OREANDA-NEWS. Qatar Airways will operate a daily, direct scheduled service from Doha's Hamad International Airport to Edinburgh Airport from 1st May 2015. The announcement comes just six months after the successful launch of the five-weekly service on the route and reinforces the airline's commitment to add additional frequencies on the route, which it announced at the launch.

The daily QR027 outbound service and QR028 inbound service, operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will give passengers even greater access to the 145 worldwide destinations served by Qatar Airways through its recently opened state-of-the-art hub, Hamad International Airport.

The Dreamliner has a two-cabin configuration, comprising of 22 seats in Business Class and 232 Economy Class seats that include individual 10.5-inch television screens offering the latest inflight entertainment options while experiencing the airline's award winning five-star service.

Travelling from Edinburgh, the route has this year allowed enhanced travel times from the Scottish capital to destinations around the world with just one smooth international transfer through Doha's new Hamad International Airport, without the need for any domestic transfers within the UK.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: "We are pleased to offer even further choice and flexibility to passengers wishing to travel to and from Edinburgh. Offering a daily service to Edinburgh is a clear reflection of the popularity of this route since its launch in May this year and the new daily service will allow Qatar Airways to further support and promote Scotland's leisure and business opportunities to different markets on our airlines' global network."

The most popular destinations for those using the Edinburgh-Doha route are predominantly in Asia, and Australasia, with journey times to Melbourne reduced from approximately 26 hours with two transfers, to just 20 hours with one quick international transfer at Hamad International Airport.

Edinburgh is Qatar Airways' third destination in the UK, preceded by London in 1997 and Manchester in 2003. The airline currently operates six flights a day from London Heathrow non-stop to Doha, including 'Business One', the all-business class A319. The airline also operates 10 flights per week from Manchester non-stop to Doha.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operations, to the point where today it currently is flying a modern fleet of 141 aircraft to 145 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.