Qatar Airways Cargo announces four new dedicated freighter destinations

Atlanta and Houston will be served with twice-weekly flights from November 2, while the Toronto services will begin five days later on November 7. In North America, Qatar Airways currently operates dedicated freighters only to Chicago.

The carrier also flies daily non-stop passenger services to Houston, New York and Washington, together with thrice-weekly flights to Montreal, offering sufficient cargo space in the belly of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways' passenger services to Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be supplemented with a weekly cargo flight, effective October 30.

In addition, extra cargo flights will operate to Chicago, Colombo, Bahrain, Dammam, Hong Kong and Tehran from October 30.

Over the past few months, Qatar Airways Cargo has significantly ramped up its expansion with increased frequencies and the order for a further three Boeing 777 freighters. Recent frequency increases have been implemented to Kuwait, Bengaluru, Kozhikode and Hanoi.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said that the airline's dedicated cargo network was an extension of the airline's strategy to develop its global air transport business.

"With the recent completion of our 35 per cent stake in Cargolux, Europe's largest cargo airline, we have increased our focus on freighter operations, which ties seamlessly into the airline's strategy to have as many connecting points across the globe from our Doha hub," said Al Baker.

"We have identified tremendous route expansion opportunities around the world, including North America where the freighter market is huge."

Qatar Airways Cargo currently has a fleet of three Airbus A300-600s and two Boeing 777 freighters.

The Boeing 777F aircraft has the longest range of any twin-engined freighter, and is based on the Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft, of which Qatar Airways has nine in its passenger fleet operating the airline's ultra long-haul passenger routes to Houston, Melbourne, Montreal, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

Qatar Airways will expand its passenger services to Entebbe in Uganda from November 2; and Chongqing, the airline's fifth gateway in China, from November 28.

Flights to Baku and Tbilisi, the capitals of Azerbaijan and Georgia respectively, will be launched on February 1 next year. By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to serve more than 120 destinations worldwide with a fleet of over 120 aircraft. The airline currently has a fleet of 100 aircraft flying to over 100 destinations.