Qatar Airways to fly directly to Penang next year
It will be the state’s first long-haul direct international flight in a long while.
GEORGE TOWN: Qatar Airways will fly directly to Penang three times a week beginning February next year.
The direct flight from Doha, Qatar, will be on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which has a 254-seat capacity. The flight will take approximately 8 hours each way.
According to a statement that described Penang as the “gourmet capital” of Malaysia, the state will be the second destination in Malaysia for Qatar Airways after Kuala Lumpur.
The airline started flying the Kuala Lumpur route from December 2001. It currently flies three times daily to KL.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said it was flying to Penang as there was a high demand for it.
“We are delighted to launch a new direct service to Penang, offering our passengers a second gateway into the country.
“With three weekly flights between Doha and Penang, we are sure travellers to this exotic holiday destination will be enchanted by Penang’s magnificent natural scenery,” he said in a statement today.
The Doha-Penang flight is the first regular long-haul flight to Penang in a long while.
From time-to-time, the Penang International Airport serves chartered flights to Jeddah and Medina during the haj season.
The airport currently serves domestic, Asean, and secondary Chinese destinations.
The inaugural flight from Doha to Penang will take off on Feb 6, 2018, with flight QR850 touching down in Penang at 2.30pm local time.
The first Penang to Doha flight, QR851, will leave at 8.30pm on Feb 6, 2018 and arrive at 11.20pm Qatar local time.
The flights will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
As part of its continued expansion in Asia, the airline also recently announced additional services to the Thai city of Krabi, as well as to the Vietnamese cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, which will start in December this year and January 2018 respectively.
Qatar Airways will also fly to Thailand’s Chiang Mai, its fourth destination in Thailand, in December to meet increased demand for Southeast Asian destinations from holiday-makers.
The airline expects to add more destinations to its network this year and in 2018, including to Canberra, Australia; St Petersburg, Russia; and Cardiff, UK.
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It was named the Airline of the Year by the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards this year.