Qatar Airways has expanded its services to Nigeria by boosting the number of flights to daily services and upgrading aircraft on the Doha – Lagos route.

The new daily service using three-class Airbus A340-600s replaces the two-class Airbus A330-200s on the route. The A340-600s feature eight First Class seats in a 1–2–1 configuration, together with first class lounges for premium passengers to relax and unwind.

In addition, there are 42 business class seats in a 2–2–2 seat layout, together with 216 economy class seats in a 2–4–2 configuration.

By increasing capacity from five-flights-a-week to daily, the extra services on the route will provide passengers with more choice and increased connectivity to a number of key business and leisure destinations via the airline’s Doha hub to Qatar Airways’ extensive route network across Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Far East and North America.

Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial capital but is also the gateway to west Africa and offers strong business links with rest of the world.

The changes are part of Qatar Airways’ ongoing growth strategy, which will see the launch of six new routes during 2009, including Melbourne and Sydney in Australia; Goa and Amritsar in India; and two further additions to its extensive European network. Frequency and capacity increases on selected routes are also scheduled.

The Doha – Lagos schedules are:

Depart Doha International Airport

Mon, Thurs QR594 at 0145hrs, arrive Lagos at 0705hrs

Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun QR592 at 0750hrs, arrive Lagos at 1310hrs

Depart Murtala Muhammed International Airport

Mon, Thurs QR595 at 1000hrs, arrive Doha at 1930hrs

Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun QR593 at 1440hrs, arrive Doha at 0010hrs +1 day