Adelaide, Australia yesterday welcomed the first Qatar Airways flight to arrive at its international airport from Doha, Qatar. The inaugural flight was greeted by a delegation of VIPs including South Australia's Minister for Tourism, Hon. Leon Bignell.

Adelaide is the fourth city in Australia to be served by Qatar Airways, which has been flying to Melbourne since 2009, to Perth since 2012 and to Sydney since March this year. The new route is expected to generate an estimated 228 jobs across the state and contribute more than AU$41 million to the local visitor economy.

The airline is the first to fly the Airbus A350 to Australia, connecting Australian passengers to more than 150 destinations on its route map on board one of the youngest and most modern aircraft in the skies.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, who was on board the inaugural flight, said: “We are proud to be the first airline to fly the Airbus A350, for which we were the global launch customer, to Australia."

The new service to Adelaide will also provide 80 tonnes of cargo capacity per week in and out of the South Australia hub in the belly hold of the A350, connecting Australia’s leading exporters to Qatar Airways Cargo’s global network of more than 150 stations around the world.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the third largest international cargo carrier, already carries more than 450 tonnes of freight in the belly hold of its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft into and out of Sydney, Perth and Melbourne per week.

Passengers travelling to or from Adelaide on board the Qatar Airways Airbus A350 in one of its 36 Business Class seats will enjoy one of the most comfortable fully-flat beds in the sky with 80 inches of seat pitch.

The 1-2-1 configuration gives every passenger direct access to an aisle and the on-demand à la carte menu service allows Business Class passengers to order anything from the menu at any time during the flight.

The aircraft also features the state-of the-art Oryx One entertainment system, with more than 3,000 entertainment options on individual screens in all classes.