Qatar Airways Voted Business Airline of the Year for Second Year in a Row

Doha, January 27 (QNA) - Qatar Airways was last week awarded Business Airline of the Year for the second consecutive year at the prestigious UK Business Travel Awards 2015 held in London at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The 20th annual Business Travel Awards, hosted by Buying Business Travel, celebrated the achievements of travel industry leaders. Over 70 companies, teams and individuals were shortlisted across 21 categories. In May 2014, Qatar Airways became the first carrier to fly an all-Business Class service from London Heathrow. The daily Airbus A319 service to Doha is configured with a single aisle, 2-2 seating configuration offering 40 seats. The service departs from Terminal 4 at 21:55, arriving into Doha at 6.40am the following day. The A319 Business Class seat has one of the highest specifications for business class travel of any airline with wide seats that recline into fully flat beds. Also in May, Qatar Airways moved to its new home and hub, Hamad International Airport, the aviation industrys latest greenfield airport showcasing marked features, including the acclaimed 10,000 square metres Al Mourjan Business Class lounge. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: "It has been an incredible year for Qatar Airways, with not only a number of new routes but the expansion of our fleet to include the A350 and A380, both of which represent the latest in aviation engineering and technology. This award reiterates the quality of our renowned 5-star service and it is an honour to have been recognised in this category again." The airline celebrated a dramatic increase to its fleet in 2014, taking delivery of three new aircraft types: the A319 all-Business Class; the Airbus A380, and was the Global Launch Customer of the A350. With the receipt of these new aircraft, Qatar Airways is the only airline in the world to operate every family of Airbus modern airline portfolio. In addition to the 80 A350s it has on order, the airline has a current Airbus fleet comprising of the A320, A330 Freighter, A319LR, A321, A330, A340 and A380 families. With a modern fleet of 146 aircraft, Qatar Airways connects businesses and travellers to more than 146 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. In the past 12 months Qatar Airways has welcomed its first A380 to its fleet, followed by its first A350 as the global launch customer and begun services between Heathrow and Doha on an all-Business Class A319 aircraft. In 2014, Qatar Airways also launched services to Sharjah International Airport, UAE, Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai World Central; Philadelphia, USA; Larnaca, Cyprus; Sabiha Gokcen, Istanbul; Edinburgh, UK; Miami International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth, USA. From May 2015, Qatar Airways will operate 63 direct services a week from the UK to Doha, with 42 from Heathrow, seven from Edinburgh and a further 14 departing from Manchester. (QNA)