Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar al-Baker, has visited the Tuscan cities of Florence and Pisa  in celebration of the airline’s recent expansion in Italy.
During his visit, al-Baker met with representatives from the Italian media and hosted a VIP dinner in the Tuscan capital Florence, at the exclusive St Regis Hotel.
Qatar Airways recently launched direct flights between Pisa and Doha’s Hamad International Airport, complementing the airline’s existing three destinations: Rome, Milan and Venice.
Al-Baker, said: “Qatar Airways’ growth in service to Italy represents the importance of the country in relation to our global route network, with business and leisure passengers alike requesting access to the popular destinations of Rome, Milan, Pisa and Venice.
“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to meet local business and community leaders during my visit to Tuscany and experience first-hand the attraction and charm of this wonderful area.”
Mayor of Pisa Marco Filippeschi, was one of the many VIP guests who attended the Qatar Airways event in Florence.
Passenger demand for flights to and from Italy on Qatar Airways has increased greatly in the recent years. The addition of Pisa to Qatar Airways’ Italian network on  August 2 comes less than 12 months after the airline significantly increased capacity from Rome, Milan and Venice. Rome and Milan both benefited from a 30% increase in capacity in 2015 with the introduction of wide body aircraft on their double daily flights, and Venice increased its seat offering by 70% with the introduction of an A330 aircraft the same year, replacing the A320 previously serving the daily route.
The award-winning airline is flying the Airbus A320 daily to Pisa, the airline’s fourth Italian destination, and has been flying to Milan since 2002, Rome since 2003, and Venice since 2011.
The airline now offers six daily frequencies to Italy: two to Milan and Rome and one each to Venice and Pisa. The new daily flight to Pisa will increase the airline’s weekly flights from Doha to Italy from 35 to 42.
The new gateway connects travellers from Tuscany to the Qatar Airways network, through its state-of-the-art hub in Doha, to more than 150 business and leisure destinations including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The A320 also provides businesses importing and exporting goods to and from Pisa with 11 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity per week.