A Qatar Airways plane lands at the Hamad International Airport (file). Qatar"™s national carrier is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world.
Qatar Airways continues to fly high, piloted by its expansion plans despite the illegal blockade on the country by imposed by four Arab nations, as the national carrier adds new destinations and hopes to reach its pre-blockade traffic volumes soon.
Qatar Airways flies to more than 150 destinations now with Russia"™s St Petersburg joining the airline"™s global network on December 20.
Qatar Airways added many new destinations to its network this year including Auckland, Dublin, Nice, and Prague.
The airline will continue its rapid expansion throughout 2018 by adding new destinations such as Canberra, Cardiff, and Penang to its global route map.
A member of the oneworld global alliance, Qatar"™s national carrier is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 20th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destinations across six continents.
Qatar Airways broadened its global reach this year by purchasing a 9.61% stake in Cathay Pacific, the national carrier"™s first major stake in an Asian airline.
Qatar Airway"™ investment strategy has also seen it acquire 20% of British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group, 10% of South America"™s LATAM Airlines Group and 49% of Italy"™s Meridiana.
This year, Qatar Airways received the Skytrax "˜Airline of the Year"™ for the fourth time, an achievement considered remarkable for any airline in the world.
In addition to being voted "˜Best Airline"™ by travellers from around the world, Qatar"™s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the Skytrax ceremony this year, including "˜Best Airline in the Middle East,"™ "˜World"™s Best Business Clas"™ and "˜World"™s Best First Class Airline Lounge."™
At a media event at the Boeing"™s facility in Seattle in September, Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said, "We have lost 10% of our passenger network and that much of our revenue generation due to the blockade."
Qatar Airways has triggered expansion plans following the illegal blockade on the country, which the airline has initially delayed due to the aircraft delivery issues.
Starting early June (immediately after the blockade) the emergency airlifting of food to Qatar resulted in a 160% increase in cargo business for Qatar Airways compared with the same period a year earlier.
Since 2015, Qatar Airways been the third largest international cargo operator in the world, al-Baker said, noting that "our sights are set on number one."..
