Moscow welcomes inaugural Qatar Airways flight

QR 868 landed at Sheremetyevo early this afternoon, where a senior Qatar Airways delegation — headed by Chief Executive Officer Mr Akbar Al Baker — was met by senior government officials and airport authorities.

'We're very excited about being able to offer our services between Doha and Moscow," said Mr Al Baker.

"Moscow represents our 42nd destination and our first Eastern European city.

"With its strong historical and cultural elements, and its renewal as a major shopping city, we expect Moscow to be very popular with the leisure market.

"We're also expecting a significant amount of business traffic given the increasing trade relations between Russia and the Gulf region.

"I think Muscovites will quickly become aware that when they fly Qatar Airways, they will be getting the best cabin service of any Middle Eastern airline, and one of the best in the world.

"We'll also offer good connections to the rest of the Gulf, the Middle East and the Qatar Airways network.

"We'll initially be using our new long range A319 on the route. We've chosen this aircraft because of its range and the high level of comfort and services it gives to passengers," said Mr Al Baker.

Qatar Airways will fly three times a week to Moscow, every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Flights will leave Doha on Wednesdays at 07:45 am and arrive at 2:05 pm. On Fridays, the flight will leave Doha at 07:15 am and arrive at 1:35 pm. And on Saturdays, the flight will leave at 11.30 am and arrive at 5:50 pm.

The flight will leave Moscow on Wednesdays at 3:05 pm and reach Doha at 7:05 pm. On Fridays, the flight will leave at 2:45 pm, arriving in Doha at 6:45 pm. And on Saturdays, the flights will depart Moscow at 6:50 pm and arrive at 10:50 pm.

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

As part of this growth plan, Qatar Airways will extend its route network to 50 destinations by the end of 2003. It has recently added Manchester and Rome to its increasing route network. It will soon be adding Shanghai, Seoul and Tripoli to its route network.

Qatar Airways is also increasing its fleet. The airline has just announced a $5.1 billion deal to purchase 32 more additional Airbus aircraft in a deal that will increase the fleet to 52 by 2008. It presently operates a fleet of 24 Airbus aircraft.

Qatar Airways is also one of the launch customers for the A380 'super jumbo' in 2007.

The international airline quality monitor Skytrax recently rated Qatar Airways' cabin service as the best of the Middle Eastern carriers, and the fifth best in the world.

Qatar Airways operates a number of subsidiary companies including: Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Aviation Catering Company, United Media International, Qatar Airways Holidays, Doha International Airport, and Qatar Duty Free.