Qatar Airways and Xiamen Airlines have announced a codeshare partnership that will see the two airlines cooperating on the route between Beijing and Doha.
Xiamen Airlines will also launch daily flights to Hamad International Airport (DOH), Doha, from Beijing’s Daxing International Airport (PEK) and twice weekly from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN), becoming the first carrier from mainland China to fly nonstop to Qatar.
The Beijing route will start on October 20, 2023, and will be operated by Boeing 787-9 aircraft seating 287 passengers in a two-class cabin (30 in business and 257 in economy class).
The Xiamen service will feature Boeing 787-8 aircraft that, although smaller (237 seats), are fitted with a three-class cabin (four seats in first, 18 in business and 215 in economy class).
While Doha will be the first destination in the Middle East for the Chinese airline, Qatar Airways already flies to Beijing, which is one of its six current destinations in mainland China. Xiamen will be a new destination from Doha.
The agreement is another example of the permeability of the world’s major airline alliances, since Qatar Airways and Xiamen Airlines are affiliated with the competing oneworld and SkyTeam alliances, respectively.