- Now connecting travellers to Doha and beyond via New York and Washington -

NEW YORK and DOHA, Qatar, June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU), New York's Hometown Airline™, and Qatar Airways, named "Airline of the Year" at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011 for its outstanding inflight product and operational excellence, today announced the signing of a new interline agreement to connect travellers seamlessly between the two carriers' networks via New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

With this new agreement in place, customers will be able to purchase a single itinerary combining flights on both carriers' global networks, affording them the ease of one-stop ticketing and baggage check-in.

Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, operates daily non-stop flights from Houston, New York and Washington, D.C. to Doha International Airport using its young fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft.

JetBlue customers can avail themselves of Qatar Airways' connecting service to destinations across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific regions, including 12 cities in India and a number of destinations unavailable through JetBlue's other partners including Bali, Indonesia; Cebu, Philippines; Phuket, Thailand; and Hanoi, Vietnam.

JetBlue is a top domestic airline at JFK, with more than 150 daily departures to dozens of major American cities including Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, from its home at the modern, airy Terminal 5.

At Washington Dulles, the airline offers service to Boston, New York, and a number of cities in California and Florida. Customers traveling with JetBlue enjoy premium amenities including unlimited free snacks and drinks, personal seatback televisions, spacious leather seating, the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline*, and personalized service from JetBlue's award-recognized in-flight crewmembers.

"We're honored to partner with Qatar Airways, an airline that, like JetBlue, is constantly focused on delivering a premium experience to all travellers," said Dave Barger, JetBlue's president and chief executive officer. "We look forward to introducing JetBlue's award-winning service to more and more Customers from all corners of the globe."

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: "We are pleased to now be growing our passenger base through this partnership with JetBlue which offers a convenient travel experience from JetBlue's domestic network in the United States to the many international destinations we fly to beyond our hub in Doha, Qatar."

"Qatar Airways' hub in Doha is strategically placed to connect East and West, with a timetable so carefully orchestrated that transit times on popular routes are as little as 30 minutes, a connection time which we comfortably can meet," said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker.

Customers may purchase JetBlue-Qatar Airways travel through the Global Distribution System (GDS), online travel agencies, by calling Qatar Airways reservations at 1-877-777-2827 or by visiting www.qatarairways.com/us.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™ with other focus cities in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline* as well as super-spacious Even More Space seats. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 66 cities with 700 daily flights and later this year plans to introduce service to St. Croix and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as La Romana in the Dominican Republic, subject to government approval. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information or reservations call 1-800-JET-BLUE (1-800-538-2583), TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530, + 1-801-449-2525 from Qatar, or visit www.jetblue.com.

About Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is one of the world's fastest growing airlines, and was recently named "Airline of the Year" at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011 for its outstanding inflight product and operational excellence. The Doha-based airline currently operates a modern fleet of 98 aircraft to over 100 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. In the United States, Qatar Airways offers non-stop service to Doha from Houston, New York, and Washington. In addition, yesterday the airline made its debut in Canada by becoming the first Gulf carrier to serve Montreal. For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com/us or call +1-877-777-2827.

* Based on average fleet-wide seat pitch

SOURCE JetBlue Airways and Qatar Airways

Back to top