Qatar Airways to launch Five new Routes in Summer 2005 Programme

Qatar Airways is to launch five new routes at the start of its 2005 summer flying programme.

Osaka, Melbourne, Athens, Tunis and Algiers will be added from next March, extending Qatar Airways’ global reach to 64 destinations from Doha, capital of the State of Qatar in the Arabian Gulf.

The route announcement comes just two weeks before the launch of the first of six new winter destinations from Doha - Beijing (November 25), London Gatwick (Nov 26), Seychelles (Dec 1), Yangon (8 January 2005), Johannesburg (Jan 16) and Cape Town (Jan 16).

Scheduled flights to Osaka will mark the airline’s first entry into the Japanese market while Melbourne becomes Qatar Airways’ first Australian destination. The Tunisian and Algerian capitals, Tunis and Algiers respectively, will be another foothold into North Africa, and the Greek capital, Athens, becomes the airline’s 10th European city served from Doha.

Announcing the five additional routes at the World Travel Market in London, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker said the airline was growing at a phenomenal pace with new aircraft joining the fleet at a rate of almost once a month.

“Qatar Airways is spreading its reach to exciting new destinations to cater for growing demand from a diverse group of travellers, whether they are flying on business or leisure.

“As one of the fastest growing and youngest carriers in the world, Qatar Airways has made significant inroads in the global aviation industry to become an award-winning airline in just a short few years.

“We recently joined an elite club of only two other airlines to be awarded a Five Star ranking for high standards, excellent service and good quality by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency.”

Qatar Airways operates 36 all-Airbus aircraft, averaging less than three years old. The fleet will nearly double in size over the next few years.

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