Qatar Airways expects to fly to Basra on September 6 after coalition delays flights

"Initially we expected to begin services to Basra on August 30," said Mr. Ali Al Rais.

"However coalition authorities have informed us today that all commercial services to Basra have been delayed while they make final preparations to receive commercial passengers at Basra International Airport.

"The delay does not diminish our commitment to begin services to Basra.

"At this stage we expect to begin flights to Basra on September 6 and continue with regular weekly flights every Saturday."

Subject to final coalition approval, flights will leave Doha at 9.35 am and arrive in Basra at 12.00noon. The return flight from Basra will depart at 1.00pm and arrive in Doha at 1.25pm.

"The Basra flights will have connections to Dubai and Abu Dhabi," said Mr. Al Rais.

"We hope to add more services to Basra in the very near future.

"I also have the pleasure to announce that Qatar Airways will be sponsoring the Rebuilding Iraq conference in Washington this week.

Qatar Airways wants to play its in helping the people of Iraq rebuild their nation, its infrastructure and their services," explained Mr. Al Rais.

"This sponsorship is a small gesture which we hope will facilitate the rebuilding process.

"When we begin flights to Basra, it will become Qatar Airways' 43rd destination. We will continue to add more and more new destinations to our network.

"On October 26th, we will begin flights to Seoul and Shanghai. And on November 9 we will start flights to Tripoli.

These destinations are all part of our commitment to give people a greater range of destinations to fly - whether it be for leisure or business," said Mr. Al Rais.

Building on a reputation of premium customer service, Qatar Airways has launched an aggressive growth plan under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, 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 expansion, Qatar Airways will extend its route network to 50 destinations by the end of 2003, and 60 by the end of 2004. It recently added Manchester, Rome and Moscow to its list of destinations.

Qatar Airways is also expanding its fleet. The airline has just announced a $5.1 billion deal to purchase 32 additional Airbus aircraft in a deal that will increase the fleet to 52 by 2008. It presently operates a fleet of 25 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 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.