Kozhikode to become Qatar Airways' ninth Indian destination from 15 June 2008

Qatar Airways has announced plans to operate scheduled flights to the southwest Indian coastal city of Kozhikode, which will become the airline's third gateway in the state of Kerala, and its ninth destination in the country.

The service will start 15 June 2008.

Formerly known as Calicut, the city is Kerala's third largest and a haven for holidaymakers seeking adventure and relaxation.

Qatar Airways said it will operate daily non-stop services between Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, and Kozhikode with an Airbus A320 aircraft.

The airline already serves Cochin and Trivandrum in Kerala, along with six other cities across India.

With a current schedule of 51 flights a week, spread across the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Trivandrum, Nagpur and Hyderabad, Qatar Airways operates an extensive network of services throughout the country.

With the addition of services to Kozhikode, the airline's India-frequency will go up to 58 flights a week.

Qatar Airways chief executive officer, Akbar Al Baker, said the latest route announcement reinforced the airline's commitment to expand its award-winning five star service across India. ''India today is by far the largest single market for Qatar Airways with a network of eight, and, soon nine cities served non-stop from Doha,'' he said.

''During 2007 alone Qatar Airways launched three new routes to India. Our new services to Kozhikode will only strengthen our position in this highly important market.

''There is a large concentration of expatriates from Kerala living and working in the Gulf region, and together with tourists from across Europe and other parts of the world, Qatar Airways looks forward to welcoming passengers on our new services to make it a highly successful launch into our third gateway in Kerala.''