Akbar al-Baker with Qatar Airways senior vice-president Jonathan Harding, and country manager Günter Saurwein, at the airline’s press conference at ITB 2015.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker yesterday announced the extension of the A350 XWB service throughout 2015.
The announcement came 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 meet also celebrated Qatar Airways’ strong connections with Germany and highlighted the 10th 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.
The first flight of the Airbus A350 XWB took place on January 15 on the Frankfurt-Doha route and it will soon be joined by Qatar Airways’ second A350 XWB, taking this service to double-daily.
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, adding the airline’s third, fourth and fifth A350 XWB aircraft on the three daily flights to Singapore. There are a total of 80 A350 XWB aircraft on order.
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.
Al-Baker said: “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 10th anniversary of our Berlin route.”
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 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 Ladurée 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 that cater to all ages.
Visitors to the Qatar Airways booth would be able to experience first-hand the luxury of the A350 XWB, along with the airline’s new first class A380 seat.
