Qatar Airways to increase flights to Europe and Russia

Qatar Airways has announced that it will increase daily frequencies to the Scandinavian capitals of Stockholm and Oslo, alongside the Italian cities of Milan and Rome.In a statement yesterday, the Doha-based carrier said “due to an increase in demand to key European destinations, especially from the Asia Pacific region”, flights to Rome, Milan and Stockholm will increase to 17 per week from Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA), while flights to Oslo are set to increase from seven to 10 frequencies per week.The frequency increases are in accordance with the Qatar Airways winter schedule, the airline has said.The airline has also announced that double-daily flights to the Russian capital, Moscow, will increase to three times daily from December 14, five days before Qatar Airways’ inaugural daily flight to the Russian city of St Petersburg. The additional frequency to Moscow will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft.Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said, “Qatar Airways continues to expedite its ambitious expansion plans and demonstrate strong growth across Europe and Russia. These additional frequencies will provide our passengers with an array of convenient travel options when travelling to Doha or further afield on our global network.”The national carrier of Qatar currently serves double daily flights to Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, Milan’s Malpensa Airport and Rome’s Fiumicino Airport with a mix of Boeing B787, Airbus A330 and Airbus A321 aircraft. With a “seamless stopover at the five-star hub of the airline, HIA, European travellers can reach more than 150 business and leisure destinations across six continents with the airline’s young fleet”, the statement notes.The airline flies to four gateways in Italy: Rome, Milan, Pisa and Venice. Recently, Qatar Airways further strengthened its commitment to Italy with the acquisition of 49% of AQA Holding, the new parent company of Meridiana fly (Meridiana), while the previous sole shareholder, Alisarda, has kept 51%.In addition to the frequency increases to Moscow, Stockholm, Oslo, Rome and Milan, Qatar Airways recently announced additional daily non-stop flights to Kyiv, Prague, Warsaw and Helsinki due to a “significant increase in passenger demand”.The airline has announced that flights to Moscow, will increase to three times daily from December 14.