Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways was recognized as the World’s Best Airline at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held at the French Air and Space Museum as part of the 2011 Paris Air Show, and was named Airline of the Year 2012 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards. Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C., operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of 110 aircraft. Qatar Airways operates services across Africa, Central Asia, Europe, Far East, South Asia, Middle East, North America, South America and Oceania. The airline employs more than 20,000 people. 14,000 employees work for the airline directly while the other 6,000 work in the airline’s subsidiaries. Qatar Airways has many divisions including: Qatar Aircraft Catering Company, Doha International Airport, Qatar Airways Holidays, United Media Int, Qatar Duty Free, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Distribution Company and Qatar Executive. Qatar Executive is a corporate jet subsidiary of Qatar Airways. The jets are painted in a different paint scheme than the rest of Qatar Airways’ fleet, sporting a white fuselage with a slightly smaller Oryx painted in the airline’s traditional colors of burgundy and gray. The Royal fleet of Qatar Emiri Flight also are painted in full Qatar Airways livery, however they are not part of the airline or Qatar Executive.

Qatar Airways Cargo

Qatar Airways Cargo, the airlines freight branch, has ordered three Boeing 777F. The first Boeing 777F was delivered to the airline in on May 14, 2010, and has freight facilities able to handle 750,000 tonnes of cargo per annum during its first development phase. The Boeing 777F will be used primarily on Qatar Airways’ Far East and European routes and will be supplemented by Airbus A300-600F freighters that operate on regional routes feeding the airline’s hub. Dedicated cargo flights to Cairo International Airport were launched in June 2009 complementing the passenger services already operated. On August 18, 2010, the airline launched its first US dedicated cargo service from its hub in Doha to Chicago with a stop-over in Amsterdam, Netherlands with Boeing 777 freighter aircraft.

Natural gas to liquid fuel demonstration

On October 12, 2009, a Qatar Airways Airbus A340-600 conducted the world’s first commercial passenger flight using a mixture of kerosene and synthetic Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuel, produced from natural gas, on its flight from London’s Gatwick Airport to Doha. The experiment’s purpose was to demonstrate the viability of jet fuel made from a source not subject to rapidly fluctuating oil prices. In addition, positioning natural gas in particular as an alternative source of jet fuel is in the interests of the Qatari government; Qatar is the world’s leading exporter of natural gas. However, some experts believe that GTL fuel is likely to remain a marginal choice due to an expensive production process.

Cabin crew

Qatar Airways cabin crew was voted Best Cabin Crew in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year at the 2009 Skytrax airline awards. Qatar Airways has over 120 nationalities as cabin crew.

Destinations

Qatar Airways is expanding. The airline has launched 22 new destinations since 2010, with 9 more destinations announced. These new destinations which Qatar Airways has already launched are Ankara, Aleppo, Bangalore, Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hanoi, Montreal, Nice, Phuket, São Paulo, Shiraz, Kolkata, Medina, Oslo, Sofia, Stuttgart and Venice, and Tokyo. Qatar Airways will also launch Baku, Tbilisi, and Entebbe during 2011. These new routes will bring the number of destinations Qatar Airways serves from 85 to 110 worldwide. As of July 2012, Qatar Airways serves 119 destinations and Qatar Airways Cargo serves 33 (including 26 destinations served by Qatar Airways also) destinations in 66 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania from its hub at Doha International Airport, making it one of only a small number of airlines to fly to all six inhabited continents.

Current fleet

As of April 2012, the Qatar Airways fleet consists of 110 aircrafts, with an average age of 4.9 years. These include the Airbus A310-300, A319CJ, A320, A330-200, A340-200, A340-500, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787. In November 2011 at the Dubai Airshow, the airline announced an order of 55 Airbus planes: 50 A320neo and 5 A380, in addition to 2 Boeing 777 freighters.

First class

Qatar Airways offers First Class passengers over 6.5 feet of legroom and seats that fold into flat beds with feather duvets. First Class seats are equipped with massage functions and an entertainment system. Qatar Airways plans to eliminate First Class cabins from existing A340 aircraft, as well as new aircraft deliveries, except the A380s. Al-Baker has announced that all upcoming 777 and 787 deliveries will be in standard two-class configuration.

