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Qatar Airways has plans to expand its fleet by 60% over the next two years, doubling its present fleet to 25 aircraft during the period 2003-2004. This would place Qatar Airways as one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. According to CEO Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker, this expansion coincides with the remarkable development of the Doha International Airport which in recent months has been transformed into a hub that is competitive at an international level.

Completed in November of last year, the capacity of Doha International Airport has been increased to 3.5 million passengers and 3 million tons of cargo per annum.

Qatar Airways' CEO Akbar Al Baker said that the expansion plans are intended to meet the requirements of Qatar as a nation, as the country's economy is growing at a phenomenal rate and is in fact one of the world's fastest growing economies.

Qatar Airways has also increased their number of destinations to include Casablanca, Milan and Riyadh, thus making a total of 33 destinations worldwide. This announcement comes just 2 months after the spectacular launch of Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Male.

"The romantic appeal of Casablanca and Milan will provide two enticing destinations and Qatar Airways recognises the need to give special attention to these premium routes". The Casablanca route is expected to launch on 31 May with three flights per week and the Milan route will commence on 16 June with four flights per week, Riyadh has already commenced with two weekly flights.

As part of their expansion plans, Qatar Airways has placed firm orders for five A330-200s, with the option of three more to follow. Akbar Al Baker said that the first of these A330s is in the last stages of manufacture at Airbus in Toulousse. According to Mr. Baker, he anticipates delivery of the aircraft this month, with the second due in July, the third and fourth in March 2003, with the final delivery due in February 2004. This deal with GEC is worth US $ 120,000,000 and will equip the A330s with CF6-80E 1A3 engines.

Qatar Airways currently operates five flights between Colombo and Doha every Monday, Wednesday Thursday, Friday and Sunday arriving in Colombo at 0730 hours and departing at 0845 hours. Convenient connections are available to major cities in the Middle East London Munich and Paris.

Qatar Airways is represented in Sri Lanka by Delmege Forsyth Tours (Pvt) Ltd and is an associate company of the Delmege Group. 

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