Doha, QATAR – Qatar Airways has announced it is bringing forward the launch date of its new Stuttgart route due to strong demand for the airline’s fourth German destination. The Doha-based carrier will start its scheduled three-times-a-week service between the capital city of Qatar and Stuttgart on 6 March 2011.
Passengers can fly to and from Doha on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and connect to a wide network of interesting leisure and business destinations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
Stuttgart is Germany’s sixth biggest city and capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg, one of the country’s most prosperous federal states and among the wealthiest regions in Europe.
As a major exporter, Baden-Wuerttemberg is heavily industrialised, and has propelled itself to the seventh largest economy in the European Union. A third of the cars manufactured in Germany, including Porsche and Mercedes, stem from Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The region also has the highest density of scientific, academic and research organisations in Germany, and a number of well-known enterprises such as Robert Bosch AG, Carl Zeiss and SAP AG are headquartered in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Germany is the second largest exporter to Qatar, and Baden-Wuerttemberg takes up a major part of the thriving trade exchange.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said that the increased economic ties between the two regions were reflected by the high demand experienced on the route. “Four months ahead of the Stuttgart launch, loads are already exceeding our expectations and we are confident that this new destination will be popular among business and leisure travellers alike,” he added.
The route will be operated with an Airbus A319 single-aisle aircraft and features a capacity of 110 seats – eight in Business Class and 102 in Economy. The aircraft is equipped with the state-of-the-art Oryx Entertainment system offering individual TV touch screens in each seat and over 700 audio video entertainment options across both cabins. The aircraft also features OnAir mobile telecommunication technology allowing passengers to send and receive SMS and MMS messages, as well as browse the web using their internet-enabled mobile device.
The launch of the new Doha-Stuttgart route comes just days before ITB, the world’s largest tourism fair opens its door in Berlin, where the airline will be showcasing its product and latest innovations with an exhibition stand.
At the same time, Qatar Airways will upgrade frequencies to Munich. Daily services to the Bavarian city will increase from 7 to 11 flights a week, and take the total weekly capacity of flights between Germany and Qatar to 31 flights. Qatar Airways also serves Berlin daily, and operates 10 flights a week to Frankfurt.
Qatar Airways is on a huge European expansion drive over the next few months, which will see with the launch of flights to Nice on November 24, Budapest and Bucharest on January 17 and Brussels on January 31.
By March next year, Qatar Airways will operate 182 flights a week to cities across Europe, one of the carrier’s key global markets. Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of 91 aircraft from its Doha hub to 94 key business and leisure cities across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North and South America.
