TAIF, Saudi Arabia — Qatar Airways further expanded its operations in Saudi Arabia on Thursday with the launch of a scheduled flight to Taif — the airline’s sixth destination in the Kingdom.



Qatar Airways Flight 1206 arrived in Taif to the traditional water salute, after which an airport ceremony was held attended by local VIPs who welcomed the passengers and operating crew on board the flight. A high level delegation from the airline’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar's capital, was led by Fathi Al-Shehab, Qatar Airways Senior Vice President GCC, Levant, Iran and Indian Subcontinent.  Al-Shehab was on board the inaugural flight and was met by Abdulbaset M. Al-Salafi, Acting Director, Domestic Airport Operations, and Abdul Rhman Al-Bathi, Taif Airport General Manager. Al-Shehab thanked the people of Taif, local authorities and airport officials for supporting the airline in launching the new route.



“We are pleased to add Taif to our growing international network and providing services to the people of this city and its surrounding areas. Qatar Airways will continue exploring new opportunities in Saudi Arabia and providing it with new services that will boost its tourism sector,” Al-Shehab said.



“Taif is a vital tourist and cultural center. It is a market rich with business opportunities, heritage and historic sites. I am confident that this city will succeed in attracting tourists and businessmen alike and I hope our new flights will help them take advantage of the opportunities this city has to offer,” he added.



Qatar Airways will operate four flights a week non-stop from Doha to Taif. The addition of this new Saudi city takes the total number of destinations within the airline’s network to 132, providing the people of Taif and surrounding areas wider travel choices.



With the new four weekly flights, Qatar Airways now operates 69 flights a week to Saudi Arabia.



Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker said the airline was pleased to open this new gateway to Saudi Arabia.



“During the past few months we succeeded in launching two new destinations in Saudi Arabia – Al-Gassim and now Taif, which reflects our commitment to reinforcing relations between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom,” Al-Baker said.



“We will continue to build bridges between Saudi Arabia and the world as part of our strategy to provide services to flourishing markets underserved by international airlines,” he added.



Qatar Airways new flights offer the people of Taif a variety of travel options to more than 130 amazing destinations around the world, including London, Paris, Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Delhi and Mumbai.



The Taif route is operated with an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy. The aircraft features seatback TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system – a choice of more than 800 audio and video on demand options together with an SMS text messaging service from each seat.



Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 132 key business and leisure destinations worldwide.



Besides Taif, Qatar Airways has so far launched nine destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq) and Chengdu (China) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).



Over the next few months, the network will expand with the addition of Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 27) and Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014). – SG