Qatar Airways Wednesday 9 March 2011 announced more expansions to its rapidly growing global network during the second half of 2011, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
On 5 October 2011, Qatar Airways will start of five-flights-a-week schedule to Norway s capital city of Oslo. The airline already operates scheduled services to the Swedish capital Stockholm and Denmark s capital city of Copenhagen. Copenhagen will also be upgraded to daily operations.
In South East Asia, Qatar Airways has announced plans to double its weekly flights to Singapore by introduce a second daily service. The Doha-based airline currently operates daily flights from Doha to Singapore using its flagship Boeing 777 aircraft with the services continuing on to the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Additional non-stop services between Doha and Singapore will be phased in from May 1 when the airline adds three weekly flights to its schedule. Three further weekly flights will be introduced from October 1. An extra flight will operate to Singapore from November 3, taking frequency up to double daily.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker has previously said about this expansion:
“Singapore has been one of our best-performing routes in the entire region for a long time, with load factors consistently in the high 90s. The addition of a second daily service will allow Qatar Airways to grow the passenger market for inbound and outbound travel to Singapore.”
Kuala Lumpur will also be upgraded to be serviced twice every day in steps. Starting this March, the current 11 flights will gradually become 14 flights weekly by October.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker unveiled the expansion details at a press conference on the opening day of ITB Berlin the world s largest travel show taking place in the German capital this week. Speaking at a packed press conference at ITB Berlin, Al Baker said the airline s growth remained on target with relentless expansion.
“Today’s announcement of new services to Kolkata, Oslo and Sofia reflects our commitment to connect diverse global cities via our Doha hub. Kolkata becomes our 12th gateway city in India, while Sofia is another example of serving underserved markets. And with Oslo set to be part of our network, Qatar Airways will strengthen its presence in Scandinavia as the biggest Gulf-based airline flying to the region.”
