Qatar Airways (QR) enriches network by enhancing connectivity
Qatar Airways are at it again, adding more frequencies to a number of key destinations across their network. All in the name of giving passengers greater flexibility and reducing travel times with seamless connections. We’ve listed out some of the changes below. An additional benefit of adding frequencies will ease congestion at HAM (Hamad International Airport) as with more connections to more destinations, travellers will be able to spend less time waiting in the terminal.
- Amsterdam β increased from seven weekly flights to 11
- Damascus β increased from three weekly flights to 14
- Dar Es Salaam-Kilimanjaro β increased from three weekly flights to seven
- Entebbe β increased from seven weekly flights to 11
- Larnaca β increased from seven weekly flights to 10
- London Heathrow β increased from 49 weekly flights to 56
- Madrid β increased from 14 weekly flights to 17 (bringing the jointly operated flights between Qatar Airways and Iberia from 21 weekly flights to 24)
- Maputo-Durban β increased from five weekly flights to seven
- Sharjah β increased from 21 weekly flights to 35
- Tokyo Narita β increased from 11 weekly flights to 14
- Tunis β increased from 10 weekly flights to 12
The partnership with Virgin Australia is rapidly taking shape with Qatar’s Q-suite to feature on all of the 777 wet lease services operated by VA. The +12 hour flight time will also be made more enjoyable for guests with the offer of inflight Starlink wifi providing average speeds of 30-100Mbps (which for inflight, is very fast – take our word for it).
Oman Air and Saudia punctuality recognised by Cirium
Oman Air and Saudia have both been recognised for their on time performance (OTP) in 2024 by Cirium, the Aviation analytics firm.
- Mexicoβs flag carrier topped the global category, followed by Saudia, and Delta Air Lines
- Regional Winners Include: Copa Airlines (Latin America), Delta Air Lines (North America), Iberia Express (Europe, and Low-Cost Airline), Japan Airlines (Asia-Pacific), and FlySafair (Middle East and Africa)
- Riyadh King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia Named Most On-Time Global Airport for 2024
To download the full report visit https://www.cirium.com/resources/on-time-performance-2024-review/
ITB Wrap Up
Organisers of this year’s ITB, take a bow. A resounding success from all reports. Countless appointments, endless coffees. Not to mention a party or two. The scale and attendance of this year’s event bodes well for the entire travel and tourism industry. Middle East, North Africa and the GCC were exceptionally well represented by airlines, tourism authorities, hotels and ancillary travel partners, all busy signing deals and encouraging greater visitation. For full story read here.
flynas and DB on track to enable more tourists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Flynas and Deutsche Bahn have inked a partnership at ITB, connecting 5,600 train stations across Germany, Austria and Switzerland with Berlin (BER), enabling connections onto Flynas’ 3 x week non-stop service to Jeddah (JED). No doubt will help contribute to the Kingdom’s target of attracting European tourists (+24% YoY growth in 2024).
Gulf Air showcases Bahrain’s tourism excellence at ITB Berlin 2025
This year, Gulf Air team joined the Bahrain pavilion, which included another 14 other national tourism and hospitality organisations including BETA (Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority) and the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. Together, the consortium showcased the quality and diversity of Bahrain’s international tourism offering.
Last but not least, Emirates- so many signings, so much smiling
Emirates’ team had a VERY busy ITB, penning multiple deals with multiple partners including; OTA’s (Trip.Com and Expedia Group), Cruise Companies (Costa, AIDA and TUI Cruises), plus Tourism Authorities (Malta and also Austrian Tourism board). These MOU’s demonstrate EK’s ongoing commitment to industry partnerships. The airline clearly recognises the importance of building (and maintaining) strong relationships with distribution partners and organisations offering travel products complimentary to their own. ITB comes off the back of Emirates recently announcing the launch of 3 new routes to Asia:
- Da Nang, Vietnam (2 June)
- Siem Reap Cambodia (3 June)
- Shenzhen, China (1 July)
