Doha's hub aspirations boosted by Finnair-Qatar Airways codeshare
James ChappleFinnair and Qatar Airways have agreed to establish a new "long-term strategic cooperation", one the oneworld partners believe will boost Doha’s aspirations to become the alliance’s main hub.
Between November and December, Finnair plans to launch daily Doha – Hamad International – services to and from Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and one more as yet unnamed European destination.
The flights will be supported by a "comprehensive codeshare agreement" between the two airlines, spanning shared passenger and cargo capacity. The codeshare will allow travellers to benefit from seamless connections through Doha onto Qatar’s worldwide network, which features around 100 destinations.
Finnair will operate the routes using Airbus A330 aircraft featuring the carrier’s new long-haul cabin, offering Air Lounge business-class seats, a new premium economy class and refresh economy class.
Akbar Al Bakar, Qatar Airways group chief executive, said the partnership would lay the foundation for "future expansion" of services between Nordic markets and the Middle East.
"Soon, Doha will be the oneworld hub bringing more airline partners together than ever before," said Al Bakar. "With this codeshare agreement, travellers from the Nordics will continue to have excellent connectivity to Doha with Finnair and onwards with Qatar Airways to attractive leisure and key business destinations across Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Middle East.”
Topi Manner, Finnair chief executive, added: "The role of Doha as an international hub is growing, and Qatar Airways has extensive connections from Doha."
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