Qatar Airways has announced it will operate four weekly flights from December 15 to San Francisco – the fifth new destination launched by Qatar's national carrier since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The service will be operated by Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 featuring 36 seats in the award-winning Qsuite Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class with passengers enjoying free Super Wi-Fi broadband internet until January 2021.
Qatar Airways, the only Middle East carrier operating to San Francisco, has continued to grow and innovate during the pandemic with industry-leading flexible booking policies, robust safety measures and a dependable network, all providing strong levels of reliability for passengers. Throughout the pandemic, Qatar Airways continued operations to the US with flights to both Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth maintained during the entire period.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar al-Baker, said: “We are thrilled to welcome San Francisco as our newest destination, and our ninth current gateway in the US. As we navigate the crisis, we have made it a priority to not only reinstate our existing destinations and be the airline travellers can rely on, but to also grow our network and increase connectivity with new and relevant destinations for our customers to enjoy.
“As the gateway to Silicon Valley and the vibrant tech economy, the San Francisco Bay Area is a globally important destination, both from a business and leisure perspective. We are excited as we launch this new destination making it easier for our passengers to reunite with their loved ones, having taken more than 220,000 Americans home to the US via scheduled and chartered flights amidst the pandemic.”
Mayor of San Francisco, London N Breed, said: “On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco I'm proud to welcome Qatar Airways to San Francisco International Airport as they initiate their new nonstop service to Doha this coming December.”
San Francisco International Airport director Ivar C Satero said: “As airlines restore travel destinations around the world, we applaud the vision of Qatar Airways to make this new route a reality, and we look forward to offering a world-class airport experience to travellers from its network.”
The addition of San Francisco will build onto Qatar Airways’ current service to some of the most vibrant cities in the US, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. By mid-December, the carrier will fly 55 weekly flights to nine destinations in the US connecting onwards to hundreds of American cities through its strategic partnerships with American Airlines and JetBlue.
The addition of flights to San Francisco will add a new route to the Qatar Airways Cargo network, bringing its total of US destinations to 11. The new service will greatly support the Californian economy by adding 60 tonnes of belly-hold capacity each week, each way by the world's largest cargo operator.
Qatar Airways has extended its commitment to offering passengers flexible booking options, now available for all tickets issued before December 31. If passengers need to change their travel plans, they can hold their ticket value for two years, benefit from unlimited date changes, or exchange their ticket for a future travel voucher with 10% extra value. If passengers have had their travel plans impacted by factors outside their control, they can change their destination – within the same continental region for Qatar Airways Privilege Club members or within the same country or a 500 mile radius for non-members, swap their ticket for Qmiles, or refund their ticket with no fees applied. Qatar Airways has issued $1.4bn in refunds to almost 600,000 passengers – including $164.8mn in refunds to US passengers – since March.
Qatar Airways, the only Middle East carrier operating to San Francisco, has continued to grow and innovate during the pandemic with industry-leading flexible booking policies, robust safety measures and a dependable network, all providing strong levels of reliability for passengers. Throughout the pandemic, Qatar Airways continued operations to the US with flights to both Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth maintained during the entire period.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar al-Baker, said: “We are thrilled to welcome San Francisco as our newest destination, and our ninth current gateway in the US. As we navigate the crisis, we have made it a priority to not only reinstate our existing destinations and be the airline travellers can rely on, but to also grow our network and increase connectivity with new and relevant destinations for our customers to enjoy.
“As the gateway to Silicon Valley and the vibrant tech economy, the San Francisco Bay Area is a globally important destination, both from a business and leisure perspective. We are excited as we launch this new destination making it easier for our passengers to reunite with their loved ones, having taken more than 220,000 Americans home to the US via scheduled and chartered flights amidst the pandemic.”
Mayor of San Francisco, London N Breed, said: “On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco I'm proud to welcome Qatar Airways to San Francisco International Airport as they initiate their new nonstop service to Doha this coming December.”
San Francisco International Airport director Ivar C Satero said: “As airlines restore travel destinations around the world, we applaud the vision of Qatar Airways to make this new route a reality, and we look forward to offering a world-class airport experience to travellers from its network.”
The addition of San Francisco will build onto Qatar Airways’ current service to some of the most vibrant cities in the US, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. By mid-December, the carrier will fly 55 weekly flights to nine destinations in the US connecting onwards to hundreds of American cities through its strategic partnerships with American Airlines and JetBlue.
The addition of flights to San Francisco will add a new route to the Qatar Airways Cargo network, bringing its total of US destinations to 11. The new service will greatly support the Californian economy by adding 60 tonnes of belly-hold capacity each week, each way by the world's largest cargo operator.
Qatar Airways has extended its commitment to offering passengers flexible booking options, now available for all tickets issued before December 31. If passengers need to change their travel plans, they can hold their ticket value for two years, benefit from unlimited date changes, or exchange their ticket for a future travel voucher with 10% extra value. If passengers have had their travel plans impacted by factors outside their control, they can change their destination – within the same continental region for Qatar Airways Privilege Club members or within the same country or a 500 mile radius for non-members, swap their ticket for Qmiles, or refund their ticket with no fees applied. Qatar Airways has issued $1.4bn in refunds to almost 600,000 passengers – including $164.8mn in refunds to US passengers – since March.
