Qatar Airways will be offering a significant increase in capacity to Sri Lanka on one of its three daily flights to the capital city Colombo.
The airline will replace the current narrow-bodied Airbus A320 with a wide-bodied Boeing 777 from January 1.
The gulf carrier's B777 has a two-class configuration with 356 seats in economy and 24 in business class. The other two daily services will continue to be operated by the smaller A320, which also offers two classes, but only accommodates 132 passengers in economy and 12 in business.
Ajay Jacob, Qatar Airways' country manager in Sri Lanka, said: "There are a significant number of Sri Lankan expatriates who are working in Qatar, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Additional seats will enable more passengers to travel with us, for leisure or on business."
Qatar operates a wide array of connecting destinations for passengers travelling from Colombo through its hub in Doha, including Chicago, Kilimanjaro, Nairobi, Moscow, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Venice, New York, Washington and Montreal.
The capacity upgrade is part of Qatar Airways' ambitious expansion plan, which was particularly evident during the Dubai Air Show when the carrier ordered 51 Boeing B777Xs (see here).
Clement Huang
