Qatar Airways to Launch New International Flight From Doha to Benghazi

Qatar Airways announced new international flight to Benghazi, the newest route will take the number of destination launches by the airline to 15 during 2011, the airline said in a statement.

It said Benghazi was a destination which is underserved and will benefit from new international flights.

Benghazi, Libya’s north eastern Mediterranean port city and major economic centre, is a key destination for trade and exports.

Many industries including oil refining, food processing, cement production and tuna fishing, reside in the surrounding region of Cyrenaica, of which Benghazi is the capital, the carrier said.

Qatar Airways initially operated services to the capital Tripoli eight years ago. Flights are currently suspended due to the political situation, but are expected to resume soon, it added.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “Almost a year ago in Nice, I spoke about the possibility of expanding our Libyan operations, and I am delighted that we are now, within this short of a period, set to start flights to Benghazi, another key city in the country.

“We identified Benghazi as an underserved, primarily business destination, and now have the opportunity to bring this city into our fold.”

Benghazi will be the airline’s 13th route of the year, and precedes two other new route launches – Entebbe and Chongqing – starting on November 2 and November 28, respectively.

Etihad Airways announced last week that it would soon begin flights to Tripoli once it has been given security clearance.

The Libyan capital will become the fifth North African destination for the carrier, the Abu Dhabi carrier said in a statement.

James Hogan, CEO, said the airline was planning three flights a week to Tripoli as soon as the NATO no-fly zone is lifted and the airport is declared safe.

Qatar Airways Increases Weekly Flights to Iran, More Than Double Frequencies

Qatar Airways will add 31 weekly flights to Iran, more than doubling frequencies, as the second-biggest Arab carrier taps demand that the Islamic republic’s own operators are struggling to meet because of Western sanctions.

State-owned Qatar Air will increase services to 52 a week in a four-month ramp up starting December 1 while adding a fourth destination, Isfahan, to the network, it said in a statement.

The Gulf company may also offer domestic services under a code-sharing agreement with Iranian carriers.

“We have been working with the authorities in Iran for increased capacity across the country,” CEO Akbar Al Baker said in the statement.

The new services will aim to meet the travel demands of the Iranian expatriate community via Qatar Air’s international network based on Doha, he said.

Iran’s own ability to add and upgrade planes has been stymied by United Nations sanctions imposed over its nuclear program that block purchases from Boeing and Airbus.

Qatar Airways already has orders for more than 200 jets worth in excess of $40bn and will announce a further contract at the Dubai air show next month, Al Baker said October 6 in Oslo.

Qatar Air began serving Iran in 2004 with flights to Tehran, followed by Mashhad and then Shiraz. New services will be operated by Airbus A320 jets with business and economy seats.

A further accord has been struck allowing Qatar to operate domestic trips, according to the state-run Iranian Students News Agency, which cited comments from Shahriar Afandizadeh, the country’s deputy minister for roads and urban development.

Under the deal, Qatar Air would operate code-share flights with Iranian operators in order to comply with laws excluding foreign companies from domestic routes, Iran Air CEO Farhad Parvaresh told the news agency.

Qatar Airways Adds New Non-stop Flights Routes to Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia

Qatar Airways announced three new routes as part of its expansion plans. The carrier will launch non-stop flights from Doha to Entebbe, Uganda on 2nd November and to Baku, Azerbaijan onto Tbilisi, Georgia on 30th November.

Qatar Airways yesterday announced an expansion of its international route network with the airline all set to offer flights to Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia from the airline’s hub at Doha.

From November 2nd 2011, Qatar Airways will operate daily non-stop scheduled flights to Entebbe, one of the largest cities in Uganda. This will be the carrier’s first new route to the African continent since 2007.

Qatar Airways will expand its operations into Central Asia from November 30th when the flag carrier of Qatar will introduce daily non-stop flights to Baku continuing onto Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia respectively.

The new routes will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class constitution. A total of 12 seats will be available in business class whereas 132 seats will be offered to travellers who prefer economy class tickets.

Qatar Airways made this announcement as the airline prepares itself for hectic few months ahead with the start of flight operations to Shiraz, Venice and Montreal in June; Kolkata in July; Sofia in September and Oslo in October.

Addressing a press conference in Dubai at one of the Middle East’s premier travel trade show (Arabian Travel Market), Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker observed that markets like Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia are hugely underserved by international airlines.

“But there is clearly demand and huge potential and, as a network global carrier, we are able to fulfil the needs of the travelling public from these three countries and for those wanting to travel there from markets we serve around the world,” Al Baker was quoted by the Qatar Airways’ website while addressing the packed international press conference.

“Qatar Airways already has a successful operation to the Russian capital Moscow. Expanding our presence deeper into Central Asia has been a focus of ours for some time so it is with extreme delight to be able to announce we will soon have new routes to add in this part of the world.

“And we are pleased to be reinforcing our presence in Africa, four years after our last move there when we launched flights to Tanzania’s capital city of Dar es Salaam. Adding Entebbe provides us with another foothold deeper into the African continent, where we already serve 15 destinations. We are confident this route start-up will be as successful as the others being planned,” he further added.

Qatar Airways is one of the few airlines awarded with 5-star rating by Skytrax along the likes of Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Kingfisher Airlines. Qatar Airways may not be the first name that springs up when the discussion is about tickets on cheap flights, however if travellers plan their travel early and book well in advance, the chances of netting cheap tickets on flights goes dramatically up for passengers.

Qatar Airways’ Express Expansion

Qatar Airways has really been on an expansion spree for the past few months. In January 2011, the airline launched flights to Bucharest, Budapest and Brussels in a single month alone. The 5-star airline also started flights to Germany’s Stuttgart in March and to Syria’s Aleppo in April, and now this triple bonanza to Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Al Baker stated, “As we take delivery of more aircraft, we will quickly induct them into service and constantly look at new opportunities to give the travelling public more travel options, more choice and more flexibility.”

Qatar Airways’ hub at Doha International Airport feeds passenger and cargo traffic to all parts of the world. The carrier currently operates flights to 100 cities worldwide with a modernised fleet of nearly 100 aircraft. By 2013, the carrier hopes to serve over 120 locations with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft.

Qatar Airways Plans Order 60 Airbus Superjumbo Jets

Les Echos newspaper reported, Qatar Airways is in advanced negotiations to place a giant order for 60 airliners built by the European firm Airbus.

The order, which would be announced at the Le Bourget air show in June, would be for 50 A320 NEO aircraft, the re-engined version of the medium-range A320, and for 10 to 20 A380 superjumbo jets.

The airline would also place an additional 50 options to buy A320 NEO aircraft and options to buy an additional 10-20 A380 planes, the report said.

Until now, Qatar Airlines has ordered five of the superjumbo aircraft but has signalled that it intends to buy more.

Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Oman Air Propel Global Flight Capacity to Record

Propelled by Emirates, Etihad Airways and Oman Air, global flight capacity is poised to soar to “unprecedented” levels in April, according to new figures released by a key data and analysis provider for the aviation industry.

The three carriers operating from the Middle East — the fastest growing market in terms of capacity — are due to deliver an 11 per cent increase in capacity for the region in April, said the UK-based Official Airlines Guide, or OAG, in its monthly snapshot of airline activity.

Other carriers driving the region’s capacity growth are Qatar Airways and low-cost carriers Air Arabia and flyDubai.

The capacity growth forecast for the Middle East far exceeds the five per cent global flight capacity growth expected in April.

The unprecedented capacity surge comes at a time when world’s airlines continue to adjust their schedules and capacity daily to meet fluctuating demand in the wake of Japan’s devastating earthquakes and tsunami.

The report showed that airlines around the world will provide 317.4 million seats to passengers during the month of April in 2011. “This figure is five per cent higher than at the same time in 2010, or 13.9 million more seats, and represents the highest capacity ever provided by the industry,” the OAG said in its April Frequency and Capacity Trend Statistics report.

Frequencies have also been rising, up three per cent, or 80,653 more flights scheduled to operate worldwide in April 2011 compared to April 2010.

The Asia-Pacific region will be served with an extra 6.2 million seats by airlines during the month of April this year. Europe will see a three per cent increase in the number of seats offered by budget carriers in April, compared with the same month last year.

“The fastest-growing market by volume of seats is to and from the Middle East, with an 11 per cent increase in capacity year on year. However, political events in the region will likely have an effect on sustaining this level of scheduled capacity,” the report observed.

Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said air passenger traffic was picking up in the Middle East after the region was torn by instability but warned airlines would have to wait until after the summer for a recovery in Japan.

IATA, which represents the majority of world airlines, said the industry was also reeling from a $30 billion rise in its fuel bill this year due to the Arab unrest. IATA had previously said the March 11 Japanese earthquake and subsequent nuclear crisis would cause a major slowdown from which airlines would not recover before the second half.

“We will have to see the numbers for April because March is not a big indicator, but there will be a big effect,” Bisignani said.

The Association of British Travel Agents, or ABTA, said Dubai and Florida holidays are among the popular travel destinations along with Spain, the most popular destination for Britons, with the ever-popular Costa del Sol and the Canary Islands attracting large throngs of holidaymakers.

