Qatar unveils launch dates for two new India routes
Qatar Airways is bringing forward the launch dates of two new Indian routes – Goa and Amritsar – in time for the winter holiday season.
Scheduled flights to the northern Indian city of Amritsar will be launched on October 11 ahead of Diwali, the religious festival of lights.
Goa flights will be launched two weeks later on October 25, making Qatar the first full-service scheduled international airline flying to the resort.
Both routes will be operated four-times-per-week non-stop from the airline’s hub in Doha, connecting with flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester.
The two-class Airbus A320s to be used on the route are configured with 12 seats in Business and 132 seats in Economy.
Chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said: “When we made the route expansion announcement during the ITB Berlin travel show in March, news spread very quickly with a lot of excitement in the market about these highly underserved destinations by international airlines.
“We have since been inundated with calls from the public seeking more information about the launch dates. We are now pleased to confirm the launch times giving Qatar Airways significantly more capacity to India.â€
Further new routes are planned, including Melbourne, Sydney, and two cities in Europe.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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