Lufthansa is to start non-stop flights to Frankfurt out of Doha from April 1.
The routes are operated using the Airbus A340-300 with the new Business class two-metre sleeper seat.
Waseem Shaikh, manager passenger sales, Qatar and Bahrain, said: “We are very glad to soon start non-stop operations to and from Doha, and trust this gives our market and Doha based passengers more flexibility and better connections worldwide. It also offers greater value for our business travellers.”
The airline has expanded its global route network, and with its new summer schedule, it will encompass 192 destinations in 78 countries.
This is an increase from 188 destinations in 77 countries in summer 2006.
This summer, capacity across the network will be increased by four per cent year-on-year to take account of the three per cent growth in traffic on European routes and the 4.4 per cent increase in long-haul traffic.
“Thanks to 13 new routes and additional services on our main routes, our customers will reach their destinations faster and will have a greater choice of connecting flights,” said Karl-Ulrich Garnadt, member of the board of Lufthansa Passenger Airlines.
A total of 13,700 flights a week are scheduled for the 2007 summer timetable, compared with 13,140 in summer 2006.
The port city of Busan in South Korea is the latest addition to Lufthansa’s long-haul network. In Europe, meanwhile, passengers will be able to fly Lufthansa non-stop to Tirana and to Valencia. Other new European destinations are Bastia on the island of Corsica, Hungary’s Lake Balaton and the Danish island of Bornholm.
The new timetable will be valid until October 27.
Meanwhile, the airline has boosted its frequency on the Bahrain- Frankfurt sector from currently three to four weekly flights. Thus the total number of its flights from Dammam and Bahrain increases to seven flights a week.