Celebrating the arrival of Qatar Airways in Chengdu were Liu Shou Cheng, Vice Mayor of Chengdu; Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways; and Jared Lee, Country Manager for Qatar Airways in China. Qatar Airways becomes the second MEB3 carrier after Etihad Airways to launch flights to Chengdu, which becomes the airline's sixth Chinese destination.
- Qatar Airways has launched its latest route to China with the introduction of thrice-weekly flights from Doha (DOH) to Chengdu (CTU) on 3 September. It therefore becomes the second MEB3 carrier (after Etihad Airways) to serve China’s fifth busiest airport. Flights are operated by the airline’s two-class, 284-seat A330-200s. Chengdu becomes the airline’s sixth destination in China after Beijing, Chongqing (November 2011), Guangzhou (March 2008), Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said, “Qatar Airways saw an immense potential to operate in Chengdu, which is set to play a critical role in the next wave of economic development in Western China. It is hardly a surprise, therefore, that nearly half of the world’s Fortune 500 companies have opened offices in the city, and that Chengdu is aiming to become China’s fastest growing aviation hub.” Last year Chengdu Airport saw traffic growth of 8.7% to 31.6 million passengers. The arrival in Chengdu was greeted by a fire truck water arch (FTWA). See how it compared with these week’s other FTWAs.