TOKYO, Japan – Qatar Airways touched down at Tokyo Haneda International Airport for the first time on June 18th marking the airlines’ third destination in Japan and 143rd globally. The inaugural flight also marked the first time that a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner has operated to one of their three destinations in Japan. Qatar Airways has been operating to the Land of the Rising Sun, with routes to Osaka and Tokyo Narita, since 2005 and 2010 respectively.
A press conference held the following day at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel allowed local media an opportunity to hear Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker speak about the airlines’ expansion into Japan as well as its overall growth plans.
“Qatar Airways is thrilled that we have further expanded our operations to the dynamic city of Tokyo. This new route will provide our passengers, both in Japan and throughout the rest of our network, with even more options and flexibility when travelling, whether it be for business or leisure,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker.
Mr. Al Baker, who was joined at the head table by Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Commercial, East Asia & South West Pacific, Mr. Woo Yew Seong, and Qatar Airways Country Manager, Japan, Mr. Tomohiko Matsumoto, added: “We have enjoyed a very strong relationship with Japan since we began operating flights to this culturally rich and beautiful country in 2005. Since then we have enjoyed a steady growth which allowed us to expand our operations to Tokyo Narita in 2010, and now Tokyo Haneda. This bond is reflected in not just the presence of our airline in Japan but also in the trade, art and culture that is shared between our two wonderful countries.”
The historic flight signaled the start of a daily service to Tokyo Haneda International Airport, which joined the daily flights already in operation to Tokyo Narita International Airport. For passengers, this means two dedicated flights into Japan’s largest city on a daily basis.
The route, which is operated by an Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 in Economy, will bring the number of Qatar Airways’ flights to Japan up from 14 to 21 frequencies each week.
With the new route, Qatar Airways will be serving travellers from the central area of Tokyo in addition to Tokyo Narita which currently services the population in the greater city area.
The Tokyo Haneda operation provides a non-stop link to Doha with excellent onward connections to more than 100 destinations, including popular spots in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
Flight schedules between Tokyo Haneda International Airport and Doha, are as follows:
Daily Schedule
QR810 Departs Doha (DOH) 07:35; Arrives Tokyo Haneda (HND) 23:25
QR811 Departs Tokyo Haneda (HND) 01:00; Arrives Doha (DOH) 06:00
Qatar Airways, the State of Qatar’s national airline, has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operation, to the point where today it is flying a modern fleet of 134 aircraft to 143 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.
Over the next few months, the network will grow further with new routes to Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1, 2014) and Djibouti (July 27, 2014).
For images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/qatarairways/sets/72157645241751462/
Notes to Editors:
On October 30, 2013, Qatar Airways joined the oneworld Alliance, becoming the first Gulf carrier to join a global airline alliance, enabling its customers to benefit from almost 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
Award-winning carrier Qatar Airways was presented with three honours at the annual Skytrax 2013 World Airline Awards held during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, France, last June. The airline was awarded World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Lounge and, for the second consecutive year, Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East.
During the 2013 Dubai Air Show the airline placed orders for more than 60 new aircraft – a mixture of Boeing 777X and Airbus A330 Freighters. In total the airline has 300 aircraft on order worth more than US $50 billion. For more information, visit our homepage www.qatarairways.com or our sites on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.
For Qatar Airways corporate images, please click here: http://www.qatarairways.com/corporateimages
For further information contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 40222072, Fax: +974 40225350
E-mail: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa
Website: www.qatarairways.com