DOHA - On the eve of its inaugural non-stop flight to Manchester, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Mr Akbar Al Baker has reported that demand for the airline`s new UK service is high.

Qatar Airways - one of the world`s fastest growing airlines - will begin non-stop services to the UK city of Manchester four times a week from April 2.

“Qatar Airways non-stop service to Manchester is about giving people a fast and convenient service into the northern regions of the UK from our hub in Doha,” said Mr Al Baker.
“People can now fly from our hub in Doha to Manchester in seven hours, and be able to enjoy the quality of Qatar Airways` premium services.

“Since opening our bookings for the non-stop Manchester service, we have already received a high level of demand. Qatar Airways wants to give its customers a greater choice of destination as part of its commitment to become a leader in airline standards.
“The high level of demand that we`re seeing for Manchester indicates that we are continuing to meet our customers` needs and expectations. Qatar Airways now offers 15 non-stop services into the United Kingdom each week, either through Manchester or London Heathrow.

“We have planned the non-stop Manchester flights so we can give our customers a choice of an early afternoon flight that will reach Manchester shortly before 6 pm, and a night time flight that will get them into Manchester shortly before 7 am. We have also scheduled the flights so we can give our customers in the Indian sub-continent and the rest of the Gulf easy connections to Manchester via our hub in Doha.

“The non-stop flights will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from Doha to Manchester. “The non-stop flights will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from Doha to Manchester.
The non-stop flights to Manchester will leave Doha at 1235 hrs every Monday and Thursday, arriving in Manchester at 1755 hrs local time.

Flights on Wednesday and Sunday will leave Doha at 0125 hrs and arrive in Manchester at 0655 hrs local time

The airline presently has a fleet of 21 Airbus aircraft, which will grow to 28 by the end of this year.

Qatar Airways has proved itself to be one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.

Building on a reputation of premium customer service, Qatar Airways has launched an aggressive growth plan to ensure that it can offer people a greater choice of destination, a greater choice about when they fly to a destination, and the latest inflight products and services.

As part of this growth plan, Qatar Airways will extend its route network to 50 destinations by the end of 2003. It presently flies to 39 destinations. It has recently announced the addition of Rome, Islamabad and Kochi to its increasing route network.

Qatar Airways is also increasing its fleet. It presently has 21 new Airbus aircraft, which will increase to 28 by the end of this year. Qatar Airways recently announced that it would take delivery of a long range A319 corporate jetliner. It is also one of the launch customers for the A380 `super jumbo` in 2007.
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