By the summer Doha-based carrier Qatar Airways will be serving seven destinations in India.
Flights to Chennai (Madras) and Ahmedabad will come on line in April. Although Qatar has yet to publish its flight schedules for these two cities, it says there will be daily flights from Doha with connecting opportunities to Europe and other regional points.
Other cities served by Qatar in India are Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Cochin and Trivandrum.
Qatar's new links will be welcomed by travellers heading to or from Europe as there are currently only a limited number of direct links.
Ahmedabad is only served by a three-times-a-week Air India service from London Heathrow. There is no direct alternative.
Chennai is served by British Airways from Heathrow (five flights a week), from Paris CDG with Air France (three flights a week) and from Frankfurt with Lufthansa (daily).
Besides the two Indian routes, Qatar says this year will also see it inaugurate flights to New York, Bali, Saigon, Lagos and Dar-es-Salaam, plus two cities in Northern and Eastern Europe.
For more information go to qatarairways.com.
Report by Alex McWhirter
