Xiamen Airlines To Commence Regular Operations To Doha

Doha, Qatar, will soon add another carrier to its extensive network. Xiamen Airlines is set to begin flights to Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH). The new services are set to begin in October from two different airports in the airline’s home country, China.

Xiamen Airlines expands into Qatar

Xiamen Airlines will soon become the first Chinese carrier to offer direct flights from China to Qatar. The airline will begin its first service to Doha from the biggest airport in the world, Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). The daily flights are set to begin operation on October 20. The aircraft will depart Beijing at 18:30 and arrive in Doha at 22:45. The return flight will depart Doha at 02:00 and arrive in Beijing at 15:30.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace – Simple Flying

The second operation to Doha will begin service later in October, on October 31. This service will take off from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN). This service will operate twice a week with the aircraft departing Xiamen at 0:05 and arriving in Doha at 5:00. The return flight will leave Doha at 19:30 and arrive in Xiamen at 7:55 the next day.

Both of these flights will be operated by the airline’s only widebody variant, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airline will operate a two-class Boeing 787-9 from Beijing to Doha. This aircraft offers 287 total passengers, 30 in business class and 257 in economy. The Xiamen-Doha route will be flown by one of the airline’s Boeing 787-8s. This aircraft seats 237 passengers with three different cabin classes. There are four first class seats, 18 business class seats, and the remaining 215 seats are in economy.

Codeshare with Qatar Airways

This new route offering is also in line with another partnership of Xiamen Airlines. Earlier this month, the airline announced it had formed a codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways. Specifically, Qatar Airways will codeshare on the new flights to Doha that Xiamen Airlines is offering.

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

Akbar Al Baker, the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways Group, spoke about the partnership, saying,

“We are delighted to announce this comprehensive cooperation and to welcome our new partner, Xiamen Airlines, to Hamad International Airport, our home in Qatar. We are proud and honored that Xiamen Airlines has chosen Doha as a new destination in their network and their only destination in the Middle East.”

In return, Xiamen Airlines will codeshare on the Qatar Airways daily flights to and from Beijing. Zhao Dong, the Chairman of Xiamen Airlines, also spoke about the codeshare agreement, saying,

“Both Qatar Airways and Xiamen Airlines are the winners of APEX World Class Awards in 2022 showing our shared commitment to high quality service. The partnership of two Five-Star airlines will bring wonderful flying experiences to the customers worldwide.”

Before Xiamen Airlines begins operating these routes, Qatar Airways has been the only airline to fly from Doha to China since before 2003. Qatar Airways also flies to six destinations in China. These flights total over 30 weekly flights. These flights include the twice-daily flight to Hong Kong, China’s ‘special administrative region’.