Qatar Airways on Monday announced Frankfurt as the first route for its new A350 aircraft which is due for delivery before the end of this year.
Upon delivery, following several weeks of induction preparation, Qatar Airways, the global launch operator of the A350 XWB, will then be set to introduce its first commercial service to the German business hub city.
Frankfurt will be operated non-stop daily with an A350 starting from January next year.
The airline has chosen the European city for its first route because of the significant capacity the aircraft provides for the comfort of its business and leisure travellers, the Doha-based airline said in a statement.
Qatar Airways currently flies twice-daily to Frankfurt, and the double pairings will both be operated by an A350 on the route.
The aircraft offers a total of 283 seats including 36 seats in Business Class and 247 in Economy.
Qatar Airways has 80 Airbus A350s on order, and expects to induct the first eight production aircraft into its fleet before 2015 year-end.
Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive of Qatar Airways, said: “Qatar Airways looks forward to inaugurating our first A350 on the Doha – Frankfurt route, and to very soon introducing this next-generation aircraft on many other cities offered on the airline’s extensive network.”
Before the end of this year the airline will reach 146 destinations, launching new services to Djibouti, in the Republic of Djibouti, on October 26 and Asmara, in Eritrea on December 4.
Qatar Airways also took delivery of its first double-decker A380 aircraft in September and it is currently operated daily on the Doha to London Heathrow route.
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