Qatar Airways reaches 100th destination milestone

Qatar Airways has launched flights to Aleppo, Syria, making the city its 100th destination.Together with double daily flights between Doha and the capital Damascus, the four-a-week Aleppo services further strengthen the airline’s operations in Syria.Addressing a press conference in Aleppo, Qatar Airways senior vice president Commercial Ali Al Rais said: “The airline’s first route was Abu Dhabi, and so it is a true achievement for Qatar Airways to have crossed the world over the past 14 years, flying to many diverse business and leisure cities and back, to launch our 100th destination in this strategically important and historic destination.”The Doha – Aleppo services are operated with an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in First Class and 132 seats in Economy. The Aleppo catchment area covers more than seven million people, providing access to international flights for travellers from Lattakia, Hama, Tartous, Dayr As Zawr, Ar Raqqah, and Idlib, which are all within a 280km radius of Aleppo international Airport. Meanwhile, the airline has confirmed orders for three Boeing 777 Freighters and two 777-300ERs. The orders are valued at $1.4bn at list prices. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Business & Investment in Qatar Forum in New York in the presence of H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, US Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood and the US Ambassador to Qatar, Ambassador Joseph LeBaron. The agreement was signed by Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ CEO and Tony Valentine, sales director, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Qatar Airways has made a significant commitment to the 777, an airplane which has become the flagship of our fleet,” said Al Baker. “Today’s order is not just an agreement between Boeing and Qatar Airways but underlines the strategic relationship that the USA and Qatar have forged on the industrial and economic front.”Qatar Airways currently operates eight ultra-long range 777-200LR, 15 777-300ERs and two long-range 777 freighters. Last week, the airline took delivery of its 25th 777.