Qatar Airways and British Airways have reached a new milestone in their joint business partnership by announcing their intention to expand their joint venture.
The announcement comes on the heels of British Airways’ reintroduction of daily flights to Doha, with the airline’s first aircraft departing from Gatwick last week, providing customers with access to Qatar Airways’ extensive global network, which connects Doha to over 100 destinations worldwide.
The flight was carried out by a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with three cabins: Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), and World Traveller (economy) (economy).
This winter, the airlines will operate up to six daily flights between London and Doha, five from Heathrow and one from Gatwick.
Following this significant milestone in their relationship, the two airlines announced plans to grow their joint operations and provide customers with access to more destinations on their respective networks.
Customers will have easier access from Europe to popular destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, such as Singapore, Sydney, Colombo, and Nairobi, as a result of the proposed extension. It will also increase access to European destinations such as Amsterdam, Madrid, and Dublin.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said that expanding our Joint Business with their strategic airline partner, British Airways, is an important milestone in our ambition of providing customers access to the most extensive route network and unrivalled product.
Sean Doyle, British Airways Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said that the launch of their first flight from Gatwick to Doha was an important milestone in our existing joint business with Qatar Airways. The proposed expansion of the joint business will be great news for customers, offering them access to more destinations across the world with seamless connections.
They know customers are always looking for more options to connect to popular holiday hotspots such as the Maldives and Seychelles, and this expansion will allow them to do just that.
The airlines expect to receive news of any relevant regulatory approvals of their expanded Joint Business proposition in the first half of 2022.