Qatar Airways has announced it will operate four weekly flights to San Francisco – the fifth new destination launched since the start of the pandemic.

Starting from 15 December 2020, the San Francisco service will be operated by Qatar Airways’  Airbus A350-900 featuring 36 seats in business class and 247 seats in economy class with passengers enjoying free Super Wi-Fi broadband internet until January 2021.

Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are thrilled to welcome San Francisco as our newest destination, and our ninth current gateway in the U.S. As we navigate the crisis, we have made it a priority to not only reinstate our existing destinations and be the airline travellers can rely on, but to also grow our network and increase connectivity with new and relevant destinations for our customers to enjoy.

“As the gateway to Silicon Valley and the vibrant tech economy, the San Francisco Bay Area is a globally important destination, both from a business and leisure perspective. Populated with many people wanting to visit friends, families or business partners overseas, Qatar Airways is perfectly positioned as the reliable airline partner to enable traffic in and out of the area. We are excited as we launch this new destination making it easier for our passengers to reunite with their loved ones, having taken more than 220,000 Americans home to the U.S. via scheduled and chartered flights amidst the pandemic.”

Mayor of San Francisco, Ms. London N. Breed, said: “On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco I’m proud to welcome Qatar Airways to San Francisco International Airport as they initiate their new nonstop service to Doha this coming December.  During recent months we have seen expanding international air service from our airport and highly welcome these new flights which will serve our community and its travel needs.  We welcome Qatar Airways to our city and to our world-class airport and look forward to their success in San Francisco.”

The addition of San Francisco will build onto Qatar Airways’ current service to cities in the US, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. By mid-December, the carrier will fly 55 weekly flights to nine destinations in the U.S. connecting onwards to hundreds of American cities through its strategic partnerships with American Airlines and JetBlue.

The new Qatar Airways service will offer connections from the US. to global destinations in Africa, India (subject to NOTAMS), Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa amongst others via the Middle East

San Francisco International airport director, Ivar C. Satero, added:  “We are proud to welcome Qatar Airways’ new nonstop service between San Francisco and Doha this December. As airlines restore travel destinations around the world, we applaud the vision of Qatar Airways to make this new route a reality, and we look forward to offering a world-class airport experience to travellers from its network.”

Business Class passengers on the flight can enjoy the “award-winning” Qsuite business class seat with its enhanced privacy, including sliding privacy doors and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator. The Qsuite seat layout is a 1-2-1 configuration.

The addition of flights to San Francisco will add a new route to the Qatar Airways Cargo network, bringing its total of U.S. destinations to 11. The new service will greatly support the Californian economy by adding 60 tonnes of belly hold capacity each week, each way by the world’s largest cargo operator.