Qatar Airways announced on Thursday that over the last week the carrier’s network has expanded to over 40 destinations. The carrier further announced that during the global COVID-19 pandemic, it has become the largest global passenger and cargo airline.
Yesterday (June 4, 2020), Qatar Airways announced that over the past seven days the carrier has expanded its network to over 40 destinations with service to Bangkok, Barcelona, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Singapore and Vienna. Additionally, the airline has announced the upcoming return of flights to Berlin, Dar es Salaam, New York, Tunis and Venice. Qatar Airways is now offering over 170 weekly flights to more than 40 destinations. During the Global COVID-19 pandemic, the carrier’s global network never fell below 30 destinations, becoming the largest international carrier over the last two months as measured in seat capacity and passenger kilometers transported. To ensure the peach of mind of their guests, Qatar Airways has extended its booking policies to include unlimited date changes and even destination changes (within 5,000 miles of the original destination) free of any fare differences. The policy applies to all travel completed before December 31, 2020 and all tickets booked before this date will be valid for two years from the date of issuance.
In a separate announcement Thursday (June 4, 2020) the carrier expressed pride at demonstrating its strength and resilience, despite what they call an “illegal blockade” imposed by neighboring countries on June 5, 2017 and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Based on company statistics, Qatar Airways claims to have currently become the world’s largest passenger and cargo airline. In yesterday’s announcement, Qatar Airways Group’s Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said,
“It has been a testing few years, but Qatar Airways will always continue to represent our country with integrity, flying our nation’s flag proudly around the world. Our robust business planning, swift actions in the face of the crisis, customer-focused solutions and dedicated staff have enabled us to continue succeeding in the face of two unprecedented aviation events. Despite the many attempts by the blockading countries to blemish our excellent reputation, I am proud to say that my country and the airline have managed to persevere and grow over the last three years. Our airline like our country remains open to engagement, that is why we gave away 100,000 complimentary tickets to health care workers around the world to say thank-you for their important work during the crisis. We even allocated tickets for the blockading countries, further highlighting our noble and philanthropic intentions. I am pleased that health care professionals in all of these countries claimed the full allocation, and we look forward to taking them on a thoroughly deserved holiday as travel restrictions around the world ease. The Qatar Airways Group, like the nation it represents is resilient and strong. The achievements we have made despite the illegal blockade stand as a tribute to the commitment, drive and perseverance of our staff and our nation under its young ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to whom we dedicate our work.”
Celebrated and award-winning Qatar Airways was named the ‘World’s Best Airline’ in the 2019 World Airline Awards managed by Skytrax. The carrier was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and awarded the title for ‘Best Business Class Seat.’ Qatar Airways is the only airline ever to have received the prestigious “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title five times. The national carrier of the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways normally serves over 170 global destinations with a fleet of more than 250 modern aircraft. The airline’s primary hub is located at Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha, Qatar. Currently, Qatar Airways operates around 150 scheduled weekly flights to over 40 destinations, which the carrier expects to expand to 80 destinations by the end of June 2020.
Source: Qatar Airways