Qatar Airways Voted Best Airline at Prestigious Tourism Awards in Barcelona

Barcelona, April 14 (QNA) - Qatar Airways has been voted Best Airline at the 15th Annual ACPETUR Tourism Awards ceremony held in Barcelona. Organized by the Catalonia Tourism Journalist Association, Catalan travel writers and journalists recognized the five-star carrier for its commitment to Barcelona, highlighting the expanded operations from daily to 10 weekly flights, with superior in-flight services to an outstanding global network. The Ali Bey award for Best Airline was presented at a gala dinner at the Porta Fira Hotel. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said he was delighted the airline was being recognized in such a key market linking Barcelona with the Qatari capital Doha. "2013 will be another big year for Qatar Airways as we continue to expand our worldwide network, welcome more aircraft into our ever-expanding fleet, and of course enter into our new partnership with the Worlds Best Club FC Barcelona from the start of the 2013/14 season," said Al Baker. Qatar Airways Vice President Commercial North South West Europe, Paul Johannes said the award was an honour and a testament to the commitment of Qatar Airways to the Catalan capital. "It is wonderful to receive such accolades from such a well-respected group of journalists and travel writers as those in Barcelona. It reinforces the message to our customers that flying with Qatar Airways is truly a five-star experience," he said. Qatar Airways Country Manager of Iberian Peninsula, Greece and Cyprus, Marimar Laveda, who collected the award on behalf of the airline, added: "This award symbolizes everything we've set out to achieve since we started our operations in Barcelona almost three years ago. "We are very pleased with the level of support we have received from the media, which further highlights the appreciation of our attention to detail and passenger comfort. We look forward to continuing to serve our existing Barcelona-based travelers and welcoming new customers onboard." The Vice President of ACPETUR, Roman Hereter, said: "We are proud that the Association of Journalists and Travel Writers have voted Qatar Airways as the Best Airline. The judges felt that Qatar Airways submission was very impressive, underlining the youth and dynamism of the carrier great product, rapidly expanding network and plenty of innovation." The past twelve months have seen Qatar Airways honored with a host of several awards from around the world, including being named Airline of the Year for the second consecutive year by the prestigious Skytrax organization. Qatar Airways has been present in Spain for over seven years, initially launching flights to the capital Madrid, before introducing Barcelona to its network in June 2010. The carrier now operates 17 services each week to and from Spain daily non-stop between Doha and Madrid, and a further 10 weekly flights linking Barcelona with the Qatari capital and onward connections to scores of destinations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. One of the world’s fastest growing airlines, Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 122 aircraft to 126 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas, including Chicago, the carrier’s newest point introduced on April 10. Over the next few weeks and months, Qatar Airways will launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Salalah, Oman (May 22); Basra, Iraq (June 3); Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (August 20) and Chengdu, China (September 3) at a date to be announced with many more new destinations planned. (QNA)