Qatar Airways announced on Monday an expanded codeshare relationship with SriLankan Airlines. The carrier also announced new service to Santorini in Greece and Dubrovnik, Croatia during the first half of 2020.
Qatar Airways made a host of exciting announcements Monday including an expansion of their codeshare partnership with SriLankan Airlines, two new Mediterranean destinations and completion of their inaugural flight to Gaborone, Botswana. First, the carrier announced that starting December 23, 2019, they will expand their codeshare cooperation with SriLankan Airlines. The phased expansion will eventually allow SriLankan Airlines’ passengers to seamlessly book travel to 33 Qatar Airways destinations in Europe, the U.S., and Africa. With this announcement, the codeshare agreement that was initiated in 2016 will expand the Qatar Airways destinations offered under SriLankan Airlines’ flight numbers to 53.
During the first phase of the expansion, which started today for travel from December 23, 2019, SriLankan Airlines’ customers can book travel to eight additional Qatar Airways’ destinations including Athens, Belgrade, Brussels, Dublin, Helsinki, Munich, Prague and Thessaloniki. Likewise, Qatar Airways’ customers now have seamless access to exciting new destinations in the Maldives, including the island of Gan in Addu Atoll, complementing existing codeshare service to Colombo in Sri Lanka and Malé in the Maldives. Regarding today’s announcement, His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker said,
“Since 2016 both airlines have witnessed the significant benefits codeshare cooperation has brought, providing passengers with unrivalled service and seamless connections. The expansion of codeshare cooperation between Qatar Airways and SriLankan Airlines is a natural next step in the strengthening of our close partnership.”
Next, Qatar Airways announced on Monday service to two new Mediterranean destinations for 2020 including Dubrovnik, Croatia from April 20, 2020 and Santorini, Greece starting May 20, 2020. Santorini will be the airline’s fourth Greek destination after Athens, Mykonos and Thessaloniki. Commenting on the new Mediterranean service, H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker said in part,
“We are pleased to announce Santorini, Greece and Dubrovnik, Croatia will be joining our global network in 2020. We are committed to offering our passengers many seamless one-stop connection choices as possible. With the addition of these new routes, our network will expand to 170 passenger destinations, further consolidating our position as one of the world’s most connected airlines.”
Finally, Qatar Airways also announced today the completion of their inaugural flight to Gaborone, Botswana, making the carrier the only non-African carrier to service Botswana’s capital city. The new service marks Qatar Airways’ ninth new destination for 2019 and will be operated three times weekly with an Airbus A350-900. The inaugural flight from Doha touched down in Gaborone on Sunday December 15th and was greeted by H.E. Mr. Slumber Tsogwane, Vice President of Botswana and Mr. Thulango Segokgo, Minister of Transport and Communications. Speaking about the inaugural service, H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker commented,
“I am delighted to add Gaborone to our global network of more than 160 destinations. Qatar Airways is committed to expanding its network in Africa, and this new route – our 23rd destination on the continent – is another step towards achieving that goal. We take great pride in being the first Middle Eastern airline to fly to Botswana and look forward to bringing tens of thousands of passengers to this wonderful country.”
Botswana is renowned by its unspoiled natural environment with the Kalahari Desert and Okavango Delta making the country a popular tourist destination for safaris and cultural tourism. Qatar Airways’ A350-900 aircraft servicing the new route is configured with 36 Business and 247 Economy Class seats. Passengers will enjoy the airline’s award-winning Oryx One IFE system which includes over 4,000 audio and video-on-demand options, along with complimentary Wi-Fi.
Source: Qatar Airways