Doha: Qatar Airways became the first carrier from the Middle East to fly to Yangon, capital of Myanmar, when its inaugural flight touched down at the city's international airport on Saturday.
A delegation of officials from Qatar Airways headed by Senior Manager Commercial Operations East, Ali Al Rais, travelled on the first flight from Doha, to a traditional welcome at Yangon International Airport.
Qatar Airways' Regional Manager Far East, Marwan Koleilat joined senior Myanmar government and aviation industry officials to greet the aircraft for what was Qatar Airways' first new route of 2005. Yangon becomes the airline's 10th destination in the Far East and its 57th overall on its worldwide network.
From January 18, Qatar Airways adds Johannesburg and Cape Town from Doha to its evolving international route map that covers Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and the Far East.
Qatar Airways has scheduled four non-stop flights a week between Doha and Yangon using an Airbus A319 in a two-class configuration of eight seats in Business Class and 102 in Economy.
To celebrate the launch of the new flights, Myanmar Airways International is code-sharing on Qatar Airways' services between Yangon and Doha, and onwards to Paris and London Gatwick. The agreement enables Myanmar Airways International to sell seats on Qatar Airways using its own 8M flight designator code.
The airline's new Yangon flights will provide convenient connections to numerous points on Qatar Airways' worldwide network via Doha, including recently-introduced services to Seychelles and London Gatwick. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said he was delighted to see Yangon added to Qatar Airways' growing network.
"Myanmar is a country that is unexplored, yet has a full tourism potential and we, at Qatar Airways, are pleased to help generate traffic to this country which has plenty to offer. Qatar Airways is able to fly passengers to Doha to experience the best Arabian hospitality on offer and provide convenient connections to many destinations served by the airline across the world," he said.
In addition to its Five Star ranking, Qatar Airways was voted by Skytrax for having the best cabin crew in the Middle East for the second year running in 2004 and fifth best overall worldwide.
Its inflight entertainment system ranked 8th best in the world. The airline is currently retrofitting its A330 long-haul fleet with a new state-of-the-art Audio Video On Demand (AVOD) system for passengers travelling in First, Business and Economy Class.
Qatar Airways was also the first Middle East carrier to install fully flat beds in First Class on its A330 fleet.
Qatar is rapidly developing its infrastructure to help reach its goal of becoming the leading aviation hub in the Middle East. Next week, work starts on a green field site for the construction of a brand new international airport in Doha, with part of the land reclaimed from the Arabian Gulf. The country is also the first in the Middle East to host the Asian Games in 2006.
© The Peninsula 2005
