There is no better indication regarding the popularity of the flight than the fact that since 14 September 2011, Qatar Airways has been commuting between Doha and Budapest on a daily basis and directly, without the stopover in Bucharest. The Airbus A 320 aircraft of “the world’s five-star airline” make the journey between the Hungarian and the Qatari capital in five hours.

The A 320 aircraft are fitted with a seating arrangement of 144 seats, split between business and economy classes. For the comfort of passengers, Qatar Airways offers 12 business class seats and 132 economy class seats on board the aircraft capable of accommodating a maximum of 180 passengers.

Qatar Airways’ elegantly painted aircraft, decorated with the emblem featuring the Oryx antelope, arrive at Budapest Airport at 12:25 every day and depart at 16:15. In order to better utilize this long parking period and to reach more passengers, the carrier plans to fly to Zagreb during this time, to be able to make the return journey from Budapest to Doha with passengers from Croatia also on board.

“We are delighted to celebrate the first anniversary of the day when we were first able to welcome the passengers of Qatar Airways, the world’s five-star airline, to Budapest,” said Kam Jandu, aviation director for Budapest Airport. “The fact that only eight months after the launch of the flight Qatar Airways is already commuting to Budapest on a daily basis shows just how much demand there is for this flight in Hungary and the region. With the handover of the SkyCourt last year, Budapest Airport not only increased the capacity of Terminal 2, but is also able to provide much better services for passengers, including those flying Qatar Airways.”

Qatar Airways has not only reduced the travel time from Budapest to Doha and the Persian Gulf region. A large number of passengers are transferring in Doha en route to Thailand, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, South Africa and Kenya. With the new route, their journey has become four or five hours shorter.

Numerous businessmen, pop and film stars use the services of Qatar Airways, who are highly appreciative of the carrier’s on-board and ground services, as well as the high level of discretion it offers. Thus, we can only provide information about one VIP passenger, the latest acquisition of the Budapest Zoo, an Australian wombat (a rare marsupial mammal), which also arrived in Hungary as a Qatar Airways “passenger”, although it made the journey not in the cabin, but in a special cage in the cargo hold."

Source: Budapest Airport