Qatar Airways will exhibit its Airbus A350 new-generation jetliner at India Aviation 2016 in Hyderabad from March 16 to 20.
The A350, for which Qatar Airways was the global launch customer, will make its debut at India’s largest civil aviation and aerospace show.
The theme of this edition of the biennial international exhibition and conference at Begumpet Airport is “India’s civil aviation sector - potential as global manufacturing & MRO hub,” and the event is expected to bring together 250 exhibitors and up to 50,000 visitors from around the world.
Organised by India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the event will be inaugurated by India’s President Pranab Mukherjee, and will feature static displays, demonstration flights and aerobatic shows.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said, “We are proud to showcase our A350 for the first time in the Indian market, giving prospective clients and visitors a glimpse of what to expect when they fly on board. We recently celebrated the first anniversary of our A350 operations, which demonstrates our technologically-advanced and fast-growing young fleet. The aircraft is the very latest in design, technology and comfort, and will be making its debut appearance on the Indian shores soon.
“India, as one of the world’s largest aviation markets, continues to command respect. The focus this year on growing the manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses in India is commendable, and will benefit the aviation industry as a whole.”
Qatar Airways was the global launch customer of the A350, taking delivery of the first aircraft in December 2014 and starting commercial operations in January 2015.
The airline currently operates seven aircraft with regular commercial service to Frankfurt, Munich, Singapore and Philadelphia — the first airline to operate A350s to three continents. The state-of-the-art aircraft features customised interior settings, with its business class cabin comprising of 36 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and economy class cabin in a 3-3-3 configuration, allowing it to seat 247 passengers.
The Doha-based carrier participated in the Indian Aviation show in 2010, exhibiting a Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft and Qatar Executive’s Bombardier Challenger 300, together with a hospitality chalet.
Now in its 19th year of operations, Qatar Airways operates a modern fleet of 177 aircraft flying to key business and leisure destinations across six continents.
Since 2004, when Qatar Airways operated to four cities in India, the airline has gradually increased capacity across the country, increasing the number of destinations to the current 13, and taking overall frequency to 102 passenger flights and 30 freighter services each week.
Demand for Qatar Airways service in India continues to grow, which has been met by up-gauging aircraft from A320s, with a capacity of 144 seats to Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with capacity of 254 seats, and Boeing 777 aircraft, with capacity of 335 seats.