Qatar Airways has announced German business hub Frankfurt as the first route for its A350 Xtra Wide Body (XWB) aircraft, which is expected to join the fleet before the end of this year.

Qatar Airways, the global launch operator of the A350 XWB, will fly to Frankfurt non-stop daily with an A350 starting January next year.

The airline has chosen the city for its first route for the extra wide body service because of the significant capacity the aircraft provides for the comfort of its business and leisure travellers, it said.

Qatar Airways currently flies twice-daily to Frankfurt, and the double pairings will both be operated by an A350 on the route.

Initially QR067/068 will be the first pairing with the A350, followed shortly by QR069/70.

The 283 seats on the plane are divided across a dual cabin layout, configured in Business Class and Economy Class; 36 seats and 247 seats, respectively.

Qatar Airways has 80 Airbus A350s on order, and expects to induct the first eight production aircraft into its fleet before 2015 year-end.

Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive of Qatar Airways, said: “This year has truly been a year of the fleet for Qatar Airways. The airline has demonstrated its commitment to quality and comfort offered onboard and to providing passengers with the leading technology available in the aviation industry.

“Qatar Airways looks forward to inaugurating our first A350 on the Doha – Frankfurt route, and to very soon introducing this next-generation aircraft on many other cities offered on the airline’s extensive network.”

Before the end of this year the airline will reach 146 destinations, launching new services to Djibouti, in the Republic of Djibouti, on October 26 and Asmara, in Eritrea on December 4.

Qatar Airways presently flies to 144 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America, and operates a modern mixed fleet of narrow and wide-body aircraft.

Qatar Airways took delivery of its first double-decker A380 aircraft in September this year and it is currently operated daily on the Doha – London Heathrow route. - TradeArabia News Service