TA'IF, Saudi Arabia – Qatar Airways yesterday expanded its flight operations with the launch of scheduled service to Ta'if - the airline’s sixth destination in the Saudi Arabia.

Qatar Airways Flight 1206 arrived in Ta'if to an airport ceremony, delegation from the airline’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar was led by Fathi Al Shehab, Qatar Airways senior vice president GCC, Levant, Iran and Indian Subcontinent.  Fathi Al Shehab was on board the inaugural flight and was met by Abdulbaset M Al-Salafi, act director domestic airport operations and Abdul Rhman Al Bathi, Ta'if airport general manager.

Al Shehab said: “We are pleased to add Ta'if to our growing international network and providing services to the people of this city and its surrounding areas. Qatar Airways will continue exploring new opportunities in Saudi and providing it with new services that will boost its tourism sector.” 

“Ta'if is a vital tourist and cultural center. It is a market rich with business opportunities, heritage and historic sites. I am confident that this city will succeed in attracting tourists and business men alike and I hope our new flights will help them take advantage of the opportunities this city has to offer.”

Qatar Airways will operate four flights a week non-stop from Doha to Ta'if. The addition of this new Saudi city takes the total number of destinations within the airline’s network to 132, providing the people of Ta'if and surrounding areas wider travel choices.
With the new four weekly flights, Qatar Airways now operates 69 flights a week to Saudi.

Akbar Al Baker Qatar Airways' chief executive officer, commented: “During the past few months we succeeded in launching two new destinations in Saudi Arabia – Al Gassim and now Ta'if, which reflects our commitment to reinforcing relations between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom.”

“We will continue to build bridges between Saudi Arabia and the world as part of our strategy to provide services to flourishing markets underserved by international airlines.”

The Ta'if route is operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in business class and 132 seats in economy. 

Qatar Airways has seen growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a fleet of 129 aircraft to 132 destinations worldwide.

Besides Ta'if, Qatar Airways has launched nine destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq) and Chengdu (China) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

Over the next few months, the network will include the addition of Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 27) and Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014).

Doha – Ta'if flight schedules, commencing 2 October 2013:

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday

From Doha      QR1206 at 1255, arriving in Tai’f at 1520
From Ta’if       QR1207 at 1610, arriving in Doha at 1910