Yesterday Qatar Airways launched a route between Doha and Basra – the second-largest city in Iraq.
It is scheduled to fly four times a week – on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. This will bring Qatar Airways' total frequencies to Iraq from 12 to 16 a week. The new service will depart Doha at 0725 and arrive in Basra at 0905, while the return leg leaves at 1005 for a 1145 touch down in Qatar.
This, along with Qatar Airways' other Iraq services, demonstrates the carrier's interest in the Middle Eastern country since it has begun investing in its restructuring process. The carrier also cited Basra's potential as a leisure destination as a reason behind the service launch.
The new route is being operated by a two-class A320 with 144 seats; 12 in business and 132 in economy. Selected aircraft carry seats with TV screens with a choice of more than 800 on-demand audio and video options, and an SMS text messaging service. For a review of Qatar Airways A320 business class, click here.
Qatar Airways also increased services to Pakistan (see story here) just three days ago, demonstrating further interest in the region.
Basra is the fourth Iraq destination launched following Erbil, Baghdad and Najaf. The service allows customers to connect from Basra, via Doha, to more than 100 destinations worldwide including London, Paris, Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Delhi and Mumbai. Upcoming routes from Doha include Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (August 20), Chengdu, China (September 3), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 28) and Philadelphia, USA (2 April 2014).
For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com
Valerian Ho
