Qatar Airways to deploy 2nd A380 from Doha-Paris

Qatar Airways’ second A380 aircraft will, from July 3, 2014, commence operations from Hamad International Airport in Doha to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The airline recently announced that starting from next month, it would deploy the first of its 13 A380s on the QR003 and QR004 London-Heathrow route. The second A380 will be used for service to Paris on QR39, and return on QR40, as per a release.

Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways, said, “It is yet another significant moment for our airline as we welcome these new aircraft into our rapidly expanding fleet. Operating on the Doha to Paris Charles de Gaulle route, these aircraft, with their customised cabins and five-star specifications, will set a new level of comfort for our passengers, who will also benefit from the smooth and pleasant passenger experience at the world’s newest hub, Hamad International Airport - the soon to be home of Qatar Airways.”

Featuring a tri-class configuration of seating in First, Business and Economy Class, over two decks, the A380 is the largest passenger jet in the world and will provide a superior traveller experience to the Qatar Airways’ customers.

The new First Class A380 seat, recently revealed at ITB Berlin, features a 90-inch seat pitch, transforming into a fully flat bed, together with an expansive choice of entertainment options displayed on individual 26-inch television screens.

Hamad International Airport (HIA), Qatar Airways’ new home as of May 27, has been designed to specifically cater to the A380 aircraft, with six contact gates designed especially for the superjumbo. In addition, the maintenance hangar at HIA is able to accommodate two A380s simultaneously.

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Qatar Airways to increase seat capacity on Doha-Vienna route from Sept 1, 2014

In order to cater to the increasing passenger demand, Qatar Airways will upgrade its service on the Doha-Vienna route with the introduction of an A330 aircraft. The upgrade from an A320 to the A330 aircraft will commence on September 1, 2014, as per a release.

The switch from the A320 to an A330 will increase the total number of weekly seats servicing the route to 336 Business Class seats and 3,304 Economy Class seats, resulting in an increase of 168 and 1,624 seats, respectively.

Günter Saurwein, Country Manager Germany & Austria, Qatar Airways, said, “We recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of our first flight to Vienna; a milestone which is a testament to our commitment to not only the city, but to our customers as well. We are extremely pleased that we are now able to offer an increase in capacity by introducing the A330 to the route in order to help meet the growing needs of our passengers. It has been a pleasure to work with Vienna Airport in developing this route over the last decade and we look forward to many more successful years working together.”

Julian Jäger, Board Member, Vienna Airport, added, “Our cooperation with Qatar Airways has worked well for many years, and we see the sound development of traffic on this route as a very positive factor. We therefore welcome the changeover to a larger aircraft and the resulting expansion of capacity on these flights. This will further enhance the role of Vienna Airport as a gateway to the Middle East.”

On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, flight QR183 departs Doha at 08:35 hrs to arrive in Vienna at 13:25 hrs. On the return leg, flight QR184 departs 16:15hrs to reach Doha at 22:35 hrs. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flight QR181 departs Doha at 01:50 hrs to arrive in Vienna 06:40 hrs. On the return journey, flight QR182 departs Vienna at 11:45 hrs to reach Doha at 18:05 hrs.

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Qatar Airways to fly Dreamliner to Moscow

Commencing on 1 September 2014, the airline will add two weekly flights to its Doha-Moscow route, bringing the total frequency to 14 flights per week, or two per day. And to add even more capacity on the route, Qatar Airways will replace its current mix of single-aisle Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft with a combination of A320s and twin-aisle B787s.

“We established our Moscow route just over 10 years ago, and since then we have watched it grow steadily,” said Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker. “I’m very pleased that we are able to meet our customers demand by increasing not only the frequency of flights per week, but also introducing one of the most state-of-the-art aircraft in the world to the route.”The increase in both frequency and aircraft capacity will add 188 more business class seats and 1,328 extra economy class seats to the route every week.

Qatar Airways’ Dreamliner features 254 seats in two cabins – 22 in business class and 232 in economy.

The upgraded Moscow flights will leave Doha every day at 0725 and 1445, with the return flights departing the Russian capital at 1245 and 1955.

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