Qatar Airways officially launched flights to Thailand's second biggest city of Chiang Mai. The newly-launched seasonal service to the Thai city will operate a four times-weekly schedule from Doha, with a flight time of just over six hours.
The Qatari Minister of Transport and Communications, His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti travelled on board the inaugural flight with Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, and the Thai Ambassador to the State of Qatar, His Excellency Mr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum. Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, the group was received by the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Thailand, His Excellency Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat; Chiang Mai Governor, Mr. Pawin Chamniprasart; Executive Vice President, General Manager of Chiang Mai International Airport, Squadron Leader Monthanik Rakngam; Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn and Deputy Governor for International Marketing Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americas, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mrs. Srisuda Wanapinyosak.
H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We are excited to be adding historic Chiang Mai as our fourth destination in Thailand to our extensive global route network. Thailand continues to grow in popularity with holiday-makers seeking to explore and relax in this beautiful country. The new route we have launched today reflects the increasing demand from our customers across our network for more high-quality leisure destinations, especially in the Far East.
“With the choice of four flights a week, passengers travelling from Chiang Mai are now connected seamlessly to more than 150 destinations, via our state-of-the-art hub in Doha. Next year we will add a fifth Thai destination to our network when we expand our services to include Pattaya, starting January 28, 2018.”
Qatar Airways will operate the new four-times-a -week service to Chiang Mai with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which features 24 seats in Business Class and 236 seats in Economy Class. Passengers will be able to enjoy the airline’s superior entertainment system, offering up to 4,000 entertainment options. The seasonal service will operate from 12 December until May 2018, and will resume once again for the Winter 2018 season in October 2018.
As Thailand's second largest city, Chiang Mai is well known for its relaxed lifestyle and laid back attitude. It has a long and revered history going back to the medieval period, during which many of the city’s hundreds of ancient and beautiful temples were built. Many still remain and are popular destination for tourists, as are the nearby rainforest reserves, stunning mountain scenery and peaceful country villages. Chiang Mai has excellent hotels and restaurants with many international businesses relocating to the city to take advantage of its excellent infrastructure. Along with Qatar Airway’s new service from Chiang Mai to Doha, and codeshare flights with Bangkok Airways, the city enjoys direct international flight connections to all the major countries in the region, including Korea, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar.
Qatar Airways Cargo currently offers belly service on Bangkok and Phuket routes. With the introduction of passenger flights to Chiang Mai, the overall cargo capacity out of Thailand will increase to over 800 tonnes a week, supporting local businesses through the direct transit of goods, as well as exporting fresh fruits and vegetables from Northern Thailand. Qatar Airways’ expanding global network provides local businesses with extensive connectivity to markets in Europe and the Americas via Doha.
In the last four months, Qatar Airways has boosted its services with its ambitious expansion programme, which has seen destinations in Eastern Europe expanding to include Skopje, Prague, and Kyiv, as well as Adana in Turkey. It will be adding flights to many more exciting destinations in 2018, including Canberra, Australia; Cardiff, UK, and Pattaya as the airlines fifth gateway to Thailand, to name a few.
Doha – Chiang Mai Flight Schedule:
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
Doha (DOH) to Chiang Mai (CNX) QR822 departs: 19:55 arrives: 06:00
Chiang Mai – Doha Flight Schedule:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
Chiang Mai (CNX) to Doha (DOH) QR823 departs: 07:10 arrives: 10:55
