Qatar Airways’ A350 Aircraft To Take Centre Stage At India Aviation 2016

CARRIER’S A350 CURRENTLY OPERATES ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS TO FOUR KEY DESTINATIONS

DOHA, Qatar: Qatar Airways will exhibit its Airbus A350 new-generation jetliner at India Aviation 2016 in Hyderabad from 16 – 20 March. The A350, for which Qatar Airways was the global launch customer, will make its debut at India’s largest civil aviation and aerospace show.

This theme of this edition of the biennial international exhibition and conference at Begumpet Airport is “India’s Civil Aviation Sector: Potential as Global Manufacturing & MRO Hub,” and the event is expected to bring together 250 exhibitors and up to 50,000 visitors from around the world. Organised by India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the event will be inaugurated by the Honourable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, and will feature static displays, demonstration flights and aerobatic shows.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are proud to showcase our A350 for the first time in the Indian market, giving prospective clients and visitors a glimpse of what to expect when they fly on board. We recently celebrated the first anniversary of our A350 operations which demonstrates our technologically-advanced and fast-growing young fleet. The aircraft is the very latest in design, technology and comfort, and will be making its debut appearance on the Indian shores soon.

“India, as one of the world’s largest aviation markets, continues to command respect. The focus this year on growing the manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses in India is commendable, and will benefit the aviation industry as a whole.”

Qatar Airways was the global launch customer of the A350, taking delivery of the first aircraft in December 2014 and starting commercial operations in January 2015. The airline currently operates seven aircraft with regular commercial service to Frankfurt, Munich, Singapore and Philadelphia – the first airline to operate A350s to three continents. The state-of-the-art aircraft features customised interior settings, with its Business Class cabin comprising of 36 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and its Economy Class cabin in a 3-3-3 configuration, allowing it to seat 247 passengers.

Qatar Airways’ A350 aircraft to take centre stage at India Aviation 2016
The Doha-based carrier participated in the Indian Aviation show in 2010, exhibiting a Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft and Qatar Executive’s Bombardier Challenger 300, together with a hospitality chalet. As in past events, Qatar Airways will extend its award-winning hospitality to esteemed guests, media and trade partners at a dedicated visitors chalet.

Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 19th year of operations, the airline operates a modern fleet of 177 aircraft flying to key business and leisure destinations across six continents.

Since 2004, when Qatar Airways operated to four cities in India, the airline has gradually increased capacity across the country, increasing the number of destinations to the current 13, and taking overall frequency to 102 passenger flights and 30 freighter services each week. Demand for Qatar Airways service in India continues to grow, which has been met by up-gauging aircraft from A320s, with a capacity of 144 seats to Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with capacity of 254 seats, and Boeing 777 aircraft, with capacity of 335 seats.
Qatar Airways offers daily passenger flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Chennai, Bengaluru (Bangalore), Nagpur, with 11-flights-a-week to Cochin and double daily flights to the capital, Delhi.

Notes to Editors:
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 19th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 177 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. Qatar Airways won Airline of the Year, Best Business Class Airline Seat and Best Airline in the Middle East at the 2015 Skytrax Awards. This is the third time the airline won the accolade of Airline of the Year.

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

In 2015 Qatar Airways launched Oryx One, an enhanced interface for its inflight entertainment system, increasing the number of movies and TV shows on board from 950 to up to 2,000. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 as well as select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the five-star airline’s on-board Wifi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways is one of the world’s leaders in sponsoring global sporting events, including the strategic team sponsorships of FC Barcelona and Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia FC. Qatar Airways’ strategy reflects the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message - Going Places Together.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s third largest cargo carrier, serves more than 45 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally on177 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet now includes seven Airbus 330, eight Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747 freighter.

For more information, visit our homepage www.qatarairways.com or our sites on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.
For Qatar Airways corporate images, please click here: http://www.qatarairways.com/corporateimages