Qatar Airways Launches First Flight to Miami, Sixth U.S. Destination
Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight from Doha, Qatar to Miami landed this afternoon. This makes Miami International Airport Qatar Airways' latest destination in the United States and Qatar Airways the first airline to offer nonstop flights from the Middle East to Miami since 2008.
Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, said Miami was chosen as the airline’s sixth U.S. destination since both Doha and Miami have strong markets and are hubs for international business.The planned four flights a week could increase to a daily service if there is high demand. The airline is estimated to have a positive economic impact of $78.3 million in business revenue in the Miami-Dade County.
President and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, William Talbert III reaffirmed Qatar Airways is a five-star airline bringing services to a five-star destination.
Miami International Airport added has added new services over the years, becoming the second-busiest airport for international travelers after New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
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Hamad International Airport in Doha commenced full operation as of May 27
th, 2014. All commercial airlines, including Qatar Airways, have officially transferred operations to HIA last Tuesday, and all future flights will arrive and depart from this new airport moving forward.Despite the numerous expansions costing more than $1 billion made to the airport, the old Doha International Airport struggled to meet the increasing high traffic travel demand. Hamad International Airport (previously named New Doha International Airport) was designed and built to deal
with the growing volume of traffic with greatly increased passenger and cargo-handling capacity and will also accommodate the new Airbus A380 super jumbo jets.With the first two phases of the new airport complete, HIA will serve over 360,000 flights and 30 million passengers per year in world-class facilities. Once fully completed, the airport will be able to serve up to 50 million passengers per year.Hamad International Airport boasts one of the longest runways in the world, measuring 4850 meters and is capable of accommodating up to 100 take-off and landing movements every hour. The maintenance hangar is the world’s largest, and the airport covers an area approximately one third the size of the city of Doha. HIA contains 70 retail stores and 30 cafes and restaurants across 40,000 square meters. HIA is located on the east coast of Qatar and is 16 km from Doha’s city center. The main passenger terminal was designed to emphasize Qatari hospitality and provide visitors with a lasting impression of the country in a five-star travel experience.Bechtel provided engineering, project management, and construction services for the development of HIA. Architecture was assigned to the firm HOK, while engineering, procurement and construction for phases I and II were assigned to Turkish TAV Construction and Japanese Taisei Corporation. The airport cost Qatar $15.5 billion.
The old airport will continue to serve military flights and as an aviation college.
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Qatar Airways Transfers Full Operations to HIA and Establishes New U.S. Destinations>
Hamad International Airport is now Qatar Airway’s new state-of the-art hub, with the first Qatar Airways commercial flight QR1113 from Bahrain landing at HIA at 9:10 local time on May 27
th, 2014.Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest growing and youngest airlines in the world only having started operations 17 years ago. The move to HIA complements this rapid expansion and offers passengers a world-class international travel experience.HIA increased traveler capacity from 4.2 million passengers per year to 24 million, allowing for an increase in flights.Recently, Philadelphia became Qatar’s fifth U.S. gateway city. Qatar Airways CEO, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, hosted a gala at the Ritz-Carlton to celebrate the launch of the non-stop service between Philadelphia and Doha which connects travelers to Qatar Airway’s network of 138 worldwide destinations.The airline currently has flights to Chicago, Houston, New York, and Washington D.C.On June 10, 2014 Qatar Airways will begin offering non-stop flights from Doha to Miami four times per week aboard a 777. Miami is Qatar Airway’s 6
th U.S. Destination.Dallas/ Fort Worth will be the Airway’s 7
th U.S. gateway destination with services beginning on July 1, 2014. Qatar Airways currently operates from Doha to Houston non-stop daily.News Links:
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Qatar Airway’s Oneworld Global Airline Alliance Membership: What Does This Mean for U.S. Airlines?>
Qatar Airways joined the Oneworld global airline alliance in October 2013; therefore, fellow members of this alliance will benefit from their ties to Qatar Airways through this affiliation. U.S. Oneworld members code-share with Qatar Airways and allow passengers to earn benefits such as bonus miles and connect through partnering flights.
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HIA and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
In preparation for hosting the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is undergoing many infrastructural projects such as the new Hamad International Airport. Overall, Qatar is spending $200 billion to host the 2022 World Cup. The vast majority of this budget is going towards transportation including the new airport, roads, and metro system that will handle the estimated half a million people expected to attend the games in 2022.
HIA’s Role in Qatar’s 2030 Vision
The Qatar government projects that the number of tourists will rise from 1.2 million to an estimated 7 million in 2030. While the majority of visitors are from fellow GCC countries, Qatar aims to attract people from around the world. Hamad International Airport enhances the travel experience and allows for an increased travel capacity, linking people from destinations world-wide.
