Qatar Airways commences daily direct flight to St. Petersburg, Russia

Qatar Airways commences daily direct flight to St. Petersburg, Russia

  • Airline continues its robust expansion in Eastern Europe, with services to Adana, Prague, Skopje, Kyiv and Sarajevo already launched this year
  • Airline proudly flies Boeing B787 Dreamliner to celebrate inaugural celebrations 
  • Qatar Airways’ new daily non-stop route to be operated by an Airbus A320

DOHA, Qatar, 2017-Dec-20 — /Travel PR News/ — Qatar Airways’ first non-stop flight from Doha to St. Petersburg landed today at Pulkovo Airport, marking the airline’s second gateway in Russia. Qatar Airways flight QR279, today operated by the state-of-the-art Boeing B787 Dreamliner, departed Hamad International Airport (HIA) on Tuesday 19 December at 07:30, and arrived at Pulkovo Airport at 13:50.

On board the inaugural Qatar Airways flight to St. Petersburg, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, was joined by His Excellency Mr. Nurmakhmad Kholov, The Russian Federation’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar. The VIP delegation was greeted upon arrival by Mr. Vladimir Yakushev, Pulkovo Airport Chief Executive Officer; His Excellency Mr. Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Qatar’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation and Mr. Alexander Golovin, Chairman of the Committee on Transport, Member of the Government of St. Petersburg.

H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “I am delighted to touch down today on board our first commercial flight to St. Petersburg. Following the great success of our Moscow route, we are extremely happy to extend our reach into Russia. By launching this new route, we are committing to further supporting the Russian market, and providing inbound and outbound passengers a seamless journey through the skies.”

St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city after Moscow, is considered an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. The culturally diverse city is filled with historical architectural gems, including the Winter Palace and the Kazan Cathedral.

Pulkovo Airport Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Vladimir Yakushev, said: “The launch of Qatar Airways service from Doha to Pulkovo St. Petersburg Airport represents new extraordinary possibilities for the city’s business and leisure travel market. With the exquisite product offered by the airline, St. Petersburg will receive a boost of both inbound and outbound tourism once connected to Qatar Airways’ worldwide route network via one of the most vibrant global air hubs, Hamad International Airport, in Doha.”

To celebrate the airline’s inaugural flight to St. Petersburg, Qatar Airways operated its Boeing B787 Dreamliner, offering on board passengers a flight experience like no other.

In future, Qatar Airways will operate its daily St. Petersburg service with an Airbus A320 aircraft, which features 12 flatbed seats in Business Class and 120 seats in Economy Class. Passengers will be able to enjoy the airline’s superior entertainment system offering passengers a wide variety of entertainment options.

With more than 10 tonnes of belly hold cargo capacity per week to and from St. Petersburg on board the A320 aircraft, which serves this new route, Qatar Airways Cargo is delighted to be further expanding its import and export services in Russia. The launch of service to St. Petersburg has increased the overall belly hold cargo capacity to and from Russia, with more than 40 tonnes being transported each way per week.

Qatar Airways has added many new exciting destinations to its network in 2017, including Auckland, New Zealand; Dublin, Republic of Ireland; Nice, France and Prague, Czech Republic, to name a few.

The national carrier of the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways, is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 20th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destinations across six continents.

The award-winning airline has received a number of accolades this year, including ‘Airline of the Year’ by the prestigious 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards, which was held at the Paris Air Show. This is the fourth time that Qatar Airways has been given this global recognition as the world’s best airline. In addition to being voted Best Airline by travellers from around the world, Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’

For images, please visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/qatarairways/albums/72157688520037482

Doha – St. Petersburg Flights Schedule:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

Doha (DOH) to St. Petersburg (LED) QR279 departs: 07:30 arrives: 13:50

St. Petersburg (LED) to Doha (DOH) to QR280 departs: 17:25 arrives: 23:30

Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

Doha (DOH) to St. Petersburg (LED) QR281 departs: 15:55 arrives: 22:10

St. Petersburg (LED) to Doha (DOH) to QR282 departs: 23:15 arrives: 05:20+1

Notes to Editors:

About Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017/18, including St. Petersburg, Russia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Canberra, Australia and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently named ‘Airline of the Year’ by the 2017 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class,’ ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 4,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline’s on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message – Going Places Together.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s third largest international cargo carrier, serves more than 60 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally with more than 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes eight Airbus A330 freighters, 13 Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747-8 freighter.

For further information, please contact:

Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department

Tel: +974 4022 2200
+974 4022 5350
qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa