QATAR Airways has become the first Middle East carrier to launch non-stop scheduled flights between Doha and Beijing.
The first flight touched down at Beijing International Airport with a large delegation of dignitaries – including the Chinese Ambassador to Qatar, Zhao Huimin, and members of the media from Qatar – headed up by Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker.
The new flights, operated three times a week, are part of an aggressive winter route expansion campaign that sees six new destinations being served from Doha to cities around the world over the next two months. Beijing becomes the second city in China to be served by Qatar Airways following the successful launch last year of non-stop scheduled flights between Doha and Shanghai.
Al Baker said on arrival in Beijing: “Since the launch of our Shanghai flights last year, the route has proved very popular and it was only natural for us to extend our five-star service to business and leisure travellers by introducing Beijing as our second destination in China. Qatar Airways is pleased to be the only Middle East carrier to offer the travelling community an air link to yet another city in China and share in the prosperity of a country which is enjoying an economic boom.”
The Beijing flights are operated by state-of-the-art Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 24 seats in Business and 236 seats in Economy.