Three of the airline’s destinations received upgraded aircraft starting July 1, the same day when the Doha-based carrier also inaugurated its new route offering to Marrakesh (Morocco) with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Guangzhou (China), Geneva (Switzerland) and Warsaw (Poland) received new aircraft types on their respective daily flights from Doha’s Hamad International Airport, in recognition of the “continued demand for Qatar Airways services operated by the world’s newest aircraft types and expanding fleet”, the airline said in a statement yesterday.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said, “Qatar Airways is delighted to enhance the aircraft that serve the important destinations of Guangzhou, Geneva and Warsaw, almost doubling the daily capacity across all of these routes from Doha’s Hamad International Airport.
"This is testament to our commitment to provide our passengers with the greatest comfort on board the world’s most modern and efficient aircraft, while illustrating our confidence in the popularity of these cities as a place to visit and do business.”
Guangzhou becomes the first Chinese city in the carrier’s China network to host the Airbus A380. The inaugural A380 flight was met with a warm welcome as it touched down and now represents the airline’s fourth A380 destination after Bangkok, London and Paris. Qatar Airways became the first Middle East airline to fly to Guangzhou in 2008 with a Boeing 777.
The A380 is spread across twin decks in a tri-class configuration of eight seats in first class, 48 seats in business and 461 in economy, and will serve Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the third busiest airport in China, and the city of Guangzhou on the Pearl River Delta, home to 57mn people.
Qatar Airways also commenced its second Boeing 787 Dreamliner service to Switzerland over the weekend. The inaugural Dreamliner flight to Geneva was greeted by a water cannon salute, witnessed by senior representatives from Qatar Airways and Geneva Airport. The route was previously operated by an Airbus A320, while daily flights to Zurich already operate with the Dreamliner.
With this, Qatar Airways said it became the first airline to operate the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Geneva. The aircraft has a two-cabin configuration, comprising 22 seats in business class and 232 seats in economy.
The airline also welcomed the expansion of its service from Doha to Warsaw during the weekend as a new wide-body service to Warsaw Chopin Airport commenced operations. The route was previously operated with the Airbus A320 aircraft.
The increase in demand for travel to and from the country and the airline’s commitment to the Polish market resulted in the introduction of the 260-seat A330 aircraft on the daily flight, the statement noted.
Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner lands at Geneva International Airport. Picture courtesy of Genu00e8ve Au00e9roport
Qatar Airways celebrated a host of capacity increases across its global network last weekend.
