Qatar Airways CEO Discusses Economic Impact With Mayor Of Miami-Dade County As Airline's New Operations Commence

MIAMI, June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and senior officials held a high-level meeting today with Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer His Excellency Akbar Al Baker to discuss new trade, business and investment opportunities in Miami.

Qatar Airways, a member of the oneworld Alliance, began the four-times-weekly service to Miami International Airport just yesterday between Miami International Airport and the newly opened Hamad International Airport, in Doha.

The airline's CEO was on-board the maiden flight and led a high level delegation, including the Director of Miami Airport, Emilio Gonzalez; the Vice Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, senior officials from the airline and also a group of international media travelling on the first flight.

During the courtesy visit, Al Baker said that the airline planned to bring new opportunities to Miami by investing in the community and helping boost trade, tourism and business links between the State of Qatar and Miami.

"Qatar Airways is looking forward to the how this new route will enhance our excellent offering to passengers, providing even greater flexibility in the number of US gateways to choose from, since we now fly out of six major hubs in the country.

"Miami has always been a global city; a crossroads of commerce, art and culture. Mayor Gimenez has been a great ally in our efforts to bring Qatar Airways to Miami and we are proud to offer an additional boost to the local economy, by contributing to the generation of an estimated 536 new jobs and create an economic impact of over US $78 million revenue for the first year alone."

Having spoken at the launch press conference, earlier in the day, Gimenez expressed his enthusiasm for the new partnership between Qatar Airways and Miami, along with the airline's plans to bring new jobs income, and thousands of new visitors a year to the city.

"Qatar Airways' decision to include Miami among its handful of U.S. destinations confirms that Miami-Dade County is a global center for business and tourism travel, and MIA is one of the premier airports in the world," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. "Miami-Dade looks forward to strengthening the economic and cultural ties to Qatar and beyond."

Miami International Airport is now Qatar Airways' sixth gateway in the United States and is responsible for over 20 million international passengers each year. Qatar Airways will fly four round-trip routes each week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) between DOH and MIA. Qatar Airways' membership in the oneworld alliance will allow the Miami gateway to also serve connecting flights from destinations throughout the American southeast and South America.

"Qatar Airways looks forward to building a strong relationship between Miami and Doha," added Al Baker. "These two great cities have so much to share and learn from one another. We can now look forward to introducing many more US travellers to Doha and developing a strong conduit for trade and commerce, via our award-winning World's Best Business Class."

Qatar Airways offers travellers from Miami an exciting network of destinations to fly to, including cities across the Africa, Asia, and the Middle East via its Doha hub. The airline operates a modern fleet of 134 aircraft to 142 destinations globally, including destinations in Europe and South America.

In addition to Miami, Qatar Airways' US footprint includes daily non-stop flights between Doha and Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC.

Over the next few months, the network will grow further with the additions of Tokyo-Haneda, Japan (June 18, 2014), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1, 2014) and Djibouti (July 27, 2014).

Notes to Editors:

Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the State of Qatar. Currently undergoing rapid expansion, Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 17th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 134 aircraft flying to 142 key business and leisure destinations across six continents.

On October 30, 2013, Qatar Airways joined the oneworld Alliance, becoming the first Gulf carrier to join a global airline alliance, enabling its customers to benefit from almost 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.

Award-winning carrier Qatar Airways was presented with three honours at the annual Skytrax 2013 World Airline Awards held during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, France, last June. The airline was awarded World's Best Business Class, World's Best Business Class Lounge and, for the second consecutive year, Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East.

During the 2013 Dubai Air Show the airline placed orders for more than 60 new aircraft – a mixture of Boeing 777X and Airbus A330 Freighters. In total the airline has 300 aircraft on order worth more than US $50 billion. The airline will move into its new hub and home, Hamad International Airport, in 2014. For more information, visit our homepage www.qatarairways.com or our sites on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.

For Qatar Airways corporate images, please click here: http://www.qatarairways.com/corporateimages

For further information contact:
PUBLIC NYC
Tel: (212) 431-1470
Email: [email protected]

Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 44302072, Fax: +974 44302069
Website: www.qatarairways.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140611/117181

SOURCE Qatar Airways