Qatar Airways recently announced its plans to commence four-weekly passenger services to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport, from 22 May 2014. Sabiha Gökçen Airport will become Qatar Airways’ third destination in Turkey after Istanbul Ataturk Airport, started in 2004 and Ankara, started in 2010. The airline currently operates 10 flights-a-week to Istanbul Ataturk Airport and four-flights-week to Ankara.
With the addition of Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the number of flights to Turkey rises from 14 to 18 frequencies each week. The airport will serve travellers from the eastern (Asian) side of Istanbul in addition to Ataturk Airport which currently services the population in the western (European) side of the city separated by the Bosporus.
The new route will be served by an Airbus A320 in a 2 cabin configuration, offering 12 Business Class and 132 Economy Class seats.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways said, “Turkey’s aviation industry has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years and we are delighted to be part of this growth by launching additional capacity into this vibrant market. With increased government investment in the private sector and major infrastructure developments underway, we see huge market potential in adding more capacity to Turkey.”
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 128 aircraft to 133 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. In 2013, Qatar Airways has launched eleven destinations to date – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Chengdu (China), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Ta’if (Saudi Arabia) and most recently Clark Manila International Airport (Philippines).
Over the next few weeks and months, the network will grow further with Hangzhou, China (December 20), Sharjah and Dubai World Central, both in the UAE (March 1, 2014), Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014), Edinburgh, Scotland (May 28, 2014) and Miami, USA (June 10, 2014).
