Qatar Airways Announces Historic New Nonstop International Passenger Service to Houston

HOUSTON, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Middle Eastern carrier, Qatar Airways announced today it will begin operating three weekly nonstop flights between Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Qatar's Doha International Airport starting on Monday, November 10, 2008 - with plans for daily service in December of 2008.

This new service will make Qatar Airways the second Middle Eastern carrier to offer nonstop passenger flights to Houston. Qatar is home to the world's third largest gas reserves and is the world's leading exporter of liquefied natural gas. The airline will link these two energy industry hubs for the first time in history.

"This is our third premium airline for Houston in the past six months," notes Richard Vacar, director of the Houston Airport System. "Qatar Airways is a world-class air carrier that will certainly strengthen the economic and business ties between the Middle East's energy centers and the energy capital of the world. In addition, this new service makes yet another statement about how important George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Houston are as a global gateway for air travel and trade, and we are very pleased to welcome Qatar Airways to our growing family of international carriers."

Houston becomes only the third United States destination served by Qatar Airways.

"With our geographical position in the Gulf linking East and West, Qatar is ideally located for our national carrier Qatar Airways to operate to virtually any airport in the world nonstop," says Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker.

Departing from IAH, the Monday, Wednesday and Friday flights will be operated using the carrier's new Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The aircraft will offer a two-class configuration with 42 Business Class and 217 Economy Class seats.

More than a dozen international carriers offer service from IAH, with access to 70 international destinations.

The Houston Airport System served a record 52 million passengers in 2007. It is the 4th-largest multi-airport system in the U.S. and the 6th-largest in the world. Bush Intercontinental is the nation's 8th-busiest airport. According to J.D. Powers & Associates, William P. Hobby Airport is first in customer satisfaction among smaller airports in the United States. HAS annually contributes over $24 billion in positive economic impact to the Greater Houston region. For more information watch Houston Airports Today every Saturday at 9:00 am on KTBU Channel 55 or visit http://www.fly2houston.com.