Qatar Airways today celebrated another milestone in its remarkable short history announcing its fleet size has grown to 80 aircraft - double the size of five years ago.

Ranked Five Star for service and excellence by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency also voted Qatar Airways' cabin crew Best in the Middle East for the seventh year running in 2009 and Best Airline in the Middle East for the fourth consecutive year. Qatar Airways' Economy Class has been voted Best in the World in the annual Skytrax passenger survey, in which more than 16 million travelers were polled. For more information, log onto www.qatarairways.com <br /><br />Qatar Airways will operate a fleet of 120 aircraft by 2013, by which time its global network will rise to 120 destinations. The airline has ordered 80 Airbus A350s, 24 Airbus A320 Family of aircraft, 60 Boeing 787s and 32 Boeing 777s, with deliveries of the latter having started in November 2007. The carrier has aircraft orders for more than 220 jets worth over $40bn and is one of the customers of the twin-deck Airbus A380 'super jumbos' with five on order and scheduled for delivery from 2012, by which time the New Doha International Airport would have opened.<br /><br />For Further Information Contact:<br /><br />Qatar Airways Corporate Communications Department<br />Tel: +974 4496956<br />Fax: +974 4620132