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Towards the end of the year Qatar Airways is set to make a landing in the city of Chongqing – the Qatari national carrier’s fifth gateway to China.
Operating three-times-a-week, the non-stop service from the airline’s hub in Doha will take the carrier’s capacity to the Asian nation up to 28 flights a week.
The airline, which plans to launch the Chongqing flights from November 28, already operates daily non-stop from Doha to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou and four-flights-a-week to Beijing. The new Chongqing services will be operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class Business and Economy configuration.
With a population of just over 30 million people, Chongqing has a large industrial catchment area and is a prime example of Qatar Airways placing strategic importance into emerging cities around the world.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is one of the biggest airports in western China serving a large domestic market with limited international flights. Global access is typically via Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai.
Announcing the new route, Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said: “China is clearly one of the world’s most important countries on the international stage, being a pacesetter in manufacturing and helping transform the global economic landscape.
“It is this dynamism of a country that we at Qatar Airways have been monitoring closely and delighted to be part of China’s burgeoning economic growth. With four routes in China already well established, we look forward to adding Chongqing as our fifth gateway by the end of the year.
“Qatar Airways is demonstrating confidence of doing business with partners in China and the opening of Chongqing as our newest route, particularly being an up-and-coming city that is underserved by international airlines, shows our commitment to a vibrant economy.”
Recently named Airline of the Year 2011 in the annual Skytrax passenger survey, Qatar Airways continued its award-winning streak in only its 14th year of operations.
Qatar Airways now flies to over 100 diverse business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a modern fleet of 98 aircraft.
Over the last seven months, Qatar Airways has added 10 new routes to its burgeoning global network – Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Stuttgart (Germany), Aleppo (Syria), Shiraz (Iran), Venice (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Medina (Saudi Arabia) and Kolkata (India).
