As part of a massive upgrade of its global website Qatar Airways is rolling out a Chinese-language website.

The website, located via qatarairways.com/cn, has been designed to satisfy the needs of Chinese consumers and includes detailed information on Qatar Airways, including services, flight schedules and ticket prices. It also offers online flight booking services allowing Chinese consumers to purchase their tickets online, in their own language, to anywhere on Qatar Airways' global network.

The website, which is already available in English, Arabic, French and Korean, is also being rolled out in Japanese and German, as well as Chinese, over the coming months.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said that boosting the airline's online presence clearly demonstrates its position as a truly global player in the international aviation arena and highlights how Qatar Airways is employing new technologies to grow its business. He added that Qatar Airways is committed to investing in services that enhance the value it delivers to its customers. He commented that the enhanced website is already paying dividends, saying that launching their French-language website online bookings from France had doubled.

The Chinese-language website is expected to capitalize on the substantial growth Qatar Airways has experienced in the Chinese market over the past year. In March, 2008, the airline launched scheduled services from the southern industrial port city of Guangzhou to the airline's operational hub in Doha. The airline also opened new sales and reservations offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. It operates more than 20 flights a week out of four Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou to the airline's operation hub in Doha.

(China Hospitality News February 9, 2009)