Qatar Airways inaugurated its first Pattaya flight, arriving at U-tapao airport on Monday.
Pattaya marks the airline's fifth destination in Thailand and the first new route launch this year as the airline continues the rapid expansion of its global route network.
"We are delighted to be the first Middle East airline to offer direct flights to Pattaya. Having also launched flights to Chiang Mai just last month and soon offering our sixth-daily flight to Bangkok, this new route reinforces the strong ties between Qatar and Thailand," said Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways group chief executive.
"Thailand continues to grow in popularity among our passengers. We launched this new route in direct response to increasing demand from our passengers, and we are proud to be able to fly them on our aircraft to experience our five-star service. We are excited to offer our travellers more destinations to choose from in the Far East."
"U-tapao airport is a cornerstone of the Eastern Economic Corridor the Thai government is aggressively developing. These new direct flights will open up further seamless air connectivity for tourists and business visitors looking to visit Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard, boosting our tourism industry and also aiding in the development of foreign investments into U-tapao and Pattaya," said Rear Adm Luechai Sri-Eamgool, director of U-tapao Airport Authority.
He said Pattaya is a major resort city located on Thailand's Gulf coast, and a popular holiday destination for travellers from both within Thailand and abroad.
Qatar Airways has successfully operated services to Thailand for more than 20 years. The airline began services to Bangkok, its first destination in Thailand.
Since then, the airline has been steadily increasing its number of flights to the country because of tremendous passenger demand. The airline currently operates services 35 times a week to Bangkok, 14 times a week to Phuket, daily to Krabi, and as of last month, four times a week to Chiang Mai.
The new four-times-weekly service to Pattaya increases the airline's total weekly frequency to 64 flights a week to Thailand. From March 25, the airline will also increase its service to Bangkok to six daily flights, making the total number of flights operated to Thailand 71 per week.
The national carrier of Qatar is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the industry, with a fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destination across six continents.
