DOHA - Qatar Airways has upgraded the aircraft plying the Doha-Algiers route to an Airbus A330-200 from the earlier Airbus A300. All four weekly services between Doha and the Algerian capital are now served with the long-range aircraft non-stop.
The Airbus A300 is gradually being phased out of the airline's fleet. The A330-200 features 24 First Class seats and 236 in Economy, adding up to 53 more seats than the A300.
The airline is offering passengers in every seat with a fully-interactive audio and video entertainment system, a release said yesterday.
Qatar Airways launched flights to Algeria in May 2005 with three flights a week linked with the Tunisian capital, Tunis, but progressively increased capacity to the current frequency of four weekly services, now all non-stop from Doha.
The airline offers passengers a choice of more than 80 international movies, 70 TV shows and 16 music channels, as well as more than 300 music CDs from popular and classical artistes onboard its A330s.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akbar Al Baker said the airline currently operated 28 A330s - the backbone of its 58-strong fleet of aircraft. "The A330 has done us proud as a great flying machine offering all passengers the greatest levels of comfort," he said.
"I am sure our passengers flying to Algiers will have a whole new in-flight experience with a fully-interactive entertainment system offering plenty of audio and video options. Our Algiers flights have performed exceptionally well since we launched the route in 2005. We have gradually increased capacity on the route with an additional flight, de-linked the route from Tunis and, now, put on a bigger aircraft offering more seating capacity."
Due to the expansion, Qatar Airways has increased staffing levels from 16 to 25 in Algeria, the CEO said.
© The Peninsula 2007
