The national airline of the State of Qatar has announced plans to continue its expansion in India, with capacity increases on its flights between Doha and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore).

Currently, the airline operates a Boeing 787 on the route with 254 seats, though from August 1, 2015, Qatar Airways with replace the 787 with a 777, bringing the total capacity to 335 seats.

The capacity increases intend to meet the increasing passenger demand on the route, with passengers able to connect to more than 140 destinations worldwide via the airline’s state-of-the-art hub in Doha.

Qatar Airways currently operates the route on a daily basis, departing Doha at 20:00pm, arriving into Bengaluru at 02:45am (+1 day). The return flight departs Bengaluru at 04:15am, arriving into the Qatari capital at 05:40am, local time.

Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways, Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “The strengthening of the Doha–Bengaluru route reflects increased passenger demand and reaffirms our continuous expansion strategy for the Indian market. There are a large numbers of expatriates from South India who are working in Doha, and with our increasing capacity we aim to offer our customers a superior travel experience and seamless connectivity into the State of Qatar.”

India is growing as an economic hub, and according to Mr Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ growth strategy has always stressed the significance of the Indian market: “We plan to seek even more capacity and increase frequency on existing routes,” he added.

Qatar Airways offers flights from 12 cities in India via its hub in Doha, to destinations such as Barcelona, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, London, Miami, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome and Washington DC, with five new destinations on the horizon for 2015.

The airline will increase its global portfolio to 151 destinations across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.