Qatar Airways has launched a new service to its eighth destination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with four flights a week to Abha.

The new route will be operated by an Airbus A320 with an average flight time of just over two hours.

The aircraft will feature 144 seats in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy.

Selected aircraft will feature seatback TV screens, providing passengers with the next generation interactive on-board entertainment system Oryx One, featuring a choice of more than 900 audio and video on-demand options, together with an SMS text messaging service from each seat.

“We have been steadily growing our presence and services to Saudi Arabia for the past 18 years,” said Qatar Airways chief executive, Akbar Al Baker.

“As our eighth destination in the Kingdom, Abha will bring additional flexibility for passengers connecting from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

“From Abha, our passengers will now be able to travel seamlessly through our state-of-the-art Doha hub Hamad International Airport to popular cities such as London, Paris, Bangkok, Singapore, New York and Washington.

“At the same time this will provide passengers travelling to Saudi Arabia from international markets the convenience of another gateway.”
Qatar Airways began operations to the Kingdom in 1997 with non-stop flights to Jeddah.