QATAR Airways has announced Sunday that it will operate 20 flights per week to and from Riyadh starting Sept. 1, 2016, increasing its services by more than 40 per cent. Passengers traveling into and out of Saudi Arabia will benefit from greater connectivity to the award-winning airline's extensive network of more than 150 destinations via its state-of-the-art hub at Hamad International Airport in Doha. This news follows the announcement that the Doha-based airline is increasing its flights to Medina to three daily services, from the beginning of September. Qatar Airways now serves eight cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with the recent increase to four daily services to Jeddah will operate a total of 143 flights a week. Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Commercial GCC, Levant, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Africa, Ehab Amin said: "Increasing our capacity to Riyadh, on top of our recently announced frequency increases to Jeddah and Medina, reflects the importance of Saudi Arabia to Qatar Airways. We are proud to serve eight destinations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to sponsor Saudi Premier League winners, Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia FC. "Increasing the number of Qatar Airways flights to Riyadh means Saudi travellers have more convenient access to our rapidly expanding global network. The increased capacity will boost the amount of First Class seats available between Riyadh and Doha, so more passengers from Saudi Arabia can enjoy our award-winning premium service as well as the ultimate in luxury and elegance in the skies." From Sept. 1, 2016, Qatar Airways will add a third daily flight every day except Tuesday, offering an increase from 14 to 20 flights weekly. Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 19th year of operations, the airline operates a modern fleet of 190 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. This year travellers will continue to see Qatar Airways expand its global reach, with over a dozen new destinations to explore. So far in 2016, the airline has launched routes to Los Angeles (USA), Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), Sydney (Australia), Boston (USA), Birmingham (UK), Adelaide (Australia), Yerevan (Armenia), Atlanta (USA), Marrakech (Morocco) and Pisa (Italy). New routes including Windhoek (Namibia), Helsinki (Finland), Krabi (Thailand), and Seychelles will follow later in the year.