OREANDA-NEWS.  Qatar Airways launched its last route of the year, touching down in down in Hangzhou yesterday afternoon.

Hangzhou is the airline’s seventh route in China, and is preceded by Chengdu, which was introduced to the airline’s route network in September.

Flight QR 868 departed from the airline’s hub in Doha and landed at 1540hrs (local) in the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China.

The new Hangzhou – Doha flight will be operated four times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

An Airbus A330 will be operated on the route in a two-class configuration featuring 24 seats in Business Class and 236 seats in Economy.

Upon arrival an official airport ceremony was held, attended by dignitaries from the Chinese government and Hangzhou International Airport.

Following the ceremony, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker addressed media from China, emphasizing the airline’s ongoing commitment to the Chinese market.

The head table delegation included representatives from the Hangzhou International Airport including and Qatar Airways.

Mr. Shen Jian, Chairman of Hangzhou International Airport and Mr. Fang Chun Lin, the Chief Executive Officer of Hangzhou International Airport were seated alongside Mr. Al Baker as well as Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Marwan Koleilat.
Also present at the press conference were media from Hangzhou and other major cities in China, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

“As a route, Hangzhou has strong potential when linked with key destinations in Europe, the Americas, Middle East and Africa; now all easily accessible via Doha through a convenient non-stop flight,” said Al Baker.
“China’s outbound tourism has been growing rapidly in the past decade, and we look forward to bringing more passengers from and to Hangzhou, helping to further boost leisure and business travel in China.”

Hangzhou is an important economic and touristic center for China. It was named the second best city for doing business in China, according to Forbes 2012. It is also one of the most prosperous cities in terms of GDP per capita income.
The new route is the airline’s seventh destination in the country, with services to other cities in mainland China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and also Hong Kong.
A total of 45 weekly services are offered non-stop between Doha and each of these cities.