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Information About

Qatar Airways




Qatar Airways is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization .


| Information

  Airline Qatar Airways
  Logo qatar_airways_logogif
  Logo Size 250px
  Fleet Size 48
  Destinations 70
  IATA QR
  IATA Number 157
  ICAO QTR
  ICAO Country Prefix OT = Qatar
  Callsign Qatari
  Parent Qatar Airways Group
  Founded 1993
  Headquarters Doha , Qatar
  Key People Akbar Al Baker ( CEO )
  Hubs Doha International Airport
  Frequent Flyer Qatar Airways Privilege Club
  Lounge
  Alliance
  Website http://wwwflyqatarcom



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HISTORY


The airline was established on 22 November 1993 and started operations on 20 January 1994 . It was originally owned by members of the state's royal family, but was relaunched in April 1997 by a new management team headed by Akbar Al Baker (Chief Executive). The airline is owned by the government of Qatar (50%) and private investors (50%).

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is the airlines Frequent Flyer Programme with the highest earn rate in the world. Qatar Airways is one of the only four airlines that have achieved the five star status by an independent airline evaluation firm, Skytrax .

Qatar Airways is the official airline for 2006 Asian Games held in Doha , Qatar in 1-15 December 2006.


DESTINATIONS

''See full article: Qatar Airways Destinations ''


NEW SERVICES


The latest addition on the airline's network is Hong Kong , which was launched on March 26 2006. Nagpur will also be added, bringing the number of destinations to India served by the airline to six.

The airline operates daily flights to Hong Kong and three of the flights per week will be extended to Seoul , South Korea . The airline has added an additional weekly flight to Shanghai , bringing the number of flights to the Chinese commercial capital to four per week. Qatar Airways has increased its London Heathrow service from twice daily to three times daily since March 26, 2006.

Qatar Airways recently announced in the Berlin travel fair (ITB) that it plans to make its first foray into the North American market in late 2006 with direct non-stop scheduled flights to the United States using brand new A340-600 HGW aircraft. Moreoever, the airline announced a new livery change which would be introduced to the A340-600 HGW aircraft and gradually applied to the existing fleet over time.

The airline has recently announced that they will increase frequencies to several destinations and has already launched nonstop flights to Madrid, replacing the Rome-Madrid sector.

Destinations set to be increased in terms of frequencies:

  • Algiers - Increase from 3 to 4 weekly flights

  • Athens - Increase from 5 to 7 weekly flights

  • Bangkok - Increase from 11 to 14 weekly flights

  • Frankfurt - Increase from 7 to 9 weekly flights (10 next winter)

  • London Heathrow- Increase from 14 to 21 weekly flights

  • Madrid - Flights via FCO will now fly non-stop 3 weekly

  • Manchester - Increase from 4 to 7 weekly flights

  • Osaka - Increase from 4 to 5 weekly flights (6 next winter)

  • Paris - Increase from 7 to 10 weekly flights (14 next winter)

  • Tunis - Increase from 3 to 4 weekly flights



FLEET


The Qatar Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2006):



Qatar Airways has ordered 2 Airbus A380 aircraft and has options on 2 more. It plans to start services with the A380 in 2009 on its route to London (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).

At the 2005 edition of the Paris Air Show , Qatar Airways ordered 60 Airbus A350 's and 20 Boeing 777 s for a combined total of $15.2 billion. Qatar Airways has become the largest customer to date for the yet to be launched A350 and the first Middle East client. The first A350 will be delivered in 2010, with all 60 aircraft in service by 2015. The Boeing 777s will be delivered between 2007 and 2010 (ref: Air International, July 2005).

The average age of the Qatar Airways fleet is 5.5 years (at April 2006)


EXTERNAL LINKS