Qatar Airways to invest USD150 million in Doha International second phase expansion

The news was revealed at Arabian Travel Market 2003 in Dubai where the Qatari flag carrier has a significant presence.

"This second phase expansion, which will take five months to complete, will include expanding the arrivals terminal to increase its capacity from 3.5 million to six million passengers, the construction of an additional five bays and two hangars, expanding the duty free by 25% to provide in total 1,250 square metres and the building of covered car parking to accommodate 2,000 cars," said Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways.

"This investment reflects the growth of our airline and of Doha as an expanding international tourism and business hub."

The third phase of the expansion of Doha International Airport will see Qatar Airways invest an additional US $50 million. The third phase will provide an additional five bays - taking the total number of bays to 29 when the expansion is complete.

"Qatar Airways has an aggressive fleet development programme which will see our current fleet of 23 Airbus aircraft grow to 28 by the end of this year," said Al Baker.

Qatar Airways recently announced the delivery of a new A330-200 and A320-200. It will shortly take delivery of a long-range A319 corporate jetliner and is one of the launch customers for the A380 'super jumbo' scheduled for delivery in 2007.

Meanwhile, the airline - one of the fastest-growing in the world - has announced that it will begin a thrice-weekly Doha-Moscow flight on August 13th, making the Russian Federation capital its 42nd destination.

Qatar Airways will fly to Moscow every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Flight QR 868 will leave Doha at 7.45am every Friday and Saturday, arriving Sheremetyevo at 14.00. Flight QR 866 will depart Doha at 11.25 am each Saturday and arrive Sheremetyevo at 17.40.

"This same day service is timed to suit both business and leisure travellers," said Al Baker. "There are strong and increasing tourism links between Russia and Gulf destinations and the operation of a premium service on the route is likely to attract a substantial following."

Qatar Airways will operate its Oryx Long range A319 aircraft, which seats up to 100 passengers in a two-class configuration on the route.

Building on a reputation for premium service, Qatar Airways has launched an aggressive growth plan to ensure it can offer people a greater choice of destinations, more flights, and the latest in-flight products and services.

Qatar Airways has become the first airline to introduce 'Sky Newspapers ' - an innovative service which delivers quality copies of the world's most respected newspapers to First and Business class passengers often before the actual papers hit the street stands.

Among the Sky Newspapers available on Qatar Airways are: The Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allegmeine, Sueddetsche Zeitung, the Times of India, An Nahar, Al Hayat and the Shanghai Daily. The selection is in addition to a range of regional and international daily newspapers currently carried onboard Qatar Airways.

Last year, Qatar Airways recorded sales revenue growth of 10% on its annual target. Cargo revenues also performed well, producing 12% growth on the previous year. The airline carried more than 2.5 million passengers from destinations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and the Far East.

Qatar Airways also operates a number of subsidiary companies, including: Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Catering Company, Qatar Airways Holidays, Qatar Distribution, Qatar Airways Cargo and Qatar Duty Free.