DOHA, Qatar – Qatar Airways Cargo today announced the launch of freighters to Stavanger in Norway, effective 3 November 2014.

Stavanger will be served once a week by an Airbus A330F freighter, with the freighter making a stop at Brussels before heading to Stavanger Airport and then returning to Doha.

“We are very excited to be the first carrier to operate scheduled freighters into the Norwegian energy capital of Stavanger. This new route will allow us to cater to the strong import and export demand in this city and will facilitate trade between the State of Qatar and Norway,” Mr. Ulrich Ogiermann, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said. “We already operate freighters to Oslo in Norway and are glad to introduce this new route, in line with our customers’ demands.”

Mr. Leif Anker Lorentzen, Airport Director Stavanger Airport, Sola, said: “As the oil and gas capital of Norway, and one of the world’s leading energy cities, we focus on improving our relations and our connectivity to the Middle East. The establishment of a new freight route by Qatar Airways Cargo between Stavanger to the world’s oil and gas regions, will enable us to create more valuable relationships and do better business in the future.”

Stavanger is known as the European oil and gas capital, with many of the major oil and gas companies and supplier companies having their Norwegian headquarters located in Stavanger. Other areas of activity and business include fishing, shipping, finance, culture, food and renewable energy. There is also great demand for Norwegian salmon worldwide, while imports include considerable quantities of motor vehicles and other transport equipment, raw materials, and industrial equipment.

With the introduction of scheduled freighter services, Qatar Airways Cargo will provide air transportation to these growing industries through the Doha hub, to and from more than 140 destinations worldwide.

The airline received its seventh Boeing 777 freighter on 2 October 2014, bringing up the total freighter fleet to 10.

Given the increase in imports and exports to India, a third A330 freighter frequency will be added to the Doha-Delhi route, effective 30 October 2014, just months after the launch of the first freighter to Delhi on 4 May.

In January this year, Qatar Airways Cargo strengthened its product portfolio with the launch of two new premium services that optimise the transportation of time – and temperature – sensitive goods, including high-value pharmaceutical products and perishables. The new services, QR Pharma and QR Fresh, add to the company’s substantial range of cargo services and further enhance its capacity and flexibility to effectively move sensitive commodities in line with the highest world-class standards.

Qatar Airways Cargo completed the transition to a fully automated state-of-the-art cargo terminal at Hamad International Airport. The brand new cargo terminal at Hamad International Airport offers the very latest technology and five-star service to customers across the globe.