Qatar Airways Holds Press Conference For LAX Launch

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Qatar Airways held a landmark press conference at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, hosted by Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, to celebrate the commencement of daily, non-stop service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha. Mr. Al Baker praised the city of Los Angeles for helping to bring the airline to LAX and spoke about Qatar Airways' ongoing growth and expansion in the United States and around the world.

"Los Angeles is one of the great centres of world aviation and will become a vital component in our expanding global network," said Mr. Al Baker. "We look forward to introducing Angelenos to our award-winning signature service, with access to more than 150 destinations around the world, through our central hub in Doha. Thank you to everyone who has made this historic route possible."

In addition to greater choice for passengers, Mr. Al Baker also spoke about the increased cargo capacity made available by the new Los Angeles service. In addition, Mr. Al Baker announced a fourth weekly freighter will serve LAX starting January 19. Qatar Airways is the world's third largest international cargo carrier and has served the Los Angeles market since 2015.

"I'm pleased to welcome Qatar Airways' new service between LAX and Doha," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "This new international flight will add more than $600 million to our economy, boost our growing tourism sector, and support thousands of new jobs for Angelenos. It's exciting to see LAX take yet another step forward as it continues to extend its reach across the globe."

The first scheduled flight between LAX and DOH took place on New Year's Day (January 1^st), while the full festivities are scheduled for this evening. Tonight, Qatar Airways will host a celebratory Launch Gala at the world-famous Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, featuring prominent guests, lavish prize giveaways and a performance by global superstar Mariah Carey.

The new route comes as the airline continues to expand and enhance services across the country. Los Angeles is the 8^th US destination for Qatar Airways, with new services planned to Boston (BOS) on March 16^th and Atlanta (ATL) on June 1^st and a second daily flight scheduled to commence from New York's JFK Airport in April. In addition to new routes, the airline has brought the state-of-the-art Airbus A350 XWB to America, where it now flies a daily, non-stop service to and from Philadelphia (PHL).

"We are honored Qatar Airways chose LAX as its U.S. West Coast debut for this new, historic service," said Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Deborah Flint. "This is the type of quality air service we want to keep attracting to LAX and Los Angeles."

About Qatar Airways:
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 19th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 175 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. Qatar Airways won Airline of the Year, Best Business Class Airline Seat and Best Airline in the Middle East at the 2015 Skytrax Awards. This is the third time the airline won the accolade of Airline of the Year.

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World's Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

Qatar Airways launched Oryx One in 2015, an enhanced interface for its inflight entertainment system, increasing the number of movies and TV shows on board from 950 to up to 2,000. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the five-star airline's on-board Wifi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the world's fifth largest cargo carrier, serves more than 40 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally on 175 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet now includes seven Airbus 330, eight Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747 freighter.

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
Marco Larsen
Email: marco@publicnewyorkcity.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160112/321637

SOURCE Qatar Airways