Qatar outlines expansion plans in Asia
Qatar Airways is exploring further growth opportunities in the Far East following the launch of flights to Tokyo, its newest Asian destination, according to the airline’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker.
Qatar Airways’ new direct daily services between Tokyo’s Narita International Airport and the Qatari capital of Doha, launched in April, has become one of the company’s top performing routes within its first two months of operation.
Last week, the airline announced new routes from Doha to Phuket and Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, to begin in October and November 2010 respectively.
In addition, the airline is stepping up frequency between Doha and Bangkok from double daily flights to three services a day from the end of October.
With Tokyo, Qatar Airways’ Far East and South East Asian route network currently stands at 15 destinations, representing almost 20 per cent of the carrier’s global coverage.
“The Asian market as a whole is one of our biggest in terms of revenue generation, and Japan is very much part of our success story in Asia,†said Al Baker.
Qatar Airways has boosted its route network this year with the addition of seven new routes – Bengaluru (Bangalore), Copenhagen, Ankara, Tokyo, Barcelona, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.
Last week, in addition to Phuket and Hanoi, Al Baker announced Qatar Airways plans to launch four new European routes – Budapest, Bucharest, Nice and Brussels – over a nine-week period from November as part of the airline’s ongoing expansion drive.
“By early next year, Qatar Airways will be operating to 98 destinations, a figure we expect to easily top 100 during 2011, which indeed is a remarkable feat for an airline which is only 13 years old,†said Al Baker.
Ian Jarrett
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