- Pattaya marks the airline’s fifth destination to Thailand, and the first new route launch for the airline in 2018
- Qatar Airways now operates 64 weekly flights to Thailand
DOHA, Qatar, 2018-Jan-29 — /Travel PR News/ — Qatar Airways’ first direct non-stop flight to the beautiful holiday destination of Pattaya touched down at U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport today, inaugurating the award-winning airline’s newest Thai destination. This celebration marks Qatar Airways’ fifth route to the Southeast Asian country, and is the first new route launch for Qatar Airways in 2018, as the airline continues the rapid expansion of its global route network.
Flight QR828 touched down at U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport just after 06:30am and was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute. His Excellency Mr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum, Thai Ambassador to the State of Qatar, travelled on board the inaugural flight with Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Mr. Marwan Koleilat, from the airline’s five-star hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA). Upon arrival in Pattaya, the VIP delegation was greeted by Rear Admiral Luechai Sri-Eamgool, Director for U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport; the Qatari Ambassador to Thailand, His Excellency Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulrahman Bin Mohamed Al-Thani; Mr. Chaicharn Aiemcharoen, Acting Governor of Chonburi Province; Mr. Sattawat Anantakon, Vice Governor of Rayong Province and Pol Maj Gen Anun Charoenchasri, Mayor of Pattaya City, and a welcome ceremony attended by airport and government officials, together with local dignitaries took place.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to be the first Middle East airline to offer direct flights to Pattaya. Having also launched flights to Chiang Mai in Thailand just last month and soon to launch our sixth-daily flight to Bangkok, this new route reinforces and deepens the strong ties that exist between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Thailand.
“Thailand is continuing to grow in popularity among our passengers. We launched this new route in direct response to increasing demand from our passengers, and we are proud to be able to fly them on our aircraft to experience our unrivalled five-star service. We are excited to offer our travellers more destinations to choose from in the Far East, and to connect the people of Pattaya to Qatar Airways’ extensive global network of more than 150 destinations around the world.”
Director of U-Tapao Airport Authority, Rear Admiral Luechai Sri-Eamgool, said: “We warmly welcome Qatar Airways’ first direct flight from Doha to U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport. U-Tapao Airport is a cornerstone of the Eastern Economic Corridor that the Thailand government is aggressively developing. These new direct flights will open up further seamless air connectivity for tourists and business visitors looking to visit Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard, further boosting our tourism industry and also aid in the development of foreign investments into U-Tapao Pattaya.”
Pattaya is a major resort city located on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast, and a popular holiday destination for travellers from both within Thailand and abroad, seeking to experience the local Thai hospitality and culture, or relax on one of Pattaya’s long, stunning beaches. The main attractions include the three kilometre-long Pattaya beach that runs parallel to the centre of the city, the Sanctuary of Truth traditional wooden temple, a floating market and extensive shopping areas.
Qatar Airways’ new four-times-a-week service to Pattaya offers five-star comfort on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class. Passengers on board will be able to enjoy the airline’s superior entertainment system, Oryx One, offering up to 4,000 entertainment options to choose from.
Qatar Airways has successfully operated services to Thailand for more than 20 years. The airline began services to Bangkok, its first destination in Thailand. Since then, the airline has been steadily increasing its number of flights to the country due to tremendous passenger demand. The airline currently operates services 35 times a week to Bangkok, 14 times a week to Phuket, daily to Krabi, and as of last month, four times a week to Chiang Mai. The new four-times-weekly service to Pattaya increases the airline’s total weekly frequency to 64 flights a week to Thailand. From 25 March, the airline will also increase its service to Bangkok to six daily flights, making the total number of flights operated to Thailand to 71 weekly flights.
In the second half of 2017, Qatar Airways expedited its ambitious expansion plans with launches to a number of popular destinations including Skopje, Prague, and Kyiv in Eastern Europe; Adana, Turkey; St Petersburg, Russia and Chiang Mai, Thailand. The airline will be adding flights to many more exciting destinations in 2018, including Malaga, Spain; Mykonos, Greece and Cardiff, United Kingdom, to name just a few.
In the last year, the award-winning airline received more than 50 individual awards across multiple categories, including the prestigious accolade of 2017 ‘Airline of the Year,’ awarded by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax to Qatar Airways for the fourth time. Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’
The national carrier of the State of Qatar is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destinations across six continents.
Flight Schedules
Doha (DOH) to Pattaya (UTP) QR828 departs 20:05 arrives 06:30 (next day) – Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
Pattaya (UTP) to Doha (DOH) QR829 departs 07:50 arrives 11:40 – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
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 Canberra, Australia; Penang, Malaysia and Cardiff, UK 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 two Boeing 747-8 freighters.
For further information, please contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200
Source: Qatar Airways Group