ABTA said travellers in the UK are taking advantage of the extra bank holiday provided for the royal wedding, with workers only needing to take three days off to enjoy an 11-day holiday. Two million holidaymakers in the UK will be heading for holidays abroad over the Easter period.

OAG said in terms of absolute growth, the intra-Asia Pacific region is the clear leader with more than 6.2 million additional seats and 40,203 more published flights this month against April 2010.

Over the last five years, figures within the Asia Pacific region have shown average capacity growth of seven per cent compared to the global average of four per cent.

Analysis of the European market reveals marginal growth of 0.3 per cent in frequencies and two per cent in capacity for services within the region.

Qatar Airways Will Start Three Flights Between Montreal and Doha

Pushing ahead with expansion plans for three weekly flights CSeries or no CSeries order, Qatar Airways said Tuesday it will start three flights a week between Montreal and Doha in June.

The carrier, which has been dickering with Bombardier Inc. for more than a year on a purchase of its coming CSeries airliner, was allowed its first three landing slots by Canada last fall. At that time, Ottawa denied additional landing rights to two other airlines from the region, Dubai’s Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airlines.

Competing airlines, particularly Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France/KLM, have strenuously objected to the Mideast carriers’ rapid expansions on the ground that they constitute unfair poaching on their turf. Consumer groups, however, welcome the additional competition, arguing that it would improve service and lower ticket prices.

Montreal would be the fourth North American destination city for the Mideast carrier, after New York, Washington, D.C., and Houston.

The route is part of a forceful international push by Qatar Airways, a growth strategy similar to the two United Arab Emirates airlines -and notably Emirates.

Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al-Baker said in Belgium this week that he plans to add 22 destinations for a total of 120 by 2013.

The airline operates 1,000 flights per week to 98 destinations.

Reports said that Qatar would fly Boeing 777s on the Montreal run.

Qatar added Brussels to its network this week and will soon follow up with Stuttgart and Aleppo in Syria.

Qatar Airways Adds Business Class Nonstop Flight Phuket to Thailand Flight Routes

Qatar Airways will expand and strengthen their first and business class offering with the addition of Phuket to the airlines Thailand routes. This non-stop flight will be the third for Qatar Airways from Doha. The flight will travel to Bangkok and extend from the capital to Vietnam.

This is a huge advance for Qatar, which will see the airline step forward and attempt to contend with Middle Eastern airlines and other giants offering first and business class flights like Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways. These airlines previously used Thailand as an establishing point for their services.

From October the Phuket routes will be phased into the already demanding and daily flights. The route will fly via Kuala Lumpur and will become the first airline in the Middle East to fly to the Thai island in the Southern part of the globe.

Flights in November will also alter, with flights from Bangkok beginning to take place. These flights will fly to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and will run regularly, four times a week.

Qatar airways is well established as a five-star airline that caters to the increasing demand in premium class travel. These additional first and business class flights will further strengthen the airlines impressive credentials and is sure to increase the amount of passengers who fly with the carrier dramatically.

Alaska Airlines orders two Boeing Next-Generation 737-800s

Alaska Airlines on Thursday announced it will buy two additional Boeing Next-Generation 737-800s in a deal valued at approximately 3 million.

The order by Alaska Airlines was made in June but was not announced until Thursday. Previously, Boeing attributed the sale of two Next-Generation 737-800s to an unidentified customer.

“Alaska Airlines continues to execute a successful and strategic vision based on its expansive fleet of efficient and reliable Next-Generation 737s,” said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Alaska celebrated its transition to a single fleet in 2008 and with these additional orders, is truly reaping the benefits represented by its slogan, ‘Proudly all-Boeing.’ Read more

Boeing Get Order 92 Aircraft at Farnborough Airshow

Boeing took the wraps off 92 more airliner orders Wednesday at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom as both domestic and foreign airlines and leasing companies continued their quest for new, efficient capacity.

Boeing, which builds its airliners in Everett and Renton, got orders from American Airlines for 35 more 737-800s to replace its aging fleet mainstay, the MD-80.

By the end of 2012, American will have 195 737-800s in its fleet. The next-generation 737, built in Renton, is 35 percent more fuel efficient than the MD-80.
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Qatar Airways Launched Direct Flights from Doha to Ankara

The first direct flights between Ankara and Doha, the Qatari capital, were launched on Monday by Qatar Airways. Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of the airline, said the company would apply to add more destinations in Turkey to its network if the market becomes “more open to competition.”

The Ankara-Doha flight is the 88th route of Qatar Airways and will operate between the two capitals four times a week. The airline launched direct flights to Istanbul in 2004 and currently operates daily flights to the city.

“Since we entered Turkey, our performance has exceeded our expectations,” Baker said, adding that excluding invited quests, the load factor on the first flight from Doha to Ankara was 80 percent on Monday.
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