Qatar Airways introduces additional seat capacity to Sri Lanka, Maldives

Qatar Airways is introducing additional seat capacity for flights to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in October in time for the busy winter travel season.

The airline has reinforced its commitment to Sri Lanka having introduced 96 additional seats per day from Doha to Colombo – with all three daily flights being operated with an Airbus A340-600 aircraft instead of an A330 and B777 aircraft.

A further significant increase in seat capacity will be introduced in the region with one of Qatar Airways’ double-daily flights to the Maldives being upgraded from a narrow-bodied A320 to the airline’s wide-bodied A330 aircraft. Beginning 24 October, the larger A330 aircraft will offer 128 additional seats per day from Doha to Malé, capital of the Maldives.

Qatar Airways Vice President for the Indian Sub-continent (ISC) Ihab Sorial said: “Our commitment to bringing a five-star experience to all our passengers is reflected in our continual growth in not just our destinations, product and services, but also in the increases in capacity and frequency that we implement to ensure that our passengers have multiple options when planning their journeys. We are delighted to be able to offer more opportunities to connect with both Colombo and Malé, two very popular destinations in the ISC region, for both leisure travellers as well as those travelling for business.”

From the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas, Colombo and Malé are just a short flight away from Doha, offering an extremely convenient option for business and leisure passengers to connect with Sri Lanka and the Maldives. From Doha, Sri Lankan and Maldivian passengers are also able to easily connect to Qatar Airways’ vast network of more than 150 destinations, including London, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Barcelona, Philadelphia, Zurich, Munich and many more.

Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating a modern fleet of 166 aircraft to 152 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. The airline has won numerous awards this year including being voted by passengers as the Airline of the Year for the third time and Best Airline in the Middle East for the ninth time at the 2015 Skytrax Awards.Since the beginning of the year, Qatar Airways has begun services to Amsterdam (The Netherlands); Zanzibar (Tanzania); Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan in Pakistan, and Abha (Saudi Arabia). In the pipeline before the end of this year is Durban (South Africa) and Nagpur (India). In 2016, Qatar Airways is also launching flights to three new US destinations – Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta, and two Australian gateways – Sydney and Adelaide.

Doha – Colombo schedules (all times local):

Triple-Daily Flights

Depart Doha QR 664 at 00:50 hrs, arrive Colombo at 07:55 hrs 

Depart Colombo QR 665 at 09:25 hrs, arrive Doha at 12:00 hrs

Depart Doha QR 656 at 12:35 hrs, arrive Colombo at 19:40 hrs 

Depart Colombo QR 657 at 21:10 hrs, arrive Doha at 23:40 hrs

Depart Doha QR 668 at 19:35 hrs, arrive Colombo at 02:40 hrs next day 

Depart Colombo QR 669 at 04:10 hrs, arrive Doha 06:45 hrs

Doha – Male schedules (all times local):

Double-Daily Flights

Depart Doha QR 672 at 01:00 hrs, arrive Malé at 07:35 hrs 

Depart Malé QR 673 at 09:00 hrs, arrive Doha at 11:45 hrs

Depart Doha QR 674 at 07:50 hrs, arrive Malé at 14:25 hrs 

Depart Malé QR 675 at 19:30 hrs, arrive Doha at 22:20 hrs