Qatar Airways will launch a new service to Durban and increase frequencies on its Johannesburg and Cape Town routes later this year.
The Gulf airline will fly four-times weekly — on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — to Durban via Johannesburg from December 17.
Flight QR1365 will depart Doha at 0745, arrive in Johannesburg at 1520, before taking-off at 1620 and arriving in Durban at 1735. Return flight QR1366 will leave Durban at 1900 and land in Johannesburg at 2015, before departing at 2115 and arriving in Doha at 0605 the next day.
Also on December 17, Qatar Airways will up its services between Doha and Johannesburg from ten-weekly to double-daily.
Flight QR1363 will depart Doha at 0125 and land in Johannesburg at 0845, while return service QR1364 will leave Johannesburg at 1430 and arrive in Doha at 2320.
Flight QR1365 will take-off from Doha at 0745 and land in Johannesburg at 1520, before going to Durban and back, with return service QR1366 leaving Johannesburg at 2115 and arriving in Doha at 0605 the next day.
And, from October 1, the carrier will increase flights on its Doha-Cape Town route from five-weekly to daily.
Outbound service QR1369 will depart Doha at 0120 and arrive in Cape Town at 1015, while return flight QR1370 will take-off from Cape Town at 1245 and land back in Doha at 22.50.
All three routes will be operated by a B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft in a two-class configuration, with 22 fully-flat seats in business and 232 in economy.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: "Durban is an important gateway into South Africa and we are very confident that this route will be warmly welcomed like all our other routes in the African continent."
Qatar Airways first flew to South Africa in January 2005, when it launched services to both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Earlier this month, the carrier announced it will add a third daily flight from Doha to Singapore from June 1 (see news, February 2).
Graham Smith
