Qatar Airways launches flights to Seattle operating the Boeing 777

Qatar Airways flights has launched flights to Seattle (SEA) – allowing passengers traveling from the Pacific Northwest even more flexible travel options via the Hamad International Airport (DOH). Seattle marks the airline’s eleventh US gateway, surpassing the number of destinations it operated in the US pre-Covid-19. The four weekly flights will be operated by Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art Boeing 777.

Kicking off 2021 by expanding its West Coast footprint with inaugural flights to the Emerald City comes as the airline continues rapidly rebuilding – and expanding – its network across the globe. The new flights from Seattle follow last month’s successful San Francisco (SFO) to Doha launch.

Qatar Airways currently operates over 800 weekly flights to more than 120 destinations, with plans to increase to over 130 destinations by the end of March. Passengers travelling to and from Seattle can enjoy seamless connections via Hamad International airport with the widest network of destinations in Africa, Asia-Pacific, South Asia and the Middle East.

Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Doha, Ambassador Greta C. Holtz, stated, “I am honoured to celebrate the launch of Qatar Airways flights to yet another US destination – operated on US-made Boeing aircraft. This new route will open doors for more tourism, business, and education opportunities. Opening this new route is just one more indicator of the growing ties between Qatar and the United States in all respects.”

Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said, “An international destination renowned for innovation, technology and natural beauty, we are delighted to serve this increasingly important business and leisure market. And, as one of the top airports in the US, passengers will have an increased number of convenient connections when Alaska Airlines joins the oneworld alliance on March 31 – including to Alaska, Canada and Hawaii.”

Alaska Air group chairman and CEO, Brad Tilden, said, “Qatar Airways is an outstanding airline known around the world for its excellent quality and service. We’re tremendously proud to join them two months from now as a oneworld alliance member. Our guests will be able to earn and redeem miles on Qatar to amazing global destinations, along with an ease-of-travel experience and oneworld benefits for our elite flyers. Making connections even easier for our guests, Qatar flies to Doha not only from Seattle, but also from two of our other West Coast hubs: San Francisco and Los Angeles.”

As a oneworld partner, Alaska Airlines will connect customers from the US West Coast to Doha and beyond via its other hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, complementing Qatar Airways’ existing strategic partnerships with JetBlue and oneworld carrier American Airlines. The two airlines are also working closely on developing a strategic codeshare agreement and commercial cooperation in line with the US carrier joining oneworld at the end of March.

Seattle is the seventh new destination and the second in the US to be added by Qatar Airways since the start of the pandemic. The launch of flights to Seattle and resumption of Atlanta in June will increase Qatar Airways’ US network to 12 destinations in the US, connecting onwards to hundreds of American cities through strategic partnerships with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue. Atlanta and Seattle join existing US destinations including Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington, D.C. (IAD).

Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star Covid-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. This follows HIA’s recent success as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star Covid-19 Airport Safety Rating.