Qatar Airways is continuing its rapid growth in Europe with an increase in capacity on its flights to Italy, as well as the introduction of double-daily flights to Madrid. The increase in both capacity and service will roll out over the next five months to help meet the expanding passenger needs for both these popular destinations.

With the introduction of widebody aircraft commencing March 29 to Rome and Milan, and June 16 to Venice, the capacity to the airline’s three Italian destinations will increase by 30%. Furthermore, a change in the departure and arrival times to Rome and Milan will also help improve connections to a number of other destinations for the Italian market. The increase in capacity to Italy will be provided by introducing the Airbus A330 on the Milan and Venice routes, and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Rome route.

Qatar Airways currently offers 35 flights a week to Italy, including double-daily services to Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa, as well as daily flights to Venice Marco Polo.

In addition, commencing on 16 July, Qatar Airways will begin operating a double-daily, direct scheduled service to Madrid-Barajas Airport from Doha’s Hamad International Airport, adding four extra weekly flights. The flights will be operated by a Boeing 777, offering 293 seats in Economy Class and 42 in Business Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our commitment to bringing a five-star experience to all our passengers is reflected in our continual growth in not just our destinations, product and services, but also in the increases in capacity and frequency that we implement to ensure that our passengers have multiple options when planning their journeys. As such, we are delighted to be able to offer more opportunities to connect with both Italy and Spain, two of our most popular destinations, for both our leisure travellers looking to explore the world of history, art and architecture, as well as those travelling for business.”

This announcement to increase flights to a double-daily service to the Spanish capital comes just two months after the successful launch of the 10-weekly service on the Madrid – Doha route (on November 16th) and just weeks after announcing the double-daily scheduled service between Barcelona and Doha, which is set to commence on February 16, 2015.

The four additional weekly flights announced today to Madrid represent a 40% increase in capacity to Spain’s largest city.