Qatar Airways took delivery of its 53rd Airbus A350

Qatar Airways took delivery of its 53rd Airbus A350

  • With this delivery, the airline will operate 34 A350-900 and 19 A350-1000 with an average age of 2.7 years
  • Airline’s strategic investment in twin-engine, fuel-efficient aircraft has enabled it to continue flying throughout the crisis and made it the ideal choice for environmentally conscious passengers
  • Qatar Airways’ sustainable fleet gives it the ability to offer passengers more flexible travel options via the most connected and Best Airport in the Middle East

DOHA, Qatar, 2021-Jan-05 — /Travel PR News/ — Qatar Airways was pleased to wrap up 2020 with the delivery of its 53rd Airbus A350 on the final day of the year. The national carrier of the State of Qatar is the largest operator of Airbus A350 aircraft with 34 A350-900 and 19 A350-1000, reaffirming its position as the ideal choice for environmentally conscious long-haul passengers. The A350-1000 is fitted with the airline’s multi award-winning Business Class seat, Qsuite, and will operate on strategic routes to and from Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we continue to invest in our fleet, operating the youngest, most fuel-efficient and technologically advanced aircraft in the skies. This strategic investment in sustainable twin-engine aircraft has enabled us to continue flying during the most challenging year in aviation’s history, helping take over 3.1 million people home since the start of the pandemic. As global travel recovers, our passengers can rely on us to fly greener and smarter with more flights to more destinations via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport.”

Environmentally conscious passengers can travel with the reassurance that Qatar Airways continuously monitors the market to assess both passenger and cargo demand to ensure it operates the most efficient aircraft on each route. Rather than being forced to fly oversized aircraft due to limited aircraft options, reducing the flexibility for passengers to travel when they want, Qatar Airways has a variety of sustainable aircraft it can choose from to offer more flights with the right capacity in each market. Qatar Airways is fully utilising its fleet of 53 A350 aircraft to more than 45 destinations in the airline’s network, including Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Sao Paolo and Singapore.

Passengers travelling on-board Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art Airbus A350-1000 can enjoy:

  • The widest cabin body of any class with larger windows creating an extra spacious feel
  • The widest seats of any aircraft in its category with generous room in all classes
  • Advanced air system technology including HEPA filters, which deliver optimal cabin air quality, renewing air every two to three minutes for more comfort and less fatigue
  • LED mood lighting which mimic a natural sunrise and sunset to help reduce the effects of jet lag
  • The quietest cabin of any twin-aisle aircraft that includes a draft-free air circulation system resulting in a low ambient cabin noise level for a more peaceful journey

Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, the airline has grounded its fleet of Airbus A380 as it is not environmentally justifiable to operate such a large, four-engine aircraft in the current market. The airline’s internal benchmark compared the A380 to the A350 on routes from Doha to Guangzhou, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris and Sydney. On a typical one-way flight, the airline found the A350 aircraft saved a minimum of 16 tonnes of carbon dioxide per block hour compared to the A380. The analysis found that the A380 emitted over 80% more CO2 per block hour than the A350 on each of these routes. In the cases of Melbourne and New York, the A380 emitted 95% more CO2 per block hour with the A350 saving around 20 tonnes of CO2 per block hour. Until passenger demand recovers to appropriate levels, Qatar Airways will continue to keep its A380 aircraft grounded, ensuring it only operates commercially and environmentally responsible aircraft.

The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 110 destinations with plans to increase to 129 by the end of March 2021. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers unrivalled connectivity to passengers, making it easy for them to change their travel dates or destination if they need to.

Passengers can book flights with peace of mind, knowing that Qatar Airways offers unlimited date changes and fee-free refunds for all tickets issued before 30 April 2021, for travel completed by 31 December 2021. The carrier’s industry-leading flexible booking policy also provides the permanent feature of exchanging tickets for a travel voucher with 10% additional value for all customers booking travel via qatarairways.com. For full terms and conditions visit qatarairways.com/Flexibility.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. The Qsuite seat layout is a 1-2-1 configuration, providing passengers with the most spacious, fully private, comfortable and social distanced Business Class product in the sky. It is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted ‘Skytrax Airline of the Year’ title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.

Notes to Editors:

About Qatar Airways: 

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Qatar Airways is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.

Hamad International Airport (HIA), the airline’s home and hub, was recently ranked “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. Rising from fourth position in 2019 to third in 2020, HIA has been steadily rising in the ‘World’s Best Airports’ rankings since the start of its operations in 2014. In addition, HIA was voted the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the sixth year in a row and ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ for the fifth year in a row.

Qsuite, a patented Qatar Airways product, features the industry’s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room, a first of its kind in the industry.

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 160 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, B777, 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 World Cup Qatar 2022TM, 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, one of the world’s leading international air cargo carriers, serves more than 60 freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight in the belly-hold of passenger aircraft to an extensive global network. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes two Boeing 747-8 freighters, 21 Boeing 777 freighters and four Airbus A330 freighters.

Qatar Executive is the private jet charter division of Qatar Airways Group. Luxury jet services are available for worldwide charter on board the operator’s wholly-owned business jet fleet. Qatar Executive is the launch customer for Gulfstream’s G700, the world’s first commercial service operator of the Gulfstream G500 and largest commercial operator of the G650ER worldwide. Qatar Executive’s service portfolio also includes aircraft management, maintenance and Fixed Based Operator services.

For further information, please contact:

Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200
Email:  qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa

Source: Qatar Airways

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