JEDDAH/DOHA – Qatar Airways is interested to launch an airline in Saudi Arabia and has held talks with the government on opportunities for a new start-up, the state-owned carrier said in a statement Tuesday. Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said the Saudi airline sector is underserved and represented a key growth area. The announcement comes after the Kingdom said in April that it would approve new airline licenses in September. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways Tuesday launched scheduled flights to the Western Australian city of Perth, officially marking the start of thrice-weekly services to the country's mining and exploration hub. Perth becomes Qatar Airways' second gateway in Australia after Melbourne - and the carrier's 117th destination worldwide. Al Baker, led a high profile delegation onboard the non-stop flight, QR900 from Doha to Perth, revealed that the airline plans to make Perth a daily service by the end of 2012. Addressing guests on arrival, Al Baker said Qatar Airways' arrival in Perth marked one of the Gulf carrier's biggest route launches this year. "Today marks a very special occasion as we celebrate our arrival into a city that shows enormous potential and growth, both as a competitive tourism destination and as the hub of Australia's mining and exploration industry," he said. "There has never been a better time to expand in Australia - a time when the Australian dollar is strong and business and leisure travelers worldwide search for easier and quicker ways to connect and do business. "Qatar Airways remains committed to opening up access to destinations that are largely underserved by international airlines and have great market potential. Perth is an example of this and 2012 will continue to be one of our biggest years of expansion. "We sincerely look forward to growing the Perth route and we are already looking to improve frequency to a daily service by the end of the year," added Al Baker. Qatar Airways also operates daily non-stop scheduled flights from Melbourne to Doha using its signature Boeing 777 long-range aircraft. Qatar Airways currently flying a fleet of 109 aircraft to 117 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. Over the next few months, Qatar Airways launches services to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (July 25); Mombasa, Kenya (Aug. 15); Yangon, Myanmar (Oct 3); Maputo, Mozambique (Oct. 31). – SG/Agencies
