Qatar Airways Launches Boeing 777 On Madrid Route

Flagship Long Haul Aircraft To Fly Between Doha And Spanish Capital

22 December 2010

Doha, QATAR – Commencing 1 January 2011, award-winning Qatar Airways will introduce its flagship Boeing 777 aircraft for the first time in Spain, operating on the daily non-stop Doha – Madrid route.

The Boeing 777-300 Extended Range aircraft, featuring 42 seats in Business Class and 293 in Economy, offers more capacity than the Airbus A330s currently operating on the route.

Through the upgrade, Spanish travellers flying from Madrid via Doha to destinations such as Melbourne, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Bali will be able to travel and experience the entire journey onboard one of the most modern and ultra-comfortable aircraft in Qatar Airways’ fleet.

The two-class Boeing 777 offers Business Class seating in a 2–2–2 configuration, each with a seat pitch of 78-inches – or 6.5ft of leg room. Each seat converts into 180 degree horizontal flat beds. The aircraft also features a generous 3–3–3 configuration in Economy with up to 34-inch seat pitch. All seats provide personal touch screen seat back television screens with more than 900 interactive audio and video entertainment options, regardless of which class passengers are travelling in.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker commented: “Our Boeing 777 distinguishes itself by its spacious cabin interiors and its superior on-board entertainment. We are delighted that our passengers travelling to or from Madrid will now have the opportunity to experience our award-winning Five-Star service on board this state-of-the-art aircraft.”

The Doha-based airline recently celebrated five years of flying to Madrid, and the introduction in June of its second Spanish destination, Barcelona to where the carrier also operates a daily service from Qatar’s capital city.

Acknowledging the importance of Qatar Airways in the Spanish market, Al Baker said the airline’s expansion in Spain was part of a strategy to strengthen its position in Europe, where the airline currently operates scheduled flights to 21 cities – over 20 per cent of its global network. The latest addition was the French Mediterranean city of Nice on November 24.

The airline’s European portfolio of routes will be strengthened over a period of three months with new flights to Bucharest and Budapest starting on January 17; Brussels from January 31; and Stuttgart beginning March 6.


Qatar Airways has been voted third best airline in the world following the annual Skytrax survey of 18 million international passengers. In the poll, the airline was also voted as having the Best Business Class Service and Catering in the World, as well as being honoured as the Best Airline in the Middle East for the fifth consecutive year.

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 93 aircraft, flying to 95 destinations across six continents.