Qatar Airways Supports Friends of Conservation At The Conservation Ball

CHICAGO, Oct. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Qatar Airways was proud to support Friends of Conservation (FOC) at its annual Conservation Ball in Chicago this past weekend. The airline donated two round-trip Business Class tickets for auction to raise money for the FOC, which works to preserve wildlife and promote sustainable natural resource management in East Africa.

"This event is about the value of community, at home and abroad," said Mr. Gunter Saurwein, Qatar Airways Vice President of the Americas. "We are honored to help the Friends of Conservation empower local communities in Eastern Africa, and pleased to find so many like-minded individuals here in Chicago who care deeply for the conservation of Africa's wildlife and natural beauty."

Established in 1982 to aid preservation of fragile ecosystems in East Africa, Friends of Conservation works with the Masai Mara communities to find ways to interact with wildlife and to assist in finding ways to manage natural resources. Community programs also reach 50 Mara schools on conservation education.

The annual event was hosted by Event Chairman and FOC President Reute Butler at the Four Season Chicago and featured a live auction, which included two tickets on-board Qatar Airways' award-winning Business Class. The event raised money for Friends of Conservation and was even attended by renowned naturalist Jack Hanna.

Qatar Airways has recently expanded its own service to Africa, including new routes to Zanzibar, in 2015. Routes to Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, and Kilimanjaro have been particularly popular with travelers from North America, who previously had limited access to East Africa with pre-existing routes.

"As we saw tonight, Eastern Africa remains one of the most beautiful natural ecosystems on our planet," continued Mr. Saurwein. "We take great pleasure in bringing world travelers to this majestic region and we salute the Chicago community for supporting Friends of Conservation, as they seek to preserve these wonders for future generations to enjoy."

Qatar Airways' daily Chicago to Doha route is operated with a Boeing 777-300ER in a two-class configuration of 42 seats in Business and 293 seats in Economy. The aircraft offers seatback TV screens providing passengers with a next-generation interactive onboard entertainment system and a choice of up to 2,000 on-demand audio and video options.

Notes to Editors:

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 18th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 166 aircraft flying to 152 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. Qatar Airways won Airline of the Year, Best Business Class Airline Seat and Best Airline in the Middle East at the 2015 Skytrax Awards. This is the third time the airline has won the accolade of Airline of the Year.

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.

Qatar Airways recently launched Oryx One, an enhanced interface for its inflight entertainment system, increasing the number of movies and TV shows on board from 950 to up to 2,000. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the five-star airline's on-board Wifi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the world's fifth largest cargo carrier, serves more than 40 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally on 166 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet now includes six Airbus 330, eight Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747 freighter.

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