Qatar Airways Begins Services to Nice

Three Flights A Week To French Riviera Carrier Expands Presence In France With Second Destination

26 November 2010

Nice, FRANCE – Qatar Airways has continued its European expansion drive with the French Mediterranean city of Nice becoming the first of five route launches across the Continent over the next few months.

Complementing double daily flights between the airline’s Doha hub and the French capital Paris, the new Doha – Nice operations strengthen the carrier’s presence in France. Qatar Airways is the only Five-Star carrier flying to one of the world’s leading tourism hot spots on the charming French Riviera.

Following the touchdown of flight QR035 at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, the aircraft was welcomed by a traditional water salute and met by senior airport officials and local dignitaries.

On board the maiden flight to Nice was Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, who led a high-profile delegation and key media from across the Middle East and later thanked the authorities for their support in facilitating the latest route developments in France.

“Qatar Airways appreciates the support provided by the French government to further consolidate our presence in France, where we have grown as an airline of choice over the past 10 years,” he said.

“The Doha – Nice route launch coincides with Qatar Airways’ 10 years of flying to France and we are delighted to start on this occasion flights to Nice as our 95th destination.”

The President of the Directory of the Côte d’Azur Airports, Hervé de Place added: “I am very pleased with Qatar Airways’ new route from Nice to Doha and I thank the airline for the trust they have put in Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. These new flights will allow our region to increase its economic and tourism ties with the Middle East and even onwards to Asia Pacific.

Nice, in the proximity to Cannes, Monaco, St. Tropez and Antibes, is the perfect gateway to southern France and offers great potential based on significant business and leisure traffic for Qatar Airways.

The French Riviera is known for its "art de vivre" and beautiful scenery, which attracts over nine million visitors each year. The region is also an important hub for research in industry, science and technology and an attractive business destination, with many major conferences and prestigious events like the International Film Festival in Cannes and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Flights on the Doha – Nice operate via Milan with an Airbus A330-200 in a two-class configuration. Featuring 24 seats in Business Class and up to 248 seats in Economy, the aircraft offers passengers seatback TV screens giving them the opportunity to watch programmes at the time of their choice. Regardless of class of travel, passengers can enjoy the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system with a choice of more than 900 audio and video on demand options.

With a pitch of 60 inches, the 2–2–2 configured Business Class convert into flat beds offering premium passengers to and from Nice with the long-haul experience of a Qatar Airways wide-body aircraft. In line with the airline’s Five Star hospitality, Qatar Airways has multi-lingual cabin crew, among them French and Arabic speakers, to deliver the highest personal attention to passengers on the Doha – Nice route. To please the palate, Qatar Airways offers a mix of Mediterranean and Oriental culinary delights across all classes, which embrace regional specialties and local flavours.

The launch of flights to Nice sees Qatar Airways’ European route network extend to 21 destinations. Globally, Qatar Airways has launched 10 new routes since February 2010 – Bengaluru (Bangalore), Copenhagen, Ankara, Tokyo, Barcelona, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, Phuket, Hanoi and now Nice. The airline’s growth in Europe is further reflected through Qatar Airways introducing four new European destinations in 2011 including Budapest (January 17), Bucharest (January 17), Brussels (January 31) and Stuttgart (March 6). On April 6, Qatar Airways introduces its 100th destination – the Syrian city of Aleppo.

By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to serve 120 key business and leisure destinations worldwide with a modern fleet of 120 aircraft. Today, the airline’s fleet stands at 91 aircraft, flying to 95 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North and South America.