- Carriers today announce that they have plans to further extend their Joint Business to offer customers a greater choice of destinations and routing options
- News follows British Airways’ return to Doha, with its first flight from Gatwick since the start of the pandemic
- This winter, the two airlines are operating up to six daily flights to Doha from London Heathrow and London Gatwick
Today British Airways and Qatar Airways mark the next milestone in their Joint Business Partnership, as they announce their intent to extend their Joint Business.
The news follows British Airways’ relaunch of daily services to Doha, with the airline’s first flight taking off from Gatwick last week, giving customers access to Qatar Airways’ expansive global network with connections from Doha to over 100 destinations across the world.
The flight was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft featuring three cabins - Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy).
This winter, the airlines will jointly operate up to six daily flights between London and Doha - five from London Heathrow and one from London Gatwick.
Following on from this milestone in their partnership, the two airlines announce that they intend to further expand their joint business and offer customers access to more destinations on their respective networks.
The proposed expansion will give customers enhanced access from Europe to popular destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australasia, such as Singapore, Sydney, Colombo and Nairobi. It will also improve access to destinations across Europe such as Amsterdam, Madrid or Dublin.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Expanding our Joint Business with our 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: “The launch of our 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. We know customers are always looking for more options to connect onto 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.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 140 destinations. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers extensive connectivity for passengers, making it easy for them to change their travel dates or destination as required. And of course, customers can benefit from the flexible booking conditions which are now in place until May 2022.
Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ for the sixth time in the latest World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. The airline’s hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), was recently recognised as the ‘Best Airport in the World 2021’, ranking at number one in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021.
British Airways is part of International Airlines Group (IAG) and is one of the World’s leading global premium airlines, voted a Consumer and Business Superband. Customers booking with British Airways can do so with absolute confidence, thanks to the airline’s flexible booking policy. British Airways Holidays’ customers also have access to a range of additional flexible booking options, as part of the company’s Customer Promise.
British Airways is proud to be an industry leader in tackling climate change, having taken a progressive approach to managing growth in carbon emissions for more than 20 years. The airline is on its most important journey yet, called BA Better World. British Airways is flying more fuel-efficient aircraft and has invested in new technology, sustainable fuel development and made changes to the way it operates to help deliver on environmental commitments. British Airways is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050
