Qatar Airways to expand further.
Qatar Airways has announced that it will operate a new service between Birmingham and Doha from 30th March 2016, adding to its existing services from London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh.
With eight flights a week, including two flights on Saturdays, passengers travelling to and from Birmingham will have access to convenient and seamless transfers at the airline’s state-of-the-art hub Hamad International Airport.
The announcement of this new route further strengthens Qatar Airways’ commitment to the UK regions, with Birmingham being the centre for the largest concentration of businesses outside of London, boasting 34,285 companies including over 700 international firms. Residents of Birmingham and the surrounding areas will be able to enjoy greater choice and convenience when travelling without the need to transfer through London’s busy airports.
The route will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which has a two-cabin configuration, comprising of 22 seats in Business Class and 232 Economy Class seats. All seats include individual television screens, with Economy Class customers benefitting from a screen 10.6-inches wide, offering the latest inflight entertainment comprised of up to 2,000 options while experiencing the airline’s award-winning service. Every seat is an aisle seat in Business Class where passengers can catch up on sleep in a fully-flat bed or make productive use of their time utilising the large work surface area. Passengers can also stay connected while travelling with the option of Wi-Fi which is available throughout the aircraft.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We are delighted to announce Birmingham as Qatar Airways’ fourth destination in the United Kingdom from March 2016. This additional route strengthens Qatar Airways’ commitment to the regions across the UK and will create new commercial and leisure links between the city of Birmingham and the 152 destinations served by the airline.”
Qatar Airways UK and Ireland Country Manager, Richard Oliver, added: “The addition of Birmingham to the Qatar Airways network marks an important milestone in our commitment to the UK market. Following our recent increase in services to both Edinburgh and Manchester, Qatar Airways will operate a total of 71 flights a week between the United Kingdom and Qatar from March 2016.”
Birmingham Airport CEO, Paul Kehoe said: “This is fantastic news for both Birmingham Airport and the region, and is our tenth new airline to announce or launch this year. Not only will our passengers have the choice of flying with the award winning carrier to Doha’s state-of-the-art hub Hamad International Airport, they will have a choice of 152 destinations served by the airline, including South East Asia, China and Australasia.”
The departure times in both directions provide convenient, quick and seamless onward connections to 152 key business and leisure destinations across Qatar Airways’ ever-expanding global network. Passengers can now take advantage of reduced journey times from Birmingham through to Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Africa with cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangkok and Hong Kong now easily accessible from the West Midlands.