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Qatar Airways set to add Tanzania to its network

DOHA — Qatar Airways is to add Tanzania to its network in January 2007. Starting on January 9, the airline will operate four services a week to the capital, Dar Es Salaam, using an Airbus A319 in a two-class configuration of eight seats in Business Class and 102 seats in Economy. With the addition of Dar Es Salaam, Qatar Airways’ will serve71 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Far East. The airline’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker, says, “We expect Dar Es Salaam to be a very popular route with tourists from around the world and we are pleased to have at last been able to schedule Tanzania in our growth strategy after months of planning. We will be offering our passengers from key markets across Europe, Middle East and Asia convenient connections through Doha to and from Dar Es Salaam. Qatar Airways always looks at operating routes which are strategically important for either the business or leisure market – or both. We are extremely confident about Dar Es Salaam as all our analysis and research show it will be a highly successful route for the airline.” Qatar Airways already serves eleven destinations on the African continent: Casablanca, Algiers, Tunis, Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Khartoum, Tripoli, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nairobi.

Flights to Dar Es Salaam will depart from Doha every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8.05am, landing in Dar Es Salaam at 2.05pm. Return flights, on the same days, are scheduled to depart from the Tanzanian capital at 2.35pm, arriving in Doha at 10.05pm.

Qatar Airways currently operates a fleet of 49 all-Airbus aircraft, having recently taken delivery of a High Gross Weight (HGW) A340-600. A second of ten of the planes ordered by the airline, the longest passenger jet in service, is due to be delivered this summer and the fleet is set to more than double in size to 110 jets by 2015. Qatar Airways is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck Airbus A380 ‘super jumbos’ with four aircraft on order and scheduled for delivery from 2009 to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport, a state-of-the-art facility being built on reclaimed land. Al Baker has also announced that the airline has placed orders firm orders for Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER aircraft, with the first of them expected to be delivered in November 2007.

Qatar Airways, which is the official airline and prestige partner for the Doha 2006 Asian Games this December, has also entered into contracts to lease six narrow-bodied Airbus aircraft from CIT Aerospace, a global provider of commercial and consumer financial solutions.