Qatar Airways will begin thrice-weekly scheduled flights to and from Chengdu, a major economic centre in western China, from September 3.
The Doha–Chengdu route will celebrate 10 years of Qatar Airways services in China.
Chengdu will join Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Chongqing as the airline’s sixth gateway into China.
The airline will operate three flights a week to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport using an Airbus A330 in a two-class configuration of up to 248 seats in Economy and up to 36 in Business Class.
“The new service is part of the airline’s commitment to boost services to the Far East and Asia Pacific,” said Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways.
“China is one of our key markets and we are excited to further expand our footprint in the country, allowing us to provide greater options for business and leisure travellers ready to take advantage of new flights to and from another entry point in China.”
The launch of Qatar Airways in Chengdu will give easy access to tourist and business travellers in China to France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the Middle East, all served by Qatar Airways.
To attract international visitors, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport offers a 72- hour visa-free transit to over 45 countries.
As such, the Chengdu route is set to become a modern ‘Silk Road’, connecting western China to over 125 destinations worldwide via Doha, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
Consistently voted as one of China’s greenest and most livable cities, Chengdu is often called ‘The City of Hibiscus’.
It is also home to the internationally recognised Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
As the capital of Sichuan province, Chengdu enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate and annual average temperatures of 16 degrees Celsius.
It is also a key regional base for science, technology and commerce in China, representing the fourth wealthiest city in China, and the Asia Pacific’s 10th best city for foreign investments.
“We are pleased to introduce Chengdu as our sixth and newest China’s gateway and look forward to welcoming travellers from Chengdu to fly with us to many parts of the world and, similarly welcome visitors from around the world to this great city,” Al Baker added.
Source:The Peninsula
