Qatar Airways' maiden voyage to Miami International Airport (MIA) touched
down on Tuesday, commencing service to the airline's sixth U.S.
gateway. The
service marked its 142nd
destination worldwide from the central hub in Doha, Qatar.
With this new route, Qatar Airways is the only airline to offer non-stop service between the Middle East and Miami.
Tuesday's launch continues a major expansion by the airline into the United States. Non-stop service to Philadelphia International Airport began in April, and the airline will commence flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in July.
The airline's CEO was onboard the maiden flight and led a high level delegation, including the Director of MIA, Emilio Gonzalez; the vice chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, senior officials from the airline and also a group of international media traveling on the first flight.
With Doha's centralized location, travelers from Miami can reach cities such as Bangkok, Nairobi, Colombo, and Mumbai in an impressive 23 hours or less through a quick transfer in Doha.
The airline recently moved its entire operations to the State of Qatar's new airport Hamad International.
From one major hub to another, Miami International Airport is one of the largest in the United States, handling over 40.5 million passengers in 2013. It is the country's second busiest airport for international travel and the busiest for international freight.
The new Qatar Airways route is expected to generate 536 new jobs and $78.3 million in additional revenue for Miami and the surrounding community. The route is being operated with a Boeing 777-200 in a two-class configuration of 42 seats in Business and 217 seats in Economy.
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operations and is currently flying a modern fleet of 134 aircraft to more than 140 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.
Miami joins the airline's existing Americas destinations: Chicago, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Montreal, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Qatar Airways is set to launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes during the coming months, including Tokyo Haneda, Japan (June 18), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1) and Djibouti (July 27).
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