Qatar Airways Expands Operations in South East Asia

Qatar Airways has begun a major expansion of its online operations in South East Asia including boosting frequencies and upgrading aircraft equipment deployed to the region.

 The recent addition of four frequencies a week to the airline’s daily services from Kuala Lumpur to Doha takes the total to 11 flights a week, while Bali has moved to a daily operation via Singapore, up from four weekly flights previously served through Kuala Lumpur.

The airline’s flights from Jakarta to Doha have been de-linked from Singapore and the airline now operates a dedicated non-stop service between the Indonesian and Qatari capital cities.

Flights from Singapore, Bali and selected services from Kuala Lumpur have been upgraded to aircraft from the airline’s growing Boeing 777 fleet. Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777s feature 42 horizontal flat-bed seats in Business Class and up to 293 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways’ South East Asian expansion comes following Qatar Airways’ announcement that it will add five new routes to its network in the first half of 2010 in what is shaping up to being one of the airline’s busiest years yet.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice President East Asia & South West Pacific Marwan Koleilat said Asia remained a key growth market.

“We are excited to be able to start 2010 in South East Asia with such a positive message for the travelling public. We are already receiving an excellent response in terms of forward bookings and are confident that the potential for further growth exists in the region,” said Koleilat at the Singapore Air Show.

Qatar Airways’ 2010 expansion in the far east will also see the airline launch daily services to Tokyo, as well as boost its Korean operations, introducing a non-stop direct flight between Seoul and Doha, as well as equipment upgrades on other routes.

The Doha-based carrier plans to launch Bengaluru (Bangalore), Ankara, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Barcelona between February and June, which will bring the airline’s route network to 90 destinations. Sydney is also likely to join the airline’s network in 2010.

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