Qatar Airways, which currently operates 82 weekly flights to seven key cities in Saudi Arabia, announced its eight destination: Abha. Qatar Airways will begin flights to Abha, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, beginning September 2. The non-stop service from Doha will operate four times a week.
The city of Abha is the capital of Asir, a south-western province in the Kingdom and is gaining popularity in the region as a tourist destination due to attractions such as its mild seasonal weather and fertile mountains.
The airline recently announced an increase in frequency of flights to Gassim with 10 flights a week from 8, beginning July 17. The addition of Abha will increase the number of Qatar Airways’ weekly flights to Saudi Arabia from 84 to 88 non-stop flights.
Qatar Airways has been continuously expanding its services to Saudi Arabia since it began in 1997 with non-stop flights to Jeddah. Since then the airline has added Riyadh, Dammam, Madinah and Gassim, Ta’if and Al Hofuf to its portfolio of destinations.
The Doha – Abha route will be operated by an Airbus A320 with an average travel duration time of just over two hours. The aircraft will feature 144 seats in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy. Selected aircraft will feature seatback TV screens, providing passengers with the next generation interactive on board entertainment system, featuring a choice of more than 900 audio and video on-demand options, together with an SMS text messaging service from each seat.
Over the next few months, the network will grow further with new routes to Amsterdam, The Netherlands (June 16, 2015), Zanzibar, Tanzania (July 1, 2015), Sialkot, Pakistan (July 16, 2015), Faisalabad, Pakistan (July 17, 2015), Multan, Pakistan (August 1, 2015), Durban, South Africa (December 17, 2015), Los Angeles, USA (January 1, 2016), Boston, USA (March 16, 2016) and Atlanta, USA (July 1, 2016).
