So, with the arrival of its fifth Boeing 777-300ER in December, Qatar’s national carrier has deployed the aircraft on flights between Doha and Manila from January 2009, increasing its capacity to Southeast Asia.
“The aircraft will enable Qatar Airways to build up an efficient cargo hub linking Europe and Asia, supplemented by its regional wide-body freighters,” executive vice president Ali M. Al Rais says.
Qatar Airways, which launched the Doha and Ho Chi Minh City route with four non-stop fl ights a week in March 2007, upgraded the service’s aircraft to an Airbus A330-300 in November last year due to good demand. It also plans to further develop the route, and hopes to develop daily flights between the two destinations one day.
Aside from Vietnam, Qatar Airways also opened a new representative office in July last year in the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu – the airline’s fourth office on mainland China. The airline also opened three other offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in March, 2008. The airline operates more than 20 flights a week out of Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou to Doha.
Aggressive expansion plans
Qatar Airways, which is undergoing an aggressive expansion strategy over the next two years with outstanding orders for more than 200 aircraft, is to take delivery of more Boeing 777-200 freighters this year.
“The expansion plan of Qatar Airways will see it operating a fleet of 110 aircraft by 2013 compared with 65 planes now. Its order book of 200 planes is worth more than $30 billion,” a Qatar Airways spokesman says.
Another important Asia Pacific destination which Qatar Airways is looking to expand to as part of a long-term growth plan is Australia. No details have been revealed yet.
The airline, which began US service with flights to Washington in 2007 from its base in Doha, has also upgraded its six-flights-a-week to New York via Geneva to a daily flight in October, effective from the start of its winter 2008 schedule.
Although a machinists’ strike at Boeing stalled deliveries of the airline’s Boeing-777 aircraft, Qatar Airways now expects to take delivery of the aircraft and launch that route in March.
To promote the much anticipated launch of the daily Doha-Houston flights using Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft on March 30, Qatar Airways recently embarked on a GCC-wide promotional road show meeting key travel trade and industry partners.
The GCC promotional road show, led by a delegation headed by Al Rais, travelled to various destinations including Dubai, Kuwait City, Bahrain, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.
Qatar Airways is poised to launch daily non-stop flights between Doha and Houston – the airline’s third US gateway city – on March 30, using Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft. The route will offer connections to and from Dubai.
The new Houston link will be the Qatar national carrier’s first foray into southern United States, connecting two significant global energy centres. At almost 17 hours flying time, the Doha – Houston route will be one of the longest non-stop flights in the world.
New dedicated freighter services
Aside from the USA, Qatar Airways has introduced a non-stop freighter service between Doha and Sialkot, in north-east Pakistan in November – a weekly service operating on Mondays using an Airbus A300-600F.
In September, Qatar Airways introduced a new freighter service between Doha and Zaragoza, in northern Spain. The weekly service operates every Saturday using an Airbus A300- 600 freighter.
The return flight from Zaragoza stops in Dubai which increases Qatar Airways’ freighter services to the emirate to threetimes- a-week.
Turning to Pakistan, Qatar Airways already operates freighter services to the cities of Lahore and Karachi.
“This is the second new freighter service launched by Qatar Airways Cargo in the space of just two months having begun cargo flights to the Spanish city of Zaragoza in September,” Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker, says.
According to Naveen Chawla, Qatar Airways’ India regional manager, India remains an important market not just for Qatar Airways’ civil aviation operations but also as the principal source for manpower, including crew and other trained staff .