Acquisition strengthens hospitality offering for passengers travelling on the award-winning airline’s daily flights to Melbourne
Qatar Airways brought its ultra-modern A380 to Melbourne in June 2017
Airline launched direct service to the Australian capital of Canberra earlier this week, connecting Canberrans to its extensive global network of more than 150 destinations
DOHA, Qatar – Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Sheraton Melbourne Hotel, further expanding the growing portfolio of its hospitality division, Dhiafatina Hotels.
The Sheraton Melbourne joins a growing list of distinguished establishments acquired and managed by Dhiafatina Hotels, including the Sheraton Skyline Hotel at London’s Heathrow Airport, The Novotel Edinburgh Park in Edinburgh Scotland, the Oryx Rotana Hotel in Doha, and The Airport Hotel located at Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA).
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “The acquisition of the Sheraton Melbourne Hotel complements Qatar Airways’ global strategy for growth, and further strengthens our offering for passengers travelling on board our daily flights to Melbourne. Melbourne is an incredibly important destination on the Qatar Airways network, so much so that last year we began flying our state-of-the-art Airbus A380 aircraft to Melbourne.
“Qatar Airways is committed to going places together with our passengers, and I am delighted to announce the acquisition of the Sheraton Melbourne Hotel as part of the Dhiafatina portfolio, hand-picked to extend the excellent service our passengers receive, both in the air and once they arrive at their destination.”
The elegant five-star Sheraton Melbourne Hotel is located in the Paris end of Melbourne’s Little Collins Street, just minutes away from many well-known restaurants, theaters, and designer boutiques, as well as Melbourne’s Central Business District. It is also within walking distance of the iconic Parliament House and the Melbourne Museum. With its 174 luxurious rooms and suites, it is ideally situated for guests choosing a city break as well as business travellers who are attending one of Melbourne’s many events and exhibitions.
The hotel features the Little Collins Street Restaurant with its Signature Seafood Buffet and High Tea, as well as its magnificent view of Melbourne. The hotel also features the distinguished East Restaurant on the ground floor, as well as the many scrumptious delights of Crux & Co Pâtisserie.
The Spa at the Sheraton Melbourne features five treatment rooms, an indoor heated lap pool and a state-of-the-art fitness center. A dedicated floor offers 670 square meters of meetings and events space and extensive event coordinating and catering facility.
Qatar Airways introduced its flagship Airbus A380 on the Melbourne route in June 2017, increasing the airline’s daily capacity on the Doha-Melbourne route by 44 per cent. The A380 aircraft features a luxurious First Class Cabin with ultra-wide seats which recline into a flat bed, two-passenger table extension dining, as well as designer sleeper suits, flight slippers and amenities. Passengers travelling in Qatar Airways’ award-winning Business Class can also enjoy direct aisle access with the 1-2-1 seat configuration and a suite of entertainment options including onboard Wi-Fi, keeping them fully connected to while up in the air.
In addition, passengers in First and Business Class can relax and socialise at the on-board lounge located on the upper deck of the aircraft.
Earlier this week, Qatar Airways launched direct services to the Australian capital of Canberra, and now proudly connects Canberrans to the airline’s extensive global network of more than 150 destinations. The airline also recently launched services to Chiang Mai, Thailand; St. Petersburg, Russia and Penang, Malaysia, to name just a few. The airline will launch service to Cardiff, United Kingdom and Thessaloniki, Greece in coming months.
Qatar Airways flies daily to Melbourne from Doha’s Hamad International Terminal. To book your journey to Melbourne, please visit www.qatarairways.com.qa
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About Dhiafatina Hotels:
Dhiafatina for Hotels (also known as Dhiafatina) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qatar Airways Group. Dhiafatina is an Arabic word meaning “Our Hospitality,” which represents the Qatar Airways Group expansion into hospitality business including hotels, spa management, and other services.
This subsidiary of Qatar Airways Group was established in 2010, and has a growing portfolio of hotel properties that have been hand-picked to complement Qatar Airways’ global strategy of growth for the future.
The vision for Dhiafatina is to both own (and in some cases, also operate) four and five-star hotels in strategic key markets for Qatar Airways. The first property to join Dhiafatina was the Oryx Rotana in Doha, which has been owned by Qatar Airways since 2010, and is operated by Rotana Hotels. The Airport Hotel at Hamad International Airport (HIA), opened in 2014, is also operated by Dhiafatina.
Dhiafatina also acquired the Sheraton Skyline at Heathrow Airport in London in October 2014 and the Novotel Edinburgh Park in Scotland in April 2015. These properties are wholly owned by Dhiafatina and the day-to-day operations are managed by branded hotel operators, Starwood and Accor respectively.
Notes to Editors:
About Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017/18, including Canberra, Australia; Penang, Malaysia and Cardiff, UK and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently named ‘Airline of the Year’ by the 2017 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class,’ ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’
Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 4,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline’s on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.
Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message - Going Places Together.
Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s third largest international cargo carrier, serves more than 60 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally with more than 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes eight Airbus A330 freighters, 13 Boeing 777 freighters and two Boeing 747-8 freighters.
For further information, please contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200