Qatar Airways to expand direct service to US cities

In the next phase of its route development initiative, Qatar Airways plans to offer passenger routes to Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta, which will complete its goal to provide daily, non-stop flights to the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

"As Qatar Airways continues its global expansion, we are delighted to be offering even more gateways in the United States, connecting passengers from destinations across the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Southeast Asia," Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said. "We look forward to offering a great travel experience to our U.S. passengers on the world's best business class across our network of more than 140 destinations, with a convenient one-stop transfer at the new state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport in Doha.”

Flights to Los Angeles will begin Jan. 1, 2016. Those will be on Qatar Airways' flagship Boeing 777 aircraft, which features a two-class cabin with 42 business class, fully lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration.

Daily flights to Boston will be available beginning March 16, 2016. Those flights will be on the latest flagship A350 XWB in a two-class configuration with 36 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, featuring an 80-inch, fully flat bed and 17-inch high definition in-flight entertainment screen.

Flights to Atlanta, aboard the Boeing 777, will be available on July 1, 2016.

The airline began offering a second daily service to New York City on March 1.