Doha, Qatar – Qatar Airways’ highly anticipated arrival of its A380 fleet moved another step forward today, with the announcement that from this summer the airline’s second A380 aircraft will commence operations on the Doha to Paris Charles De Gaulle route from Doha’s new hub, Hamad International Airport.
With a highly customised interior to meet the five-star standard for Qatar Airways passengers, the airline’s new A380s will undoubtedly be the talk of travellers at Qatar’s new Hamad International Airport when services commence.
Qatar Airways recently announced that the first of its 13 A380 aircraft on order will commence operations on the QR003 and QR004 London-Heathrow route from 17th June. Following this, the airline has now confirmed that its second A380 will be used to fly to Paris Charles De Gaulle airport from Doha from the 3rd July, on QR39 and return on QR40.
Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “It is yet another significant moment for our airline as we welcome these new aircraft into our rapidly expanding fleet. Operating on the Doha to Paris Charles De Gaulle route, these aircraft, with their customised cabins and five-star specifications, will set a new level of comfort for our passengers, who will also benefit from the smooth and pleasant passenger experience at the world’s newest hub, Hamad International Airport - the soon to be home of Qatar Airways.”
Featuring a tri-class configuration of seating in First, Business and Economy Class, over two decks, the A380 is the largest passenger jet in the world and will provide a superior traveller experience to the Qatar Airways’ customers.
The new First Class A380 seat, recently revealed at the world’s leading travel show, ITB Berlin, features a 90-inch seat pitch, transforming into a fully flat bed, together with an expansive choice of entertainment options displayed on individual 26-inch television screens.
Hamad International Airport (HIA), Qatar Airways new home as of 27th May, has been designed to specifically cater to the A380 aircraft, with six contact gates designed especially for the superjumbo. In addition, the maintenance hangar at HIA – which is the largest in the world – is able to accommodate two A380s simultaneously.
Qatar Airways is also celebrating a year of intensive fleet growth and recently becoming a member of the oneworld global alliance network. In addition to the 13 A380 aircraft the airline currently has on order, Qatar Airways is also set this year to welcome the first of 80 A350 aircraft, the world’s newest aircraft, as Airbus’ launch customer. This forms part of Qatar Airways plans to significantly expand its fleet with 300 additional aircraft, worth more than US $50 billion, on order, including the Boeing 787 and 777X.
Qatar Airways 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 139 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 Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Turkey (May 22, 2014), Edinburgh, Scotland (May 28, 2014), Miami, USA (June 10, 2014), Tokyo Haneda, Japan (June 18, 2014), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1, 2014) and Djiboutui (July 27, 2014).
For images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/qatarairways/sets/72157644690670976/
Notes to Editors:
Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the State of Qatar. Currently undergoing rapid expansion, Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 17th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 134 aircraft flying to 139 key business and leisure destinations across six continents.
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 14,000 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. The airline will move into its new hub and home, Hamad International Airport, on the 27th May 2014. 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