Qatar Airways plans more flights to India

With bilateral air traffic talks slated in the first quarter of next year, Qatar Airways is looking at new destinations in India and increasing frequencies to the five cities it already operates from.

"We plan to increase frequencies from the current destinations and look at other destinations in India," the airline's area manager, Naveen Chawla, said ion New Delhi.

Taking advantage of the limited 'open sky' policy of the government, Qatar Airways has increased the number of its scheduled flights per week from 30 to 45 from this month. The UAE carrier currently operates from Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

The hike in its frequencies raises the number of flights to Mumbai from seven to fourteen daily, Delhi- from seven to ten, Hyderabad - four to seven and Kochi - five to seven. The airline would also operate larger aircraft to Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

After connecting the Spanish capital Madrid earlier this month, Qatar Airways announced the launch of its flights between Doha and Berlin from Thursday, making the German city its 69th international destination.

These flights would provide timely connections to travellers from India, Chawla claimed and added that the India-Berlin flight would cost an average of Rs 18,500 plus taxes for the first two weeks after its launch.

"Our fares thereafter will be competitively priced and we will be as competitive as (German carrier) Lufthansa," he said.