By Peter Townson/Oslo
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| Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar al-Baker, being welcomed on arrival at Oslo International Airport by CEO of the airport operator Avinor, Dag Falk-Petersen. With them are Qatar Airways vice-president Europe Paul Johannes and Oslo Airport managing director Nic Nilsen |
Qatar Airways added the 107th route to its network on Wednesday (October 5) as CEO Akbar al-Baker arrived on the inaugural flight to the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
Al-Baker was joined by the Norwegian Ambassador to Qatar and the UAE, Ase Elin Bjerke, on the airline’s first flight to Oslo, which was welcomed on the runway with a traditional water salute.
Qatar Airways already runs flights to Stockholm and Copenhagen, making Oslo the third destination in Scandinavia for the airline recently voted the world’s best by Skytrax.
The new destination also represents the airline’s 27th city in Europe, a continent which now makes up a quarter of Qatar Airways’ global network.
“Qatar Airways has reached yet another milestone in Europe, with Oslo becoming our seventh European destination launched so far this year,” said the CEO upon arrival.
“We are delighted to add this vibrant, scenic city of Oslo to our global route network, further strengthening our operations in Scandinavia and clearly proving how important this dynamic travel market is for Qatar Airways,” said al-Baker, adding “we now operate 19 flights a week across three Scandinavian cities, making Qatar Airways the biggest Gulf carrier in the Nordic market.”
“We now look forward to bringing visitors from around the world to this diverse cultural city and to the great leisure and business destinations in the region.”
“Norway has limitless attractions of mountains and fjords, a great magnet for tourists from around the world to experience and enjoy,” he added.
The airline also became the first Gulf-based operator to offer a direct service to Oslo.
“Qatar Airways already had significant traffic from Norway via the neighbouring cities we serve of Stockholm and Copenhagen before even starting our operations to Oslo,” he said, adding “with our new non-stop service we are pleased to offer passengers even faster and hassle-free connections to many exotic locations and business cities.”
Chief of information at Oslo Airport, Jo Kobro commented: “Qatar Airways’ new route from Oslo to Doha offers a comfortable and efficient link to the Gulf region and beyond. This new service will be much welcomed by business and leisure passengers travelling to a wide choice of Qatar Airways’ onward destinations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. And the new service reinforces Oslo Airport’s position as one of the leading airports in Scandinavia.”
The Doha–Oslo route will initially be served by five weekly flights on the Airbus A330 aircraft. However, al-Baker explained that the route will become daily in the future, when the airline further expands its fleet.
Al-Baker also spoke about the airline’s continued expansion plans, which will see them launch flights to Entebbe, Uganda and Chongqing, China next month, and Baku, Azerbaijan and Tblisi, Georgia in February next year.
