Qatar plans to fly Dublin to Doha route from next May

Qatar Airways plans to begin flying from Dublin to Doha from next year, bringing in a possible competitor to Emirates and Etihad and opening up connections to new destinations, according to reports this weekend.

The airline's chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, told Irish website, Travel Extra, at aviation industry body, Capa's conference in Amsterdam, that Qatar hoped to begin flying the Dublin route in May.

However, he pointed out that it would use one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the route, and that he needed one of the A350s that his company has ordered from Airbus for this to happen.

Qatar has received three of 12 A350s that it has ordered. “We are at the mercy of Airbus,” Mr Al Baker told the website.

The airline operates three Australian routes. Irish travellers often use Emirates and Etihad to reach destinations in that country. Also, Qatar will shortly begin flying to Krabi in southern Thailand and could soon begin serving Auckland in New Zealand. Capa named Qatar as its Airline of the Year at the Amsterdam conference.