Qatar Airways announces increase in capacity to Colombo

Friday, 29 November 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Upgrades aircraft to state-of-the-art Boeing 777

Qatar Airways has announced a significant increase in capacity to Sri Lanka – with one of its triple-daily-flights to capital city Colombo, expanded from a narrow-bodied Airbus 320 to the airline’s flagship wide-bodied Boeing 777. Beginning 1 January 2004, the larger Boeing 777 will offer flat-bed seats in Business class and passengers in every seat across the Business and Economy Class cabins will experience a fully interactive personal audio and video entertainment system.

Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777 service to Colombo – QR 659 will be operated in a two-class configuration of 356 seats in Economy and 24 seats in Business Class. The other two daily flights to the city will be served with the airline’s narrow-body A320 aircraft which can accommodate 132 passengers in Economy and 12 in Business Class. Colombo remains a popular destination Qatar Airways Country Manager Sri Lanka, Ajay Jacob said that the increase in capacity to Colombo will help in strengthening the airline’s position in the Sri Lankan market. “Colombo remains a popular destination in the carrier’s rising Asia-Pacific network as we currently operate triple-daily-services to this city. The added capacity means travellers to and from Colombo will have greater access and also an increasingly competitive product like the Boeing 777. An array of connecting destinations for passengers to and from Colombo over the airline’s Doha hub include Chicago, Kilimanjaro, Nairobi, Moscow, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Venice, New York, Washington and Montreal. Added Jacob: “There are a significant number of Sri Lankan expatriates who are working in Qatar, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Additional seats will enable more passengers to travel with us, for leisure or on business.” Qatar Airways was recently named Best Middle East Airline by readers of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, for four consecutive years. The airline has also won the Skytrax Airline of The Year award two years in a row, 2011 and 2012. Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 128 aircraft to 133 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. In 2013, Qatar Airways has launched 11 destinations to date – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Chengdu (China), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Ta’if (Saudi Arabia) and most recently Clark Manila International Airport (Philippines). Over the next few weeks and months, the network will grow further with Hangzhou, China (20 December), Sharjah and Dubai World Central, both in the UAE (1 March 2014), Philadelphia, USA (2 April 2014), Edinburgh, Scotland (28 May 2014) and Miami, USA (10 June 2014). Doha – Colombo schedules: Effective 1 January 2014 Triple-Daily-Flights

Depart Doha QR 658 at 00:45 hrs, arrive Colombo at 07:40 hrs
Depart Colombo QR 659 at 09:10 hrs, arrive Doha at 11:30 hrs
Depart Doha QR 660 at 12:25 hrs, arrive Colombo at 19:40 hrs
Depart Colombo QR 661 at 20:40 hrs, arrive Doha at 23:20 hrs
Depart Doha QR 662 at 20:00 hrs, arrive Colombo at 03:15 hrs next day
Depart Colombo QR 663 at 04:15 hrs, arrive Doha 06:55 hrs