DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) will exhibit its Airbus A350 new-generation jetliner at India Aviation 2016 in Hyderabad from March 16 to 20.
The A350, for which QA was the global launch customer, will make its debut at India’s largest civil aviation and aerospace show.
The theme of this edition of the biennial international exhibition and conference at Begumpet Airport is ‘India’s Civil Aviation Sector: Potential as Global Manufacturing & MRO Hub’ and the event is expected to bring together 250 exhibitors and up to 50,000 visitors from around the world.
Organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the event will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, and will feature static displays, demonstration flights and aerobatic shows.
Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, QA, said: “We are proud to showcase our A350 for the first time in the Indian market, giving prospective clients and visitors a glimpse of what to expect when they fly on board.
“We recently celebrated the first anniversary of our A350 operations which demonstrates our technologically-advanced and fast-growing young fleet. The aircraft is the very latest in design, technology and comfort, and will make its debut appearance on the Indian shores soon.
“India, as one of the world’s largest aviation markets, continues to command respect. The focus this year on growing the manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses in India is commendable, and will benefit the aviation industry as a whole.”
QA took delivery of the first A350 in December 2014 and started commercial operations in January 2015. It operates seven aircraft with regular commercial service to Frankfurt, Munich, Singapore and Philadelphia — the first airline to operate A350s to three continents.
The state-of-the-art aircraft features customised interior settings, with its Business Class cabin comprising 36 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and Economy Class cabin in a 3-3-3 configuration, allowing it to seat 247 passengers.
The carrier participated in the Indian Aviation show in 2010, exhibiting a Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft and Qatar Executive’s Bombardier Challenger 300, with a hospitality chalet.
As in past events, QA will extend award-winning hospitality to guests and media and trade partners at a visitors chalet.
QA is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. In its 19th year, the airline operates a modern fleet of 177 aircraft to key business and leisure destinations across six continents.
Since 2004, when QA operated to four cities in India, the airline has increased capacity across the country, increasing the number of destinations to 13, and taking overall frequency to 102 passenger flights and 30 freighter services a week.
Demand for QA service in India continues to grow, which has been met by up-gauging aircraft from A320s, with a capacity of 144 seats to Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with 254 seats and Boeing 777 aircraft with 335 seats.
QA offers daily passenger flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Bengaluru (Bangalore), Nagpur with 11-flights-a-week to Cochin and double daily flights to the capital Delhi.The Peninsula
