Qatar Airways which launches flights to Osaka in Japan from 31 March 2005 has confirmed it will operate four flights a week non-stop between its operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, and Osaka.
The Osaka service marks Qatar Airways’ first foray into the Japanese market and the route is expected to help meet demand from business and leisure travellers between the Middle East and Japan.

Osaka is also the first new route of Qatar Airways’ summer 2005 flying programme - and the 60th destination on the airline’s growing global map.

The Osaka route will be operated with the modern Airbus A330-200 in a three-class configuration. The First Class cabin has 12 seats that convert to 180 degree flat beds, Business Class offers 18 seats that recline 160 degrees, while Economy features 208 seats.

The Airbus A330-200 features Qatar Airways’ Audio Video On Demand system, allowing passengers in all three classes to choose from a list of more than 40 international movies, as well as short programmes to view on their individual TV screens.

Passengers can also listen to an extensive list of 250 CDs and 16 audio channels. In addition, there is a choice of 12 video games to play through the interactive TV screens.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker said: “We have been working towards operating our first Japanese route for a long time, and are very pleased to now announce our new schedules to the city of Osaka from March 31.”

From April 1, 2005, Qatar Airways will place its QR flight code on Japanese domestic flights operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) between Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Haneda, *censored*uoka and Sapporo, to offer its passengers with connections across key Japanese cities.
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