THE RUSH IS ON TO FLY ON THE WORLD’S LATEST ‘BIRD’
(Posted 06th December 2014)
Qatar Airways, already one of East Africa’s most liked airlines with connections to Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam, is bound to see their popularity soar even more when on the 14th of December they will present the world’s most advanced passenger aircraft, the Airbus A350XWB, to the public at Doha’s brand new Hamad International Airport.
The arrival of the first ever such aircraft, said to be outperforming Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner on several key scores, will no doubt boost QR’s fortunes as the airline can then boast to fly all three of the most recently launched wide bodied aircraft, the Airbus A380, the Boeing B787 Dreamliner and now, from next week that is, the Airbus A350XWB.
Operating already one of the youngest fleets among any of the world’s leading airlines, will the unfolding deliveries of this aircraft type, Qatar Airways has 80 of them on order, further lower the average age, a trend which will continue for some time to come as Qatar Airways has a further 100 Boeing B777X on order too, apart from some 160 other aircraft of both Airbus and Boeing makes, worth a staggering 70+ billion US Dollars.
Qatar Airways is now operating for some 17 years already and today flies to 145 destinations around the world with a fleet of 142, which as of next week will have grown to 143 already.
The Airbus A350XWB will commence full commercial service in January with the first destination named as Frankfurt and passengers from Eastern Africa heading to Germany may well consider booking their flights with Qatar Airways and asking to be put on the Airbus A350XWB for the onward flight out of Doha, space permitting that is as aviation buffs from around the world are said to be queuing up for the privilege to be among the first to experience how the new jet performs in the skies.
QR’s Chief Executive Mr. Akbar al Baker sounded exuberant when he broke the news of the upcoming delivery date: ‘The delivery of our first A350 XWB aircraft, as global launch customer, is a highly anticipated event in the relatively young history of Qatar Airways and the second significant fleet milestone for our airline, having recently taken delivery of our [first] A380 aircraft. Qatar Airways is committed to offering our passengers the very best five-star experience when it comes to travelling, not only in terms of the custom-built comfort features across all of our cabins and the service on board, but with the investment and expansion of our modern fleet. The arrival of this new generation of aircraft type represents a moment of great symbolic national pride for the State of Qatar, and I know its delivery will be met with excitement at its new home Hamad International Airport, which was built for advanced aircraft types such as this’.
Watch the following YouTube clip about the new aircraft by clicking on http://youtu.be/zlQ8O0feWuU and for added information about schedules, fares, Qatar Airways’ frequent flyer programme and membership benefits for oneWorld Alliance card holders, visit www.qatarairways.com
