COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Qatar Airways today 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 2014, 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 658 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.

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 (December 20), Sharjah and Dubai World Central, both in the UAE (March 1, 2014), Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014), Edinburgh, Scotland (May 28, 2014) and Miami, USA (June 10, 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

For images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qatarairways/sets/72157638041974966/

Notes to Editors:
On October 30, 2013, Qatar Airways joined the oneworld Alliance, becoming the only major Gulf carrier to join a global airline alliance, enabling its customers to benefit from almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.

Qatar Airways was presented with three honours at the annual Skytrax 2013 World Airline Awards held during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, France in June. The airline was awarded World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Lounge and, for the second consecutive year, Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East.

The airline has also been named Best Airline in the Middle East for the seventh year in a row, and its Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport named Best Premium Service Airport for the third consecutive year in 2013. Qatar Airways has also twice been the recipient of the prestigious Skytrax Airline of the Year Award in 2011 and 2012. Skytrax is the only global independent passenger survey monitoring airline standards and is considered the ultimate benchmark for excellence in the airline industry.

Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over US$50 billion for more than 230 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A350s, A380s and A320 family of aircraft. For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com. 

For further information contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 44302072, Fax: +974 44302069
Website: www.qatarairways.com