Qatar Airways and Thai officials during the welcoming ceremony.
DOHA: Qatar Airways’ first direct non-stop flight to Pattaya touched down at U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport yesterday, inaugurating the award-winning airline’s newest Thai destination.
This celebration marks Qatar Airways’ fifth route to Thailand, and is the first new route launch for Qatar Airways in 2018, as the airline continues the rapid expansion of its global route network. Pattaya, a popular holiday destination, is a major resort city located on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast.
Flight QR828 touched down at U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport just after 06:30am and was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum, Thai Ambassador to Qatar, travelled on board the inaugural flight with Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Marwan Koleilat, from the airline’s five-star hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA).
Upon arrival in Pattaya, the VIP delegation was greeted by Rear Admiral Luechai Sri-Eamgool, Director for U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport; the Qatari Ambassador to Thailand, Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulrahman bin Mohamed Al Thani; Chaicharn Aiemcharoen, Acting Governor of Chonburi Province; Sattawat Anantakon, Vice Governor of Rayong Province and Pol Maj Gen Anun Charoenchasri, Mayor of Pattaya City, and a welcome ceremony attended by airport and government officials, together with local dignitaries took place.
“We are delighted to be the first Middle East airline to offer direct flights to Pattaya. Having also launched flights to Chiang Mai in Thailand just last month and soon to launch our sixth-daily flight to Bangkok, this new route reinforces and deepens the strong ties that exist between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Thailand,” said Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways.
“Thailand is continuing to grow in popularity among our passengers. We launched this new route in direct response to increasing demand from our passengers, and we are proud to be able to fly them on our aircraft to experience our unrivalled five-star service. We are excited to offer our travellers more destinations to choose from in the Far East, and to connect the people of Pattaya to Qatar Airways’ extensive global network of more than 150 destinations around the world,” he added.
Director of U-Tapao Airport Authority, Rear Admiral Luechai Sri-Eamgool, said: “We warmly welcome Qatar Airways’ first direct flight from Doha to U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport. U-Tapao Airport is a cornerstone of the Eastern Economic Corridor that the Thailand government is aggressively developing. These new direct flights will open up further seamless air connectivity for tourists and business visitors looking to visit Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard, further boosting our tourism industry and also aid in the development of foreign investments into U-Tapao Pattaya.”
Qatar Airways’ new four-times-a-week service to Pattaya offers five-star comfort on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.
The new four-times-weekly service to Pattaya increases the airline’s total weekly frequency to 64 flights a week to Thailand. From 25 March, the airline will also increase its service to Bangkok to six daily flights, making the total number of flights operated to Thailand to 71 weekly flights.
