JEDDAH, 1 April 2008 — Qatar Airways started serving the southern Chinese industrial port city of Guangzhou from the start of the summer flying season yesterday.
"The Doha-based carrier becomes the first from the Gulf to serve Guangzhou," Qatar Airways Area Manager for Western Province Ahmed M. Al-Idrissi said at the launch celebration at Laylaty Hall late Sunday. "This also further cements our position in one of the world's fastest growing economies," he said.
Qatari Consul General Eisa Ahmed T. Al-Kuwari and Chinese Consul General Chang Yi were among a large number of officials and businessmen present. A cultural program marked the celebration. Idrissi said the airline would operate four flights-a-week nonstop using an Airbus A330 aircraft in a two-class configuration of up to 24 seats in business class and a maximum 248 in economy class.
The addition of Guangzhou strengthens Qatar Airways' China network, where it already flies to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong with a total of 16 flights a week. Guangzhou takes the airline's capacity into China up to 20 flights a week. From May 1, Qatar Airways adds a fifth weekly service to Guangzhou.
Passengers flying Qatar Airways from Jeddah will have "excellent connections" to Guangzhou via the airline's operational hub of Doha.
The new services will provide a strong sporting link as Doha hosted the biggest ever Asian Games in 2006, while Guangzhou is set to host the next sporting extravaganza in 2010.
Guangzhou, also known by its older English name of Canton, has a population of almost 10 million people and is the capital of Guangdong province. Situated on the Pearl River, the city is 120 km northwest of Hong Kong.
Al-Idrissi said Guangzhou would complement the airline's daily services to Hong Kong, offering business and leisure travelers an exciting opportunity to visit two key Chinese cities in such close proximity to each other.
Beginning May 1, Al-Idrissi said, Qatar Airways would increase capacity further into Guangzhou with a fifth weekly scheduled flight.
Qatar Airways' China operation currently includes daily flights to Hong Kong, four weekly services to Beijing and five services a week to Shanghai.
The airline operates a modern fleet of 60 Airbus and Boeing aircraft to 81 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Far East and North America.
The airline is one of an elite group of carriers with a five-star ranking for service and excellence awarded by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry research company.
Skytrax also named Qatar Airways' cabin crew as "Best in the Middle East" for the fifth year running in 2007 following a survey of more than 12 million passengers. During the current 2007-08 financial year, Qatar Airways expects to carry more than 10 million passengers worldwide.
