Qatar Airways recently launched its first commercial flight to Atlanta, US, commencing daily, non-stop services between Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha.
Skytrax’s reigning “Airline of the Year” marked the occasion by operating the inaugural flights with one of its Airbus A380 aircraft. “The inaugural inbound and outbound flights were sold out, demonstrating the need and desire for the new international service to and from Atlanta,” the Doha-based carrier said in a statement.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said, “From our very first flight, we see that our services are essential to this city, even in a major aviation hub such as Atlanta. We are broadening the horizon and giving seasoned business and leisure travellers convenient access to many new and important destinations around the world. Atlanta is home to dozens of Fortune 500 companies that conduct business around the world – businesses that need the convenience that only our flight, with connections in Doha, can provide.”
The statement notes that Qatar Airways’ home and hub, HIA, “offers geographic advantages other airlines and alliances cannot” - the carrier is based in Doha, within six hours of 80% of the world’s population. And, with its extensive network throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Qatar Airways flights can reduce the overall flying time by hours, the airline has stressed.
“The first Qatar Airways departure proves the point that hundreds of passengers on the first flight from Atlanta took advantage of convenient connections to reach more than 40 destinations out of the airline’s global network of more than 150 destinations. The majority of connecting passengers flew on from Hamad International to India, Southeast Asia and African destinations, such as Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Asmara and Khartoum,” the statement added.
“Our vision for Qatar Airways and Hamad International has always been as a global hub, seamlessly spanning continents and facilitating world travel,” al-Baker added.
Qatar Airways “is one of the fastest growing airlines in aviation history”, taking on average one new aircraft every 11 days, the airline has said. To help support this growth, Qatar Airways will host a recruitment drive for its cabin crew in Atlanta starting in July. The dates will be announced shortly.
Interested applicants can learn more about working for the airline by visiting its website at www.qatarairways.com
Qatar Airways offers “competitive, tax-free salary, housing, medical insurance and other perks, in addition to the opportunity for rapid career advancement”.
The introduction of daily wide-body Boeing 777 passenger flights provides additional belly-hold capacity to the cargo carrier’s existing four-times-a-week freighter services between Doha and Atlanta. The carrier now offers a combined 744 tonnes of capacity per week on its Doha-Atlanta-Doha route.
The flight schedule is as follows: QR755 departing Doha at 9.05am and arriving in Atlanta at 4.55pm; and QR756 departing Atlanta at 7.25pm and arriving in Doha at 4.15pm the following day.