Flights To Spanish Capital Begin On December 2

Qatar Airways is preparing for its first move into Spanish territory with the launch of flights to Madrid, beginning on December 2.

The timing of the new scheduled flights between Qatar Airways' operational hub of Doha, and the Spanish capital coincides with the holiday season and one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

Qatar Airways has unveiled its flight schedules for the Madrid route, operating three-times-a-week with a widebody Airbus A300-600 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 18 seats in Business Class and 232 in Economy. All flights will operate into Madrid's Barajas International Airport via Rome.

The airline will be the only Gulf-based carrier flying to the Spanish capital, offering convenient connections from the Middle East to Madrid, via Doha.

As part of its foray into the Spanish market, Qatar Airways will be offering members of its Privilege Club frequent flyer programme double Qmiles for the first month of the Madrid service.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: "Madrid has long been on our wishlist of destinations to fly to and, from December 2, this exciting European city will become a reality.

"The airline is growing at a phenomenal pace opening up new routes by serving capitals and secondary cities across the world, so it was only a matter of time before Qatar Airways would spread its wings to the political and cultural capital of Spain.

"Madrid is a city that offers something for all age groups, filled with entertainment, shopping, restaurants, museums and parks.

"We look forward to flying passengers from Doha and other parts of our global network to Madrid and similarly, offer travellers flying out of Spain a wide choice of destinations to fly across the Middle East, South Africa, Far East and the Indian subcontinent via our Doha hub,� added Al Baker.

Madrid is geographically located in the centre of Spain and is the country's economic, financial and political hub. The dynamic city enjoys a cosmopolitan lifestyle with a rich heritage and is the gateway to the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery, one of the eight wonders of the world.

Qatar Airways currently operates scheduled flights from Doha to 66 destinations worldwide. New destinations being added over the next few weeks include Nairobi on November 15 and Berlin on December 15.

The airline operates a fleet of 42 all-Airbus aircraft which will almost triple in size to 110 aircraft by 2015. Qatar Airways recently signed a letter of intent to acquire up to 60 of the new generation Airbus A350s. The airline also plans to acquire 20 Boeing 777s with a total value for both orders set to be worth US$15.2 billion.

Qatar Airways is one of a select-few airlines in the world ranked Five Star by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency. Skytrax also named Qatar Airways' cabin crew as Best in the Middle East for the third year running and fifth best in the world following a survey of more than 12 million passengers worldwide.