Qatar

Qatar Airways has entered a new code-share agreement with Comair that will add three new African destinations to the route map of Qatar’s national carrier.

The agreement includes more flight options to travellers in Cape Town and Durban.

From 23 February, Qatar Airways will place its code on flights with British Airways livery, operated by British Airways franchise Comair, from South Africa’s Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, Victoria Falls, Port Elizabeth and Zimbabwe’s Harare.

Comair has hub operations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, and can easily connect to Qatar Airways-operated flights to Doha and beyond to more than 150 destinations.

Qatar Airways group CEO Akbar Al Baker said: "Africa is on the move and travellers deserve better itineraries for their travel needs.

"Expanding our network with Comair was a natural progression of our investment in Africa and our desire to make it easier to visit this exciting part of the world, and for the families, businesses and organisations based here to connect globally.

"Africa is on the move and travellers deserve better itineraries for their travel needs."

"With this agreement, more than 150 destinations in the Qatar Airways network now connect easily to these business, adventure travel and cultural capitals."

The collaboration complements the recent expansion of Qatar Airways into South Africa. The airline currently operates a fleet of 176 aircraft.

Comair CEO Erik Venter said: "We are delighted to be adding Qatar Airways to our growing list of strategic airline partnerships and we are excited about exploring additional opportunities to expand the relationship.

"This, in addition to our acquisition of a new Boeing 737-800, is testament to our confidence in the regional leisure and business tourism sector.

"We look forward to welcoming Qatar Airways’ customers on board our flights."

In October, Qatar Airways expanded its code-share agreement with US-based budget carrier Jetblue, in which 29 new code-share destinations were added to the airline’s route network from Boston Logan International Airport, US.

Image: Qatar Airways adds three new African destinations to its route map. Photo: courtesy of Qatar Airways.