Qatar Airways has continued its 2011 European expansion drive with the launch of scheduled flights from the airline’s Doha hub to Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia. Flight QR943 arrived at Sofia International Airport to a water salute and welcome ceremony on Wednesday. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov greeted the first flight at a reception, attended by airport officials and dignitaries from the Bulgarian government and local business community. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker led a delegation on the inaugural service from the airline’s operational hub of Doha. The delegation included Bulgarian Charge D’Affaires to Qatar Miroslav Zafirov. Sofia becomes the latest addition to Qatar Airways’ European portfolio this year, which has seen the launch of five other routes — Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Stuttgart and Venice — in phases since January. Qatar Airways’ European network now totals 26 cities, representing 25 percent of the airline’s global network of over 100 destinations. Addressing guests at the airport ceremony in Sofia, Al Baker said: “We are confident that Bulgaria will prove to be a great success for Qatar Airways and will open new doors for businesses and individuals. Four flights a week will give Bulgarians the opportunity to explore a whole new world, in the most convenient way with Qatar Airways via our Doha hub.”

Emirates’ hospitality warmed St. Petersburg’s Ice Palace this week, paving the way for the launch of flights to the city from Nov. 1. More than 800 guests from the business community and local government gathered for the gala dinner event at the multipurpose home of ice hockey team, SKA St. Petersburg, to hear more about one of the world’s most successful airlines and its inspirational base of Dubai. Guests also were given the chance to see elements of the airline’s flagship A380 aircraft with a replica First Class Private Suite on display. “St. Petersburg is an important gateway into Russia and a very active region for business, industry and culture — its attractions and world heritage sites draw millions of tourists each year,” said Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ divisional SVP, commercial operations worldwide. “For the first time, the UAE was rated among the top ten investors in the Russian economy last year. We warmly welcome Emirates in St. Petersburg,” said Yury Molchanov, vice governor of St. Petersburg. The launch of St. Petersburg will be the airline’s second gateway into Russia after Moscow, which started in 2003 and is now a double daily service. Russia’s ‘Northern Capital’ will be Emirates’ 115th destination and fourth new route this year after Basra, Geneva and Copenhagen. “We have been working on the launch of Emirates’ flight to the Northern Capital for several years with the active support of the St. Petersburg government and Russian Union of Travel Industry,” said Sergey Emdin, general director of Northern Capital Gateway LLC, operator of Pulkovo Airport.

Siemens AG has been ranked the most sustainable company in its industry for the fourth time in a row. In the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) — the sustainability rating established by Dow Jones and SAM-Siemens has again taken first place in the diversified industrials category, which includes companies like 3M, General Electric, Toshiba and Thyssen Krupp. Out of a possible 100 points, Siemens received 90 — its highest overall rating to date and a further improvement over last year’s result of 87 points. The company has now been honored by the DJSI twelve times in a row for its sustainable activities. “By capturing the No. 1 position once again, we’ve proven just how rigorously the company is oriented to sustainability and how our employees put sustainability into practice on an everyday basis. For us, this is a competitive advantage,” said Barbara Kux, the Siemens Managing Board member responsible for sustainability. In addition to the economic and social dimensions, Siemens is focusing intensively on the expansion of its Environmental Portfolio, emissions reduction and the efficient use of natural resources. The company planned to generate revenue of 25 billion euros with its Environmental Portfolio in fiscal 2011. With revenue from the Portfolio totaling 28 billion euros in fiscal 2010, Siemens not only achieved this target a year earlier than planned; it considerably exceeded it. The company now wants to generate more than 40 billion euros in revenue with green technologies by the end of fiscal 2014.