Carrier Lines Up Six New Routes For Northern Winter 2009 Schedules
Sydney, Melbourne, Goa And Amritsar Come On Line During Year
European Network Boosted With Two Additional Routes
Airline Raises Frequency To Selected Destinations Beginning March 29
11 March 2009

Qatar Airways Flying High

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker in a buoyant mood after announcing six new routes during a press conference at ITB Berlin.
ITB Berlin, GERMANY – Qatar Airways today announced plans to launch scheduled flights to Australia and further expand its operations in India and Europe with new routes from the start of the Northern Winter 2009 schedules.

Flights to the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne, together with new services to Goa and Amritsar in India, and two new European services are being earmarked over the next nine months.

In addition, the Doha-based carrier will increase frequency to selected destinations across its global network from the beginning of the Northern Summer 2009 schedules on March 29. The expansion was announced today at ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel and tourism show being held in the German capital this week.

Subject to regulatory approval, the long-awaited Australian services will become reality as more Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft join the fleet. There are currently eight Boeing 777s in Qatar Airways’ fleet of 68 aircraft – of which two are the Boeing 777 Long Range version capable of flying from Doha to Australia non-stop.

Amritsar, located in the rich northwestern Indian agricultural heartland of Punjab State, is home to the Golden Temple – the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh religion. Together with the popular idyllic beach holiday state of Goa, the two new routes will boost Qatar Airways’ Indian capacity from nine to 11 destinations.

Qatar Airways' Boeing 777 Business Class

Head table from left to right: Qatar Airways Senior Manager Europe Paul Johannes, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, and Qatar Airways Regional Manager Central & Eastern Europe Raymond van de Veer at a press conference during ITB Berlin.
Qatar Airways will also step up its European presence with two new routes, which are currently being finalised. Details will be announced in due course. The airline’s first new route launch of 2009 will be daily flights between Doha and Houston which, at just under 17 hours, will be one of the longest non-stop flights in the world.

Beginning March 30, the Houston route will feature Qatar Airways’ new fully flat Business Class seats deployed on its two Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft, which the airline took delivery of over the past six weeks.

The expansion is part of the airline’s ongoing growth strategy – a long-term commitment to develop its route infrastructure as new aircraft join the fleet at an average delivery rate of one a month.

The award-winning Doha-based airline currently has on order more than 200 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft worth over US$40 billion.

“Qatar Airways’ robust expansion is continuing undeterred by the current economic climate,” said Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, addressing a packed press conference on the opening day of ITB Berlin.

“Sydney and Melbourne have been on our radar screen for many years. We can finally look forward to entering the Australian market with vigour as we will have the aircraft to serve this highly popular market non-stop from Doha.

“India has been, and remains, one of our most important destinations and we are pleased to be strengthening economic and cultural ties with one of the world’s fastest growing economies. With the growth of the Indian economy into a potential global powerhouse and Qatar's drive to spread its economic wings globally, increasing air links between the two countries is of paramount importance.”

A packed ITB Berlin press conference heard Qatar Airways announce new routes including Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Amritsar and Goa in India, as well as two new destinations in Europe.

Qatar Airways currently operates 58 flights a week to nine cities across India – daily to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kozhikode and twice-weekly to Nagpur.

Al Baker said Europe was strategically important for Qatar Airways, highlighting the need to widen its market presence with the addition of two new routes over the next nine months.

“Our tremendous growth is part of a long-term strategy to significantly build up our portfolio of routes and fleet size,” he added.

“Qatar Airways continually identifies new opportunities around the world to better serve the travelling public and is able to easily shift capacity according to market conditions. As a network hub airline, Qatar Airways does not rely on traffic from any specific markets, so we are largely immune from the circumstances surrounding the current global economic meltdown"