Qatar Airways links Gulf with Beijing

Other prominent Chinese community members attended the dinner held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai.

"This new route reinforces Qatar Airways' commitment to continually look for new opportunities and better serve our passengers," said Naveen Chawla, Qatar Airways' Area Manager, Dubai & Northern Emirates.

"With an increasing Chinese population residing in the UAE, we are confident that this new route will prove extremely popular."

Qatar Airways operates seven daily scheduled flights between Dubai and Doha International Airport, from where it serves 56 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East.

By the end of 2005, the airline will serve at least 70 destinations, including cities in North America and Australia.

Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines, operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. It currently operates 36 modern all-Airbus aircraft, which is expected to double in size over the next few years following a $5.1bn order for 34 additional planes over the next few years.

The airline is one of only three carriers to be awarded a Five Star status by Skytrax, the independent aviation monitoring agency which also ranked Qatar Airways cabin crew as the best in the Middle East for the second year running and fifth best in the world.

HE Yang Weiguo hailed Qatar Airways' decision to add the new Beijing service to its existing Shanghai route as helping build Chinese-Gulf relations.

"I congratulate Qatar Airways on this new route, which further improves connectivity between the GCC and China," said the Consul General. "This comes as cooperation between the Gulf and China is on the rise and this new route will contribute towards an increased exchange of information."

Qatar Airways' Dubai-Doha-Beijing service operates thrice-weekly, with a transit time in Doha of only 75 minutes.