Talks Conducted As Airline's Operations Commence In South Florida

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and senior officials held a high-level meeting Wednesday with Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer His Excellency Akbar Al Baker to discuss new trade, business and investment opportunities in Miami.

Qatar Airways, a member of the oneworld Alliance, began the four-times-weekly service to Miami International Airport just yesterday between Miami International Airport and the newly opened Hamad International Airport, in Doha.

The airline's CEO was on-board the maiden flight and led a high level delegation, including the Director of Miami Airport, Emilio Gonzalez; the Vice Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, senior officials from the airline and also a group of international media travelling on the first flight.

During the courtesy visit, Al Baker said that the airline planned to bring new opportunities to Miami by investing in the community and helping boost trade, tourism and business links between the State of Qatar and Miami.

"Qatar Airways is looking forward to the how this new route will enhance our excellent offering to passengers, providing even greater flexibility in the number of US gateways to choose from, since we now fly out of six major hubs in the country.

"Miami has always been a global city; a crossroads of commerce, art and culture. Mayor Gimenez has been a great ally in our efforts to bring Qatar Airways to Miami and we are proud to offer an additional boost to the local economy, by contributing to the generation of an estimated 536 new jobs and create an economic impact of over US $78 million revenue for the first year alone."

Having spoken at the launch press conference, earlier in the day, Gimenez expressed his enthusiasm for the new partnership between Qatar Airways and Miami, along with the airline's plans to bring new jobs income, and thousands of new visitors a year to the city.

"Qatar Airways' decision to include Miami among its handful of U.S. destinations confirms that Miami-Dade County is a global center for business and tourism travel, and MIA is one of the premier airports in the world," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. "Miami-Dade looks forward to strengthening the economic and cultural ties to Qatar and beyond."

Miami International Airport is now Qatar Airways' sixth gateway in the United States and is responsible for over 20 million international passengers each year. Qatar Airways will fly four round-trip routes each week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) between DOH and MIA. Qatar Airways' membership in the oneworld alliance will allow the Miami gateway to also serve connecting flights from destinations throughout the American southeast and South America.

"Qatar Airways looks forward to building a strong relationship between Miami and Doha," added Al Baker. "These two great cities have so much to share and learn from one another. We can now look forward to introducing many more US travellers to Doha and developing a strong conduit for trade and commerce, via our award-winning World's Best Business Class."

Qatar Airways offers travellers from Miami an exciting network of destinations to fly to, including cities across the Africa, Asia, and the Middle East via its Doha hub. The airline operates a modern fleet of 134 aircraft to 142 destinations globally, including destinations in Europe and South America.

In addition to Miami, Qatar Airways' US footprint includes daily non-stop flights between Doha and Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC.

Over the next few months, the network will grow further with the additions of Tokyo-Haneda, Japan (June 18, 2014), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1, 2014) and Djibouti (July 27, 2014).

(Image provided by Qatar Airways. (L-R) Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez)

FMI: www.miamidade.gov/mayor