Qatar Airways to open up Canberra Doha route in February 2018

Qatar Airways is opening up its fifth Australian location as flights from Canberra to and from Doha via Syndey arrive in February 2018.

Recently named the World’s Best Airline and launching a new Business Class offering, Qatar Airways is in for a busy year ahead despite recent political tensions and sanctions.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: “This announcement is yet another proud moment for Qatar Airways and another milestone in our increasing expansion plans. We are delighted to finally bring our award-winning service to Canberra in 2018, our ninth year of operation in Australia.

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“As Australia’s capital city, Canberra is an important addition to our global route map and further boosts the existing strong ties between Australia and Qatar. We are confident our highly-acclaimed product will appeal greatly to government, business and leisure travellers alike and we look forward to welcoming our passengers on board very soon.”

“I am proud to say that in spite of the current situation, we continue to provide our award-winning, five-star service to all our passengers. We are carrying forward our robust expansion plans, and will continue to grow and expand to exciting new destinations across the globe.”

With Canberra, the airline will be the first international carrier to offer Australia’s capital city daily scheduled flights to Doha via Sydney. Qatar Airways’ second-daily Sydney flight will make its way on to Canberra commencing February 2018.

Return flights will be on a Canberra-Sydney-Doha routing. Canberra flights will be served by a 358-seater Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Qatar Airways inaugurated its first daily Sydney flight on 1 March 2016 with great success, upgrading it to the superjumbo A380 just six months after the airline’s Sydney launch. 

Managing Director of Canberra Airport Stephen Byron, added: “We have had a long-held dream that we could connect Canberra with the rest of the world. The beginning of the Qatar Airways service in February provides seamless access to the major international hub of Doha, and a stepping off point for the Middle East, Europe and points beyond.

“We welcome Qatar Airways’ strong support for Canberra, and the people living in our wider region of around 1mn people.”