Doha

Qatar Airways will start operating a daily direct scheduled service from Edinburgh Airport to Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) from Friday, celebrating a year since the launch of the original five services per week.
The additional frequencies reinforce Qatar Airways’ commitment to Scotland, according to a statement.
The daily QR 028 outbound service and QR 027 inbound service, operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will give passengers even greater access to more than 140 worldwide destinations served by Qatar Airways through its hub, HIA, the statement adds.
The Dreamliner has a two-cabin configuration, comprising 22 seats in business class and 232 in economy class. All seats include individual television screens, with economy class customers benefiting from a screen 10.6 inches wide, offering the latest in-flight entertainment that features up to 2,000 channels.
The route has this year allowed enhanced travel times from the Scottish capital to destinations around the world with just one international transfer through HIA, without the need for any domestic transfers within the UK.
Richard Oliver, UK and Ireland country manager, said: “Offering a daily service to Edinburgh is a clear reflection of the popularity of this route since its launch in May last year. The new daily service will allow Qatar Airways to further support and promote Scotland’s leisure and business opportunities to different markets on our airline’s global network.”
Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, said: “One of our main strategies is to partner with key global airlines and continue to further develop Scotland’s air connectivity. Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld alliance and this exciting new daily service will make it even easier for millions of members from across Africa, Australia, Asia and the Middle East to come and visit Scotland."
The most popular destinations for those using the Edinburgh-Doha route are predominantly in Asia and Australasia, with journey times to Melbourne reduced from approximately 26 hours with two transfers to 20 hours with one quick international transfer at HIA.
The schedule is as follows: QR 028 departing Edinburgh at 2.30pm and arriving in Doha at 11.30pm; and QR 027 departing Doha at 7.45am and arriving in Edinburgh at 1pm.

Related Story