Qatar Airways to Boost Frequencies into Stockholm This Winter

Gulf carrier, Qatar Airways is to boost capacity into the Swedish market from this winter as it increases the frequency of its services between its Hamad International Airport hub in Doha and Stockholm’s Arlanda International Airport. The introduction of three additional weekly rotations from December 2015 will boost capacity by just under a third with 13 rather than ten weekly frequencies.

The latest update of the airline’s inventory for the winter 2015 schedule shows that Qatar Airways will introduce an additional two weekly flights (Fridays and Sundays) on the route from December 1, 2015, while a further weekly rotation (on Tuesdays) will be added from December 15, 2015.

The oneworld alliance member and fast-growing network carrier has significantly grown its activities in Sweden since it made its debut on the Doha – Stockholm city pair in November 2007. This route was initially served on a four times weekly basis using an Airbus A319 narrowbody, but was boosted to a daily schedule from March 2010 when an A330 – both -200 and -300 variants – was introduced. The route was switched to the carrier’s new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in August 2013 and frequencies were increased from daily to the current ten times weekly schedule in February this year.

“As a rapidly expanding global airline, it is crucial that we not only support new destination launches, but also add to the existing capacity across our network. This, in turn, provides passengers with an additional level of connectivity and choice when travelling the globe, facilitated by seamless transfers through our new five-star hub and home, Hamad International Airport,” said His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, chief executive officer, Qatar Airways Group.

After serving the Stockholm market for almost eight years, Qatar Airways has grown segment demand on the route from an estimated 35,000 passengers in 2008, its first full year of operations, to around 140,000 passengers last year. At the same time Sabre Airport Data Intelligence statistics shows the carrier has increased average annual loads by around ten percentage points despite the introduction of larger capacity aircraft.

Richard Maslen

Richard Maslen has travelled across the globe to report on developments in the aviation sector as airlines and airports have continued to evolve and…