Qatar Airways is adding Philadelphia as its newest U.S. stop, according to the company, which made the announcement on its Twitter account on Monday morning.
The announcement came with few details, stating that the route will be non-stop on a twin-isle Boeing 777 aircraft. This will be the fifth U.S. gateway for the company.
More details were provided by Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker, when he spoke at the opening day of a regional travel exhibition in Dubai, where he said the new route would begin in March 2014.
Al-Baker had indicated that Qatar Airways was looking to expand its U.S. routes and was planning on expanding to Atlanta, Boston or Detroit. Instead, Philadelphia won out and became the city to sign a deal with the airline to become part of the oneworld frequent-flier alliance.
American Airlines, which is in the process of merging with US Airways, is a major oneworld member as well, and Philadelphia is a major hub for US Airways. The merger between the two airlines is expected to be finalized this fall.
In addition, Qatar Airways and US Airways currently have a codeshare pact. This allows them to sell connecting seats on each other's flights and offer reciprocal frequent-flier benefits, making the new gateway beneficial for the merging American-US Airways as well as Qatar Airways.
In addition to becoming the fifth destination for Qatar Airways in the U.S., Philadelphia is also the sixth gateway for the airline in North America. Last month, the airline began flights to Chicago. It also already offers flights to Houston Bush Intercontinental, Montreal, JFK airport in New York and Washington Dulles.
Qatar has also announced plans to expand services to Doha and Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia in eastern Africa, which will be its 20th African gateway and 15th African country, as well as Clark International Airport near Manila in the Philippines.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
