DUBAI, 26 September 2007 — Qatar Airways has launched flights to the Indian city of Nagpur on Monday while Air Arabia announced daily, non-stop services between Amman (Jordan) and Sharjah from Oct.1, airline sources said yesterday.
The civil aviation minister of India, Praful Patel, was among the guests at Dr. Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur to welcome the first Qatar Airways flight and its chief executive officer Akbar Al-Baker who flew on the inaugural from Doha on Monday. The launch of twice-weekly flights between Doha and Nagpur takes the airline’s burgeoning network across India to 44 services a week.
The Nagpur route is being operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.
“Following our successful daily Mumbai flights, Nagpur will become Qatar Airways’ second gateway city in Maharashtra, giving our passengers greater choice,” Al-Baker said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Air Arabia, in announcing the Amman-Sharjah daily flights beginning Oct.1, said the route is a popular one for the airline, recording an average load factor of 85 percent during the first half of this year, up from 64 percent during the same period in 2006.
Currently, Air Arabia operates four flights per week between Sharjah and Amman.
Air Arabia currently operates four flights per week between the two Middle Eastern cities.
“This expanded flight schedule will prove beneficial for those with friends and family in both countries, especially the large expatriate Jordanian population in the UAE,”said Kyle Haywood, commercial director, Air Arabia.