Middle eastern carrier Qatar Airways is taking a punt with the launch of new flights to “underserved” Venice.
The Doha-based airline will start flights to Venice from June 15, the airline’s third destination in Italy after Milan and Rome.
Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker admitted the airport has “little long-haul access”, but said he was “confident of a successful and profitable operation to this part of Italy”.
Middle eastern rival airline Emirates also flies daily from Venice, to its Dubai hub, but other long-haul destinations served from the Italian airport are mainly in the Americas.
Al Baker said: “Italy is a large country where international traffic focuses mostly on Rome and Milan.
“By opening up the Venice route, it is very much in line with our long-term strategy of tapping into economically viable underserved markets.”
The Veneto region is home to a number of high-profile fashion brands, including United Colors of Benetton and Diesel, as well as leading exporters of shoes and textiles.
Flight QR961 will leave Qatar’s Doha hub at 9.10am, arriving into Venice Marco Polo airport at 2.30pm.
From Venice, flight QR 962 will leave at 4.40pm, arriving into Doha at 11.25pm.
With the launch of the new route, which will be operated using a narrow-bodied two-class (economy and business) A320 aircraft, Qatar will fly to Italy 21 times a week.