Qatar Airways denies withdrawing from Japan

Qatar Airways has denied recent rumours that the airline is “withdrawing” from Japan and reiterated its commitment to its three routes in the country.In a statement issued here yesterday, Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said the airline looked forward to enhancing its operations in Japan. The comments came following a successful “Qatari-Japanese Economic Forum visit” led by HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and a group of VIP dignitaries from Qatar’s “most significant” organisations and companies.The forum was held in Tokyo on February 20. Al-Baker, who was a keynote speaker in a high-level workshop, said, “Since 2008, Qatar Airways has transported close to 1.5mn passengers on its flights to Japan, carried in excess of 40,000 tonnes of cargo. We are proud to say that we have generated 25% year-on-year passenger traffic growth between Japan and Qatar since 2008.“On June 18 last year, we touched down at Tokyo Haneda International Airport, marking our third destination in Japan, and we are just as committed today to our Japanese routes as when we launched them. Qatar Airways continues to look forward to working together with our partners here to enhance our operations in Japan.”Year 2014 was the “Year of the fleet” for Qatar Airways with the introduction of its bespoke A380 of which the airline now has four, and the arrival of the Airbus A350, for which Qatar Airways is the global launch customer. Qatar Airways also introduced a new daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner service to Japan in June 2014 on its Doha – Tokyo Haneda route. The airline currently operates three daily routes to Japan: Osaka, Tokyo Haneda and Tokyo Narita.Qatar Airways moved to its new home at Hamad International Airport (HIA) in May 2014, the world’s “latest and most advanced” aviation hub with an initial capacity of 30mn passengers a year, rising to 50mn, upon full completion. Featuring ground-breaking design coupled with contemporary styling and the very latest technology, HIA sets new airport benchmarks and redefines the passenger and transit experience.More code-share routes added with Bangkok AirwaysQatar Airways has “strengthened” its relationship with Bangkok Airways with the addition of more code-share routes.The new code-shares come after a year of rapid expansion for Qatar Airways across the globe, with the addition of 12 new destinations throughout the course of 2014, together with frequency and capacity increases across the network.Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said, “It has been a period of rapid expansion for Qatar Airways, with new route-launches around the globe. The addition of these code-share routes with Bangkok Airways further enhances our competitive offering, while providing our passengers with an unrivalled global network among the world’s leading airlines.”The expansion of this agreement with Bangkok Airways will enhance Qatar Airways’ passengers’ options as it adds some 10 additional sectors from Bangkok to Chiang Rai, Udon Thani, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Nay Pyi Taw and Siem Reap, together with Koh Samui to Singapore, Phuket and Kuala Lumpur and Phuket to Chiang Mai.This will both strengthen and complement Qatar Airways’ current code-shares from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Lampang, Trat,  Sukhothai, Samui, Mandalay, Yangon and Phnom Penh.Those passengers travelling onto code-share destinations from Bangkok can fly Qatar Airways’ A380 aircraft, which commenced service to the city in December last year. Meanwhile, those travelling onwards from Phuket, will also benefit from the airline’s direct daily scheduled service from Doha, which commenced in 2014. The route was previously served from Doha via Kuala Lumpur.