Doha-based airline to expand presence in Africa with flights to Entebbe
Qatar Airways have announced a further expansion of its international route network with Uganda, Azerbaijan and Georgia joining its ever-growing list of countries served direct from the airline’s Doha hub.
Daily non-stop scheduled flights to Uganda’s second largest city of Entebbe are due to begin on November 2, marking the carrier’s first new route to the African continent since early 2007.
Four weeks later, effective November 30, Qatar Airways expands into Central Asia introducing daily non-stop flights to Baku which continue onto Tbilisi, the capital cities of Azerbaijan and Georgia respectively.
The announcement comes as the Doha-based carrier prepares for a busy few months ahead with the launch of scheduled flights to Shiraz, Venice and Montreal in June; Kolkata (Calcutta) in July; Sofia in September and Oslo in October.
Regional trading centre
Unveiling the expansion plans in Dubai today, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the new routes further demonstrated the airline’s ambitious strategy to continue opening up new routes to popular and underserved markets.
Uganda is fast emerging as a regional trading centre with links to Europe and the Far East, but has limited international air services – a void Qatar Airways is set to fill with its huge international network of routes via its Doha base.
Baku
Qatar Airways will be the only full-service Gulf carrier flying to the oil-rich city of Baku, becoming a natural fit for the airline linking up with the State of Qatar, the energy capital of the Middle East. Baku’s largest industry is petroleum. Located on the Caspian Sea, the walled city of Baku has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Tbilisi is a significant industrial, social and cultural hub, emerging as an important transit route for global energy and trade projects and located strategically at the crossroads between Europe and Asia lying along the historic Silk Road routes.
The three newest routes will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.
Qatar Airways currently serves 100 diverse business and leisure cities worldwide with a modern fleet of 97 aircraft.The airline plans to serve more than 120 destinations with a fleet of over 120 aircraft by 2013.
