Qatar Airways launches flights to Mashad

The inaugural flight from Doha International Airport touched down at Mashad International Airport with a delegation led by Qatar Airways Senior Manager Commercial Operations Arabian Peninsula, Iran, South Asia & Myanmar, Ali Al Rais. Onboard were a mix of Saudi Arabian and Bahraini tour operators and travel agents.

The city is being served non-stop twice-weekly from Qatar Airways' operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar. The route is operated with an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business and 132 in Economy.

Mashad becomes Qatar Airways' second Iranian point served from Doha, following the successful launch of flights to the capital Tehran 12 months ago - a route which has grown from strength to strength.

To celebrate the route launch, Qatar Airways is offering members of its Privilege Club frequent flyer programme with double Qmiles for the first full month of the new Mashad flights.

Qatar Airways now flies to 63 destinations worldwide from its hub in Doha, capital of the
State of Qatar. Destinations served cover Europe, Middle East, Africa, Indian sub-continent and the Far East.

The month of June will see further expansion by Qatar Airways to reinforce its status as one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the Tehran route had performed extremely well, prompting the airline to step up capacity from four to five flights a week soon after the launch.

"Tehran has proved to be a very important and busy route for Qatar Airways which is why we increased capacity last year.

"We are now delighted to add Mashad as our second point in Iran and serve the growing needs of our passengers, many of whom will be travelling from neighbouring Middle East markets to Iran," he said.

"Our new routes will be ideal for pilgrims, holidaymakers and business travellers from the region and, indeed around the world, who can feed into our flights in and out of Doha."

By the end of 2005, the airline plans to serve at least 70 destinations.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern all-Airbus fleet of 40 aircraft, which will double in size over the next few years following a $5.1bn order for 34 additional Airbus jets signed in 2003. The airline is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck A380 'super jumbos' with four aircraft on order, scheduled for delivery from 2009.

As one of the fastest growing and youngest carriers in the world, Qatar Airways has made significant inroads in the global aviation industry to become an award-winning airline in just a short few years.

It is one of only three airlines in the world to be ranked a Five Star carrier for excellent service and high standards by Skytrax.

Skytrax also ranked Qatar Airways' cabin crew as the best in the Middle East in 2004 for the second year running and fifth best in the world following a survey of more than two million passengers worldwide.