QATAR AIRWAYS CONFIRMS MOVE TO NEW AIRPORT AND ARRIVAL OF FIRST AIRBUS A380
(Posted 06th May 2014)
Qatar Airways, serving Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam in East Africa, has at the opening of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai yesterday confirmed that they will shift their entire operation on the 27th of May to the new Hamad International Airport. Other airlines have already started to move their flights to the new mega airport and initial feedback is entirely positive about the shift, talking of a superior passenger experience and shining state of the art facilities.
The new airport was built with the Airbus A380 in mind, in the words of the airline’s CEO Akbar Al Baker some time ago purpose built to handle the world’s largest passenger plane.
The airline also confirmed that their first of initially 13 ordered A380’s will arrive in early June, just weeks from now, featuring what will no doubt be another award winning First Class cabin besides the traditional configuration of business class and economy class.
Said Al Baker in Dubai yesterday: ‘This is indeed an exciting year and a new chapter for Qatar Airways as we will move our entire hub operations to Hamad International Airport on 27 May. We also eagerly await the delivery of the world’s largest passenger jet and have no doubts that our new A380s will play a key role in our strategic expansion plans, and will help expand the onboard capacity – in the full comfort and luxury that our passengers expect’.
Besides showcasing their new First Class product did the airline also reveal some pictures of their new lounges for First Class and Business Class passengers at the new Hamad International Airport. Considering that at the present airport their lounges won serial awards for a number of global bests, it can only be speculated into what dimension the new lounges will catapult passenger experience when transiting in Doha from the end of the month onwards.
In what has been dubbed the ‘Year of the Fleet’ for Qatar Airways does the airline have plans to significantly expand its fleet with 300 additional aircraft, worth more than USD $60 billion, on order including, 80 Airbus A350s, 13 Airbus A330 Freighters, 60 Boeing 787s, 13 Boeing 777s (including freighters), 50 Boeing 777x, 80 Airbus A320s Neos and 13 Airbus A380-800s.
Qatar Airways is also the first Airbus customer to receive the newly-launched Airbus A350 long-range, twin-engine, wide-bodied jet. This new airliner represents the latest generation of passenger aircraft, designed for optimized fuel consumption, lower operating costs, and increased environmental efficiencies. Qatar Airways’ first A350 was showcased at the Singapore Air Show after a high-profile delivery event at the Hamad International Airport, Doha, Qatar, earlier this year.
The airline is also introducing a new daily all premium Business Class service from its hub in Doha to London Heathrow. The new service will be the first of its kind in the Middle East, commencing from 15 May, with an Airbus A319 aircraft fitted with an all Business Class, single aisle, 2–2 seating configuration offering 40 seats.
New destinations this year will among others be Miami from the 10th of June, Haneda from the 18th of June, Dallas / Fort Worth from the 01st of July as well as a number of other destinations in Europe, Arabia and Africa.
The airline’s sales teams in East Africa have used these latest announcements to blitz the market and anticipate added sales as passengers will be able to connect from their home airports in the region at the new airport from end May onwards while travelers flying with Qatar Airways to London can look forward to complete their journey from July onwards with the giant A380. For more information visit www.qatarairways.com
