Qatar Airways welcomes Air Canada’s inaugural flight from Toronto to Doha
Qatar Airways welcomes Air Canada’s inaugural flight from Toronto to Doha, establishing Hamad International Airport (HIA) as the only airport in the Middle East to be operated with a scheduled service by a North American carrier.
The flight was welcomed with a water cannon salute at HIA and a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Her Excellency Ambassador Stefanie McCollum, Ambassador of Canada to Qatar along with Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker and Hamad International Airport Chief Operating Officer Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer.
This inaugural flight marks the first-ever Air Canada flight to Doha and signifies the further strengthening of relations between Canada and the State of Qatar.
The agreement will enable both airline's passengers to enjoy seamless, one-stop connections to and from Toronto via HIA and onwards to more than 75 destinations in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said, “I am extremely delighted with this strong relationship that Qatar Airways has with Air Canada under the pioneering leadership of my friend, Calin Rovinescu who has put Air Canada’s strong brand on the world aviation map.
Air Canada, one of the most successful airlines in North America, will add huge value to Qatar Airways’ expanding network. Canada is a strategically important market for Qatar Airways, and this service will complement our existing four-weekly service to Montreal and provide our travelers with additional options when planning travel to and from Canada. We look forward to harnessing our complementary strengths to increase choices for our thousands of passengers and enable smooth connectivity to a significant number of new destinations – particularly throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.”
HIA benefits from its strategic location, as 80% of the world’s population is within a six-hour flight of HIA, which offers more convenient connection options for global travelers.
With its multi-dimensional lifestyle offerings in retails, hospitality, and culture alongside its passenger-empowering technologies, HIA is the preferred gateway to the world for global travelers.
Qatar Airways began flying to Canada in June 2011 with three weekly flights to Montreal that expanded to four weekly in December 2018.
The airline has worked closely with the Government of Canada and its embassies around the world throughout the pandemic, temporarily operating three weekly services to Toronto in addition to charter flights to Vancouver to help bring more than 40,000 passengers home to Canada.
By the end of the IATA Winter Season, Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to 126 destinations including 20 in Africa, 11 in the Americas, 42 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe, and 15 in the Middle East. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2019 served over 51 million customers. Ranked as a high-quality Four-Star airline by Skytrax, Air Canada was also awarded the 2019 Best Airline in North America.
Last month, Qatar Airways announced Travel Bubble Holiday’ Packages established between Qatar and the Maldives. Aimed at providing peace of mind to Qatar’s citizens and residents to holiday safely, the travel bubble removes the need to quarantine or self-isolate upon return to Qatar. Additionally, residents who avail of the package will also not need an Exceptional Entry Permit to return home (to Qatar).
Previously, Qatar Airways also launched new, simplified fare families across all travel classes in a bid to offer greater choice and flexibility to its passengers.
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