Qatar Airways from June 1, 2013 will increase seat capacity between Qatar and North Africa with the introduction of non-stop flights to both Tripoli in Libya and Casablanca in Morocco. Both routes are currently served by other points but will be de-linked from the existing routings via the Egyptian city of Alexandria and the Tunisian capital of Tunis, offering additional direct capacity to all markets.
The de-linking of the services and re-introduction of non-stop flights will provide Qatar Airways’ passengers travelling to the four North African cities with more choice and flexibility when planning their travels and will mean those beginning or ending their travel in the Asia Pacific, South Asia and Middle East regions can now travel with a one-stop option to Tripoli and Casablanca via the airline’s hub at Doha International Airport.
“We are delighted to resume non-stop flights from June 1 to our two popular North African destinations. This 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.”
Akbar Al Baker
Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways
“We are delighted to resume non-stop flights from June 1 to our two popular North African destinations,” said Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways. “This 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, but 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 but the Casablanca route is and will continue to be operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class configuration providing seating for 248 passengers in Economy and up to 36 in Business Class. Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 124 aircraft to 127 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.
However, in the last couple of weeks the carrier has modified its summer inventory and is no longer displaying flights to the Seychelles. According to its GDS display flights between Doha and the Indian Ocean archipelago will end from September 1, 2013. The route is currently served on a daily basis using Airbus A320 Family equipment but the carrier is believed to have lost a notable share of its transfer traffic due to the increased offering of its Gulf rival Etihad Airways into the Seychelles and its enhanced relationship with the islands’ national carrier Air Seychelles.
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