As previously announced, Aerolíneas Argentinas confirmed that it will fly to Qatar during the group stage of the World Cup, to be held in November in the Middle East country.
The company informs that in principle there will be 6 flights, 2 for each match of the group stage, with the possibility of adding more frequencies depending on demand.
The first flight will take place on November 19, departing from Ezeiza International Airport at 3.25 p.m., arriving at 8.40 a.m. in Rome, where it will have a 1-hour stopover and then continue on to Doha, where it is scheduled to arrive at 5.05 p.m.
The second flight will repeat the same schedule the following day, while the rest of the flights will do the same on November 23, 24, 27 and 28.
The return flights, also with a stopover in Rome, will depart 1 and 2 days after each match, leaving Doha at 12:00 and arriving in Buenos Aires at 3:45.
The operation will be carried out with Airbus 330-200 aircraft and will take about 19 hours of flight time to the final destination. It is worth mentioning that passengers may choose to purchase tickets for 1, 2 or 3 matches in combination.
«This operation is a good opportunity to generate extra income and is also very special because of the passion that soccer awakens in Argentines,» said Pablo Ceriani, president of Aerolíneas Argentinas.
Meanwhile, Fabián Lombardo, the commercial director of Aerolíneas Argentinas, said that «we are offering a good product and the fastest and most convenient way to reach Qatar. We are confident that demand will follow us.»
In the next few days, tickets will be available for sale directly through Aerolíneas Argentinas’ website and travel agencies.
The company confirmed that should the Argentine national team advance to the next stage, new flights to Qatar will continue to be scheduled according to demand.
This is not the first time that the state-owned airline has scheduled charter flights for massive sporting events. In 2010, it operated 19 direct services between Buenos Aires and Johannesburg for the World Cup in South Africa on Boeing 747-400 aircraft. During the 2015 Rugby World Cup, it flew two charter flights to London in the UK.
Since the beginning of the year, there has been a demand for Qatar as the first qualifying countries have confirmed.
For Argentina, there are few travel options to Doha, and the existing ones involve one or two stopovers in Brazil, Dubai or Europe. Emirates’ arrival in Buenos Aires in October will alleviate some of the existing demand, but it will have a stopover in Rio de Janeiro (GIG) and another in Dubai (DXB).
Another option is with Qatar Airways, but it would involve traveling to Sao Paulo (GRU) or Europe with another airline.
