Qatar Airways eyes new China route from Nov 28

Qatar Airways has announced plans to extend its presence in China with the launch of flights to the western city of Chongqing from November 28.Operating three-times-a-week, the non-stop service from the airline's hub in Doha will take the carrier's capacity to China up to 28 flights a week. The airline already operates daily non-stop flights from Doha to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou and four-flights-a-week to Beijing.With a population of just over 30 million people, Chongqing has a large industrial catchment area and is a prime example of Qatar Airways placing strategic importance into emerging cities around the world. Chongqing is a major manufacturing centre and a key transportation hub located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, a vitally important shipping waterway in China. The city is the largest in China for the production of motorcycles and third biggest for motor vehicles.Announcing the new route, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: "China is clearly one of the world's most important countries on the international stage, being a pacesetter in manufacturing and helping transform the global economic landscape. "It is this dynamism of a country that we at Qatar Airways have been monitoring closely and delighted to be part of China's burgeoning economic growth. With four routes in China already well established, we look forward to adding Chongqing as our fifth gateway by the end of the year." Recently named Airline of the Year 2011 in the prestigious annual Skytrax passenger survey, Qatar Airways now flies to over 100 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a fleet of 98 aircraft. By 2013, the airline plans to serve more than 120 destinations worldwide with a fleet of over 120 aircraft.By the end of 2011, Qatar Airways will add services to the Bulgarian capital Sofia from September 14; Norwegian capital Oslo beginning October 5; Entebbe in Uganda from November 2; Azerbaijan capital, Baku on November 30; and the Georgian capital Tbilisi, also on November 30. From / Arabian Business News