Qatar Airways starts Airbus A350 service to Heathrow

Qatar Airways’ first daily regularly-scheduled Airbus A350 service to London Heathrow arrived in the UK on Sunday.
Introduction of the “state-of-the-art” aircraft on the route complemented the existing “best of fleet” on its six daily flights from Hamad International Airport (HIA), the airline said in a press statement yesterday.
The Qatar Airways Airbus A350 joins the airline’s Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft currently operating the route.
To mark the occasion, Qatar Airways followers on social media were able to follow a live tour of the interior cabin of the A350 while on the ground at London Heathrow. The video is available at https://www.facebook.com/qatarairways/
The landing of the A350 marked another milestone for the airline as it took place on the same day as the start of a new joint business agreement between Qatar Airways and British Airways. The agreement benefits customers by offering a wider choice of flights by code-sharing on all seven Qatar Airways and British Airways direct daily flights between London and Doha, the statement noted.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said: “The Qatar Airways Airbus A350 is one of the most advanced aircraft in our fleet, and it is only right that such an aircraft serves one of our six daily scheduled flights from Doha to London, a route further strengthened by our continued partnership with British Airways.”
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye added: “We are delighted to welcome the Qatar Airways Airbus A350 to Heathrow. The A350 is part of the new generation of quieter, cleaner planes, helping us be a better neighbour while achieving our vision of giving passengers the best airport service in the world.”
The Business Class cabin of the A350 has 36 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, while the Economy Class features 247 18-inch wide seats in a 3-3-3 configuration.
Qatar Airways was the global launch customer for the Airbus A350 XWB in January 2015 and currently operates 11 A350s, with a further 69 on order, across its global network.