Qatar Airways has postponed the launch of flights to Chengdu.
The carrier was due to commence flights to the Chinese city on 19 March 2013, but said that the continued grounding of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft has led to the delay. No revised launch date has been given.
The Dreamliner problems have also forced Qatar Airways to reduce the initial frequency of its new Doha-Chicago route. Commencing on 10 April 2013, flights to the US city will now only operate three times a week, rather than daily. The daily service is expected to start on 15 June.
“We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience of the capacity adjustments caused by the grounding of the 787s, which is out of our hands,” said Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker. “We are making every effort to ensure our valued customers are aware of these service updates and are accommodated accordingly.”
Qatar Airways currently operates five B787 Dreamliners, all of which are currently grounded due to the aircraft’s battery fault. The airline is also waiting to receive a further 25 Dreamliners, but all new aircraft deliveries are also on hold, pending a solution to the problem.
