QATAR AIRWAYS SET TO GET 11 NEW AIRCRAFT BEFORE YEAR END
(Posted 27th October 2015)
Qatar Airways, global launch customer for the Airbus A350XWB ten months ago, is set to also become Airbus’ global launch customer for the revamped Airbus A320NEO in a move, which will see the Qatari national airline operate one of the youngest and most modern aircraft fleets among major carriers around the world.
Flying into East Africa with the Airbus A320, where the airline serves Entebbe and Kigali daily besides also flying twice daily to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, and daily to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, has this aircraft type provided Qatar Airways with the flexibility to ramp up frequencies more easily as and when demand rises.
There has been no indication as yet if and when the new A320NEO will be making a maiden appearance in Eastern Africa but as delivery of this aircraft type will ramp up is it only a matter of time before travelers in this part of the world will get a taste of Qatar Airways’ latest addition to their fleet.
The airline is experiencing an unprecedented growth this year with a 17 percent rise in passengers, as a result of new destinations but also as a result of added demand from existing destinations. By the end of the year will approximately 30 million passengers arrive and transit on Qatar Airways flights at Doha’s state of the art Hamad International Airport, which has provided the platform for five star service on the ground too, matching the five star ranking given to Qatar Airways by Skytrax for the past several years.
Additional aircraft deliveries this year will, according to information received, include more A350XWB’s, B787’s and B777’s and notably, as mentioned earlier, the first handover of the new Airbus A320NEO of which Qatar Airways has ordered 80. Overall does the airline have more than 300 new aircraft on order, worth over 70 billion US Dollars, divided among Airbus and Boeing.
Making another appearance at the Dubai Air Show, where several of Qatar Airways’ latest aircraft will be on static display at Dubai World Central from the 08th to the 12th of November, will all eyes be on the airline’s Group CEO Akbar Al Baker, hoping for announcements on new orders and more of his regular headline making comments during press conferences.
In a related development has Qatar Airways yesterday announced the launch of daily flights from Doha to Birmingham in the UK effective 30th of March next year, adding to their multiple daily frequencies to London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburg.
