, passengers have a wide choice of destinations to travel to via Doha, including New York, Houston, Washington, London, Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Muscat.

Travelling to long-haul destinations such as New York and Washington, passengers can experience a raft of great facilities onboard the airline’s flagship Boeing 777 aircraft, including seats that convert into fully flat horizontal beds in Business Class and extremely spacious Economy seats with a pitch of 34 inches.

All passengers travelling on Boeing 777s also have access to individual seat back touch screen TVs with up to 900 audio and video interactive entertainment options.

Connecting through Doha, Qatar Airways’ First and Business Class passengers can experience the airline’s exclusive Premium Terminal where they can unwind and relax and enjoy facilities such as spa treatments, fine dining, business centre and duty free shopping.

Bengaluru was the first of several route launches for 2010 during a year of aggressive expansion, which will see a further four destinations added to Qatar Airways’ global network from Doha, together with capacity increases across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Scheduled flights were launched to the Danish capital Copenhagen on March 30; the Turkish capital Ankara saw services begin on April 5; the Japanese capital Tokyo will be served from April 26; and flights to the Spanish Mediterranean port city of Barcelona start on June 7.

Qatar Airways completes its global jigsaw this summer by adding the South American continent to its burgeoning network with flights to the region’s two largest cities.

Beginning June 24, daily services will operate to Sao Paulo in Brazil, continuing onto the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

Added Al Baker: “These are exciting times for Qatar Airways. With three new routes launched over the past few weeks, we look forward to further global expansion to some exciting destinations in the coming weeks and months.”

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of 82 aircraft to 88 diverse business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, South Asia and North America.

On the Doha – Bengaluru route, Qatar Airways operates an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.