Birmingham Airport and Qatar Airways have announced plans to launch a new service between Birmingham and Doha starting March 30, 2016.
With eight flights a week, including two flights on Saturdays, the new route offers passengers travelling to and from Birmingham a greater choice and convenience of seamless transfers at the airline’s state-of-the-art hub Hamad International Airport. Birmingham, the centre for the largest concentration of businesses outside of London with nearly 34,285 companies including over 700 international firms, is expected to benefit significantly with the new service.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: ‘We are delighted to announce Birmingham as Qatar Airways’ fourth destination in the United Kingdom from March 2016. This additional route strengthens Qatar Airways’ commitment to the regions across the UK and will create new commercial and leisure links between the city of Birmingham and the 152 destinations served by the airline.’
Birmingham Airport Chief Executive Officer, Paul Kehoe said: ‘This is fantastic news for both Birmingham Airport and the region, and is our tenth new airline to announce or launch this year. Not only will our passengers have the choice of flying with the award winning carrier to Doha’s state-of-the-art hub Hamad International Airport, they will have a choice of 152 destinations served by the airline, including South East Asia, China and Australasia.’
The route will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which has a two-cabin configuration, comprising of 22 seats in Business Class and 232 Economy Class seats. All seats have individual television screens, offering the latest in-flight entertainment with nearly 2,000 options. In Business Class, every seat is an aisle seat where passengers can catch up on sleep in a fully-flat bed or utilise the work surface area. Passengers can also stay connected while travelling with the option of Wi-Fi, which is available throughout the aircraft.
The departure times in both directions offer onward connections to 152 key business and leisure destinations across Qatar Airways’ global network. Passengers can also benefit from reduced journey times from Birmingham through to Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Africa with cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangkok and Hong Kong.