Qatar Airways has put off the launch date of its Doha-Chiang Mai non-stop service by one month to December.
The flag carrier of the state of Qatar also confirmed the route's frequency: four flights a week, the first of which is to land in the northern city early on the morning of Dec 8.
Qatar did not give a reason for the delay in the launch of Doha-Chiang Mai, which it earlier indicated was to start on Oct 31.
The Doha-Chiang Mai service, using Boeing 787-8 wide-body jets, will last until next May under the airline's current plan.
The airline has capped the service period to coincide with the traditional high travel period for Chiang Mai and to see if travel demand on the city-pair is sustainable for extension, industry sources with knowledge of Qatar's operations told the Bangkok Post.
The Doha-Chiang Mai flights are expected to be largely inbound travellers from the Middle East and Qatar's global networks.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said in a release that the debut of Doha-Chiang Mai, the airline's fourth Thai connection, reflects demand from customers for more high-quality leisure destinations.
"Thailand continues to grow in popularity with holidaymakers, and it's not hard to see why," he said. "It also demonstrates our commitment to expand our reach with ambitious new routes around the world, taking our passengers to where they want to fly."
The confirmation of Doha-Chiang Mai -- on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday -- came on the heels of recent news that the airline would increase its non-stop flights on the Doha-Krabi route to become a daily service -- up from the current three flights a week -- on Dec 1.
Qatar will also maintain its two trunk routes from Doha to Bangkok and Phuket.