Qatar Airways Set to Increase Capacity to North Africa

Qatar Airways is increasing its capacity between Qatar and North Africa with its flights to Tripoli and Casablanca going non-stop, from this weekend.

Effective 1 June 2013, scheduled services to the Libyan capital Tripoli will be de-linked from the Egyptian city of Alexandria offering additional seats to both cities.

On the same day, Morocco’s biggest city and tourist destination Casablanca will have direct non-stop services from the airline’s Doha hub. Currently the route is served via the Tunisian capital of Tunis.

With the de-linking and re-introduction of non-stop flights, Qatar Airways is giving passengers travelling to the four North African cities with more choice and flexibility when planning their travels.

Passengers from the Asia Pacific, South Asia and Middle East and can now take advantage of a seamless one-stop connection to Tripoli and Casablanca via Doha.

Travellers also have easier access through Doha to more than 100 destinations worldwide, including popular cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Manila, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Cochin, Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi and Singapore.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said, “We are delighted to resume non-stop flights from June 1 to our two popular North African destinations. Today’s announcement is a significant step by Qatar Airways as we show our continued confidence in North Africa. This means more capacity and improved travel times to and from Tripoli and Casablanca to destinations across our network.”

Qatar Airways reintroduced scheduled services between Doha and Tripoli in February 2012 after temporarily suspending operations to the city due to the unstable political situation in Libya.

Initially, the route was served three-times-a-week, via Alexandria, and due to popular demand increased to daily services in August last year.

Qatar Airways also serves Libya’s second largest city Benghazi with four flights each week directly from Doha.

The airline currently serves Tripoli with an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and up to 132 seats in Economy. Selected A320s feature seatback TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system.

The Casablanca route is operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class configuration of up to 248 seats in Economy and up to 36 seats in Business Class. The aircraft features seatback TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system - a choice of more than 800 audio and video on demand options.