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| Qatar Airways A350-1000 (Source: Australian Aviation) |
Qatar Airways is the global launch customer for the A350-1000, the world’s most advanced passenger aircraft
Qatar Airways’ has officially resumed its Brisbane operations with the first flight of the new service landing at Brisbane International Airport last night. The Airbus A350-1000 left Hamad International Airport, which was voted Third Best Airport in the World at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020, landing in Brisbane at 8:45pm local time.
The A350-1000, equipped with the airline’s luxurious Business Class seat Qsuite, currently operates commercial flights from Doha to many destinations around the globe. The award-winning airline is the first to fly this revolutionary aircraft to Brisbane.
One of the latest additions to the Airbus family of twin-aisle, wide-body jetliners, the A350-1000 offers 327 seats across two cabins – 46 Qsuite Business Class seats and 281 extra-wide 18-inch seats in Economy Class. Similar to the A350-900 – for which Qatar Airways was also the global launch customer – the high-performance A350-1000 boasts an advanced airframe with extensive use of composite materials. Coupled with a fuselage innovatively built with carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic, the jetliner burns lesser fuel, reducing harmful effects to the environment. On the inside, LED mood lighting mimics a natural sunrise and sunset to help reduce the effects of jet lag. The A350-1000 is seven meters longer than the A350 XWB and offers 28 per cent more capacity in the Premium class cabin.
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| Pic: Beau Chenery |
The aircraft also features the airline’s groundbreaking Qsuite seat, which offers passengers a First Class experience in the Business Class cabin. Qsuite offers the industry’s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private space, offering an unmatched, customisable experience for international travel.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “I am thrilled to be able to announce we are officially serving Brisbane again and to be bringing this world-class A350-1000 product for the first time to this route.
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| QSuite |
“Last month we received exceptional approval to operate short-term services to Brisbane. In cooperation with Australian authorities, we were able to temporarily increase our frequencies and successfully helped thousands of travellers get home. We know there are still many more people that want to get home, and with the resumption of our flights to Brisbane, we are continuing to help support such critical passenger movements.
“We have built a strong level of trust with passengers, governments, trade partners, and airports worldwide as a reliable partner during this crisis and we intend to continue delivering on this mission. Looking forward, we are keen to maintain and grow our Brisbane operations on the basis that adequate air traffic rights are available.”
Brisbane Airport Chief Executive, Mr. Gert-Jan de Graff, said: “Until now, Brisbane was the only major capital city in Australia without a Qatar Airways service and Queensland the only major state. The service Qatar Airways offers will bring more choice for passengers and the air access and export opportunities to and from Brisbane and the state of Queensland are significant, providing much-needed support to Queensland and northern NSW exporters in exporting around 4,000 tonnes of beef and perishables per annum to Qatar.”
With the resumption of flights to Brisbane, Qatar Airways will operate 21 passenger flights per week to Australia:
Three-weekly flights to Brisbane (Airbus A350-1000)
Four-weekly flights to Perth (Airbus A350-1000)
Daily flights to Melbourne (Airbus A350-1000)
Daily flights to Sydney (Airbus A350-1000)
Qatar Airways continues to operate to 16 destinations in Europe, including London, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam, with plans to add an additional seven European destinations by the end of June. Passengers travelling to and from Australia will enjoy a seamless connection through the airline’s state-of-the-art hub and home, Hamad International Airport, which was named “Third Best Airport in the World'' at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020. The Airport was also named “Best Airport in the Middle East” for the sixth year in a row and Best Staff Service in Middle East for the fifth year in a row at the publicly voted and coveted awards.
Qatar Airways Cargo, which last month joined the Australian Government’s Freight Assistance Mechanism to support Australian agriculture exporters, currently offers a combined air freight capacity of more than 850 tonnes each way. The carrier’s cargo division operates two Boeing 777 freighters and 11 Boeing 777 freight-only passenger aircraft in addition to the belly-hold cargo on the 21 passenger flights.
The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to operate approximately 150 scheduled flights per week to over 30 destinations. The airline recently announced plans to gradually rebuild its network in line with the evolution of passenger demand and the expected relaxation of entry restrictions around the world. By the end of June the airline plans to expand its network to 80 destinations. To find out where we are still flying, visit https://qatarairways.com/en/travel-alerts/COVID-19-update.html.
Qatar Airways has further enhanced its onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew. The airline is implementing several changes, including the introduction of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits for cabin crew while onboard, as well as a modified service that reduces interactions between the passengers and the crew inflight. Cabin crew have already been wearing PPE during flights for a number of weeks, including gloves and face masks.
Cabin crew will wear the PPE suit over their uniforms in addition to safety goggles, gloves and a mask to provide even greater reassurance to customers in addition to enhanced hygienic measures already in place. The airline now requires passengers from Monday, May 25, to wear face coverings inflight and recommends people bring their own for fit and comfort purposes.
As an airline, Qatar Airways maintains the highest possible hygiene standards, including the regular disinfection of our aircraft, the use of cleaning products recommended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and thermal screening of crew.
In addition, Qatar Airways’ aircraft feature the most advanced air filtration systems, equipped with industrial-size HEPA filters that remove 99.97% of viral and bacterial contaminants from re-circulated air, providing the most effective protection against infection. All the airline’s onboard linen and blankets are washed, dried and pressed at microbial lethal temperatures, after each flight. These items are then sealed into individual packaging by staff wearing hygienic disposable gloves.
Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC) was the first organisation in the world last year to achieve ISO22000:2018 certification from Bureau Veritas with UKAS accreditation, confirming its Food Safety Management System meets the highest standards. All meal service utensils and cutlery are washed with detergents and rinsed with demineralized freshwater at temperatures that kill pathogenic bacteria. All sanitised equipment is handled by staff wearing hygienic disposable gloves, while cutlery is individually re-packed.
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