Qatar Airways hopes to fly to 80 destinations by June
Qatar Airways will begin a phased approach to expanding its network this month. The Middle Eastern carrier said growth would be in line with passenger demand and the expected relaxation of entry restrictions around the world.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “As we follow the indicators of the global travel market on a daily basis, we continue to focus on our mission - how we can enable mobility for our customers and provide them with seamless connectivity to their final destination.” With entry restrictions constantly evolving, accurately predicting future travel is challenging.
However, while the expectation is that short haul travel will rebound first, business between large global cities will pick up more gradually and there will be a move towards visiting family and friends following months of lockdowns. Qatar Airways will take full advantage of its diverse and efficient fleet with the right aircraft size to ensure the best fit for expected demand on each planned route.
By the end of June, the aim is to have 80 destinations in the schedule including 23 in Europe, four in the Americas, 20 in Middle East/Africa and 33 in Asia-Pacific.
The gradual expansion will focus initially on strengthening connections between the airline’s hub in Doha with the global hubs of its partner airlines around the world including London, Chicago, Dallas and Hong Kong along with reopening many major business and leisure destinations such as Madrid and Mumbai.
Currently the airline continues to operate flights to more than 30 destinations around the world.
By the end of May, the airline plans to grow its network back to over 50 destinations resuming services to cities such as Manila, Amman, and Nairobi.
