Qatar Airways to Launch Flights to Montreal

Qatar Airways is to make its Canada debut with the launch of scheduled flights to Montreal, effective 29 June 2011.

Canada’s second largest city will be served with three-flights-a-week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays using the airline’s flagship Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft.

The non-stop journey from the airline’s hub in Doha to Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport will have a total flying time of 13 hrs 20 minutes.

The destination marks Qatar Airways’ first foray into Canada following a series of bilateral negotiations in Doha last year, when the airline secured rights to fly passenger and cargo flights to the country.

The province of Quebec’s capital city becomes the airline’s fourth destination in North America. The airline currently operates daily flights to New York, Washington and Houston.

 “It truly is a milestone to bring Canada and, in particular, Montreal, into the Qatar Airways’ family of international routes. The introduction of our Montreal service will provide a strong transportation link between Canada and Qatar and further facilitate the already strong economic ties between our countries,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker. “According to the government agency Export Development Canada, there are more than 1,500 Canadian companies doing business in the Gulf and Qatar, in particular, is one of Canada’s largest trading partners in the Middle East ... With the oil and gas industry being a key connection that naturally aligns us, we hope that as soon as our thrice-weekly service is well-established and boosts the Qatari and Canadian economy to receive additional traffic rights for a daily operation to Montreal.”

Canadian nationals arriving in Qatar can enter the country without prior visa arrangements. Such passengers, with Qatar as their end destination, can enter by obtaining a visa on arrival, a service extended to 33 countries, with Canada being one of them.

The Boeing 777 on the Montreal route has a two-class operation, offering 42 seats in Business in a 2–2–2 cabin layout, with a seat pitch of 78 inches.