Qatar Airways to introduce flights to Santorini, Dubrovnik, Osaka in 2020; to increase frequency on African routes
After the inaugural service to Gaborone, Botswana that marked the ninth new destination launched by Qatar Airways in 2019, the carrier announced that new Mediterranean destinations will join its network in the first half of 2020.
December 17, 2019: After the inaugural service to Gaborone, Botswana that marked the ninth new destination launched by Qatar Airways in 2019, the carrier announced that new Mediterranean destinations will join its network in the first half of 2020.
The airline will be the first Gulf carrier to begin direct flights to Santorini, its fourth destination in Greece after Athens, Mykonos, and Thessaloniki, to begin on May 20, 2020, with four weekly flights. Flights to Dubrovnik, Croatia, the airline’s second destination in Croatia after Zagreb will start on April 20, 2020, with three weekly flights expanding to five. The seasonal flights to Santorini and Dubrovnik will be operated by an A320.
Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said, “We are pleased to announce Santorini, Greece, and Dubrovnik, Croatia will be joining our global network in 2020. We are committed to offering our passengers as many seamless one-stop connection choices as possible. With the addition of these new routes, our network will expand to 170 passenger destinations, further consolidating our position as one of the world’s most connected airlines.”
The airline will also add 66 weekly frequencies to 20 existing destinations in its network due to strong market demand and the recent deliveries of more fuel-efficient aircraft. In Africa, three of the seven weekly flights to Kigali, Rwanda will be delinked from Entebbe, Uganda and operate direct non-stop flights to each destination. Daily service to Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania will be delinked with non-stop direct daily flights to each destination.
Africa
| Destination | Current (Weekly) | 2020 (Weekly) |
| Maputo, Mozambique | 3 | 5 |
| Windhoek, Namibia | 5 | 7 |
Europe
| Destination | Current (Weekly) | 2020 (Weekly) |
| Adana, Turkey | 3 | 5 |
| Antalya, Turkey | 3 | 5 |
| Athens, Greece | 3 | 4 |
| Belgrade, Serbia | 7 | 10 |
| Bodrum, Turkey | 3 | 5 |
| Edinburgh, Scotland | 10 | 14 |
| Oslo, Norway | 10 | 14 |
| Venice, Italy | 7 | 11 |
| Warsaw, Poland | 14 | 18 |
| Zurich, Switzerland | 14 | 18 |
Asia
| Destination | Current (Weekly) | 2020 (Weekly) |
| Colombo, Sri Lanka | 4 | 5 |
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | 3 | 4 |
| Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia | 5 | 7 |
“We also invite all passengers to enjoy the extra capacity and flexibility provided by the 66 additional weekly frequencies we are adding to 20 existing destinations in our network. We are dedicated to giving our customers more options and flexibility when planning their business and leisure trips. These new flights are being added in response to market demand and are a testament to our hard-working team at Qatar Airways who continue to set the benchmark in the industry from customer service to catering and in-flight entertainment.”
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has expanded codeshare cooperation with SriLankan Airlines, starting December 23. This new codeshare agreement will strengthen the two airlines’ strategic partnership, first initiated in 2016.
The expanded codeshare agreement will be rolled out in phases and once fully implemented will allow SriLankan Airlines’ passengers to book travel to 33 additional Qatar Airways destinations in Europe, America, and Africa. Qatar Airways began flying to Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1994. Today, it is one of the airline’s most popular routes, served by a four-time daily service.
