San Diego, CALIFORNIA – Award-winning Qatar Airways made its presence felt at this year’s National Business Travel Association (NBTA) conference, unveiling a state-of-the-art booth displaying the in-flight luxury amenities that has elevated the carrier to one of the world’s leading airlines.

This year marks the third time Qatar Airways has been represented at the NBTA trade show, widely recognised as the must-attend event in the United States for business travel buyers, suppliers, industry leaders and business travel journalists. Qatar Airways first showcased its Five-Star product in 2007 at the Boston conference and again in 2008 at the Los Angeles show.

“NBTA is the perfect place for Qatar Airways to display our Five Star service, and network with the many travel managers and suppliers who attend the conference,” Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said.

“As this is one of the top aerospace industry events of the year, Qatar Airways also welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate the in-flight amenities that set us apart from our competitors, and to showcase our renowned world-class hospitality.”

The airline’s exhibition stand featured a working Boeing 777 Business Class seat display. The fully operational seat configuration recreates the onboard experience for visitors to the stand. Business Class seats on Qatar Airways Boeing 777 aircraft offer a pitch of up to 78 inches and convert into 180-degree fully flat beds.

The Business Class seats also have 17 inch seat-back screens allowing passengers quality viewing of over 900 entertainment options on the airline’s state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system. The system can be navigated using the touch screen or by a mouse provided by the airline, as well as the traditional hand controller.

The NBTA conference also provided Qatar Airways an opportunity to promote its two new upcoming destinations in India. The carrier will launch four-services-a-week to the northern city of Amritsar on 11 October, and, from 25 October to the exotic holiday destination of Goa.

In addition to the new India routes, over the next 10 months, Qatar Airways will add four further routes to its burgeoning network – Sydney and Melbourne in Australia marking its first foray Down Under; and two further cities in Europe.

The expansion is part of the airline’s ongoing robust growth strategy – a long-term commitment to develop its route infrastructure as new aircraft join the fleet at an average delivery rate of one a month. Long-term, the airline has placed orders for more than 220 aircraft worth over US$40 billion.

Offering a superb experience in all class categories, Qatar Airways is renowned for its internationally acclaimed Five-Star service, superior cuisine and on-board entertainment options.

Regardless of class of travel, passengers can enjoy the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system with a choice of more than 900 audio and video on demand options. From music, documentaries, movies, sport, comedy, children’s programmes and interactive games, passengers are rest assured of a great choice of entertainment.

Qatar Airways currently operates a young and modern fleet of 69 Boeing and Airbus aircraft to 82 cities worldwide, a figure set to rise sharply over the next few years. The airline’s fleet will increase to more than 110 planes by 2013 and destinations served are set to rise to over 120 in the next five years.