Qatar Airways yesterday launched scheduled flights to Warsaw in Poland, its latest entry into Central Eastern Europe and the 12th new route of the year.
The airline’s Airbus A320 was warmly welcomed at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport in the Polish capital to a special arrival ceremony.
Warsaw marks the latest point in the airline’s expanding global route map, now totalling 122 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. In Europe alone, the carrier now flies to some 32 destinations with Zagreb, Belgrade among the airline’s route start-ups this year.
An official delegation from Doha was on the inaugural flight from the airline’s Doha hub to Warsaw, including Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker and Polish ambassador Robert Rostek.
The delegation was greeted by director of Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, Michał Marzec. A traditional Polish folk dance was staged. Arrival ceremony guests included Qatar’s Ambassador to Poland, Hadi bin Nasser al-Hajri.
The official part of the ceremony included speeches by Marzec and al-Baker followed by a gift exchange to signal the newest route on Qatar Airways’ international map.
Al-Baker expressed his optimism about the development of the latest route, highlighting how the Polish economy was developing fast.
“I believe there are no other countries in this region that are developing so fast and dynamically as Poland is now,” he said.
“That made us confident that Warsaw as a destination will attract many passengers, especially with Poles keen to travel to distant destinations in Asia, Africa and Australia which we can provide with our new flights via our Doha hub.
“Qatar Airways offers the people of Poland our award-winning five-star hospitality flying with us to the Middle East and beyond and in the other direction, we look forward to flying passengers from across our network to Poland with ease and comfort.”
The Doha-Warsaw route is being operated four-times-a-week with a modern Airbus A320, featuring 144 seats in a two-class configuration of 12 in business class and 132 in economy.