Qatar Airways expands routes and frequencies

Dubai (Zawya): Qatar Airways, one of the Arab region's heavyweight airlines, is in the midst of expanding its routes and frequencies across its destinations, the airline's officials announced in Dubai on Thursday.

"We will be stepping up our frequency to existing destinations," Ali Al Rais, vice-president of commercial for GCC, Levant and Iran, told the media.

The airline will add two new destinations in India. The first will be Amritsar on October 11 and the second will be Goa on October 25.

"India is a key market for us," Al Rais said. With the two new stops, the airline will have 10 destinations in India.

Its destinations in Eur-ope will see a big jump in frequencies as well. Madrid, Athens, Stockholm and Zurich will see an increase from twice weekly to daily flights, while Paris will have two daily flights starting next month.

Australia will be the latest addition to the airline's destinations. It will begin flights to Melbourne on December 6. Early next year, Sydney will also be served by the Qatari airline.

"Australia has been in our radar for a while now," Al Rais said, adding, "This will not be the end of our expansion."

On the Doha-Melbourne route, the airline will fly three times a week, using a new Boeing B777-200 long-range aircraft, which is expected to be delivered later this year.

The service will soon become daily early next year, following the delivery of a second long-range Boeing - the airline's fourth - from the aircraft manufacturer's US plant in Seattle.

The airline currently operates 56 flights from Dubai International Airport. From its hub in Doha, it flies to 82 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, the Far East and North America.

Al Rais said that the airline has aircraft from both plane manufacturers - Boeing and Airbus.

Currently operating a fleet of 69 aircraft, it will almost double the number to 110 aircraft by 2013.

The airline has ordered 80 Airbus A350s, 24 Airbus A320 family aircraft, 60 Boeing 787s and 32 Boeing 777s.

It is also a customer of the superjumbo A380 for which it has placed an order of five aircraft and will begin to take delivery in 2012.