Qatar Airways' inaugural flight to Philadelphia touched down at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) yesterday (April 2) marking the airline's fifth gateway in the US.

With the launch of the daily service between Philadelphia and Qatar Airways' hub in Doha, the city becomes destination number 137 in the airline's expanding worldwide network.

Qatar Airways now operates 35 passenger flights a week between the United States and Doha - daily from New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia.

The maiden flight carried international media and airline management, including Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways chief executive officer. The new route offers a connection between Philadelphia and a vast number of destinations across the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia Pacific via Doha, while the morning departure time from Philadelphia offers US passengers a unique opportunity to access an entirely new schedule of connecting flights out of Doha.

"Today, Philadelphia joins our existing North American hubs: Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Houston and Montreal," said Al Baker. "But only our newest gateway offers a unique, morning route to Doha, our earliest departure from North America, and provides passengers with unprecedented access to a new schedule of convenient connections to our entire global network."

Philadelphia is a key destination for business and leisure travelers alike. One of the world's busiest airports, it sees 30.5 million passengers a year. "Our 5-star service begins by forging a connection with the communities we serve and we appreciate the opportunity to work together with this great city," added Al Baker.

Qatar Airways' Doha to Philadelphia route is being operated with a Boeing 777-200LR in a two-class configuration of 42 seats in Business and 217 seats in Economy. – TradeArabia News Service