Business class

Qatar Airways offers Business Class passengers fully flat horizontal beds in a 2-2-2 configuration on board its Boeing 777 aircraft. On other long-haul aircraft, business class seats recline up to 172 degrees, with massage functions. Wines and Champagne are served. Qatar Airways has introduced new Business Class seats on board its newly delivered A320 aircraft with IFE seat-back PTVs in every seat. It will introduce the new seats in each upcoming new A320 aircraft, as well as retrofitting 4 existing A321 and 2 A319LR aircraft. In March 2012 Qatar Airways revealed a new business class cabin, to be launched on the new Boeing 787 aircraft from summer 2012, initially on intra-Gulf routes before being introduced on the Doha to London Heathrow route. The new seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration allowing direct aisle access for every passenger, and provide almost twice as much space as existing business class cabins. The seats will be 22 inches wide and converts easily to a flat-bed which extends to 80 inches and is 30 inches wide. Each seat has also been fitted with touch screen technology which is powered by Android.

Economy class

Qatar Airways Economy Class was named best in the world in the 2009 and 2010 Skytrax Awards. Qatar Airways offers Economy Class passengers a seat pitch of up to 34 inches. Economy class passengers on A330/A340 aircraft are offered individual seat-back TV screens. Passengers on Boeing 777 aircraft are offered touch-screen TV’s. Qatar Airways has taken delivery of several A320 family aircraft so far with individual seat-back personal televisions in every seat in economy class. The IFE is equipped with the same Thales entertainment system as used in the widebody fleet. A further four A321s and the two A319LRs will be equipped with the new IFE, as well as new upcoming A320 family aircraft deliveries. New economy seats will be introduced with the launch of the 787. These new seats will be produced by Recaro and are fitted in a 3-3-3 configuration. 16.9 inch width and a pitch of 32 inches will offer more personal space than before. Furthermore each seat will have a 10.6 inch in seat TV monitor offering in-flight entertainment. The features will also extend to the possibility of Wi-Fi and GSM telephony usage and USB ports for connecting for instance digital cameras.

Inflight entertainment

Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system is called Oryx Entertainment. With the exception of some Airbus A320 family aircraft, all aircraft have personal seat-back television screens. Some Airbus A330s and the remaining Airbus A320 family aircraft are fitted with main screen entertainment. Qatar is updating Airbus A320 family aircraft to seat-back AVOD and removing main screen entertainment from some Airbus A330s.

Privilege Club

Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club loyalty program has reciprocal agreements with Asiana Airlines’ Asiana Club, bmi’s Diamond Club, Middle East Airlines’ Cedar Miles, All Nippon Airways’ Mileage Club, United Airlines Mileage Plus, and US Airways Dividend Miles frequent flyer schemes. Privilege Club also has tie-ups with international hotel and car rental companies.

Qatar Airways Exclusive Premium Terminal and Premium Lounge

The Premium Terminal, Qatar Airways’ dedicated terminal for First and Business Class passengers, opened at Doha International Airport in Winter 2006. Built in nine months at a cost of US$90million, the 10,000sqm Premium Terminal features facilities include check-in, duty-free shopping, conference rooms, nursery and play area, spa treatment rooms, sauna, Jacuzzi and restaurants. The business class lounge has undergone renovation that has increased the seating capacity by more than 80%. CEO Akabar Al Bakar is also leading the development of the New Doha International Airport, which opens in phases from 2011. The airline’s first lounge outside Doha airport could be found in terminal 4 at London Heathrow. The lounge opened in January 2012 and is modelled after their premium terminal in Doha. Now it covers about120 destinations across the globe in 6 continents.
 

Qatar Airways was recognized as the World’s Best Airline at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held at the French Air and Space Museum as part of the 2011 Paris Air Show, and was named Airline of the Year 2012 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards.

Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C., operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of 110 aircraft. Qatar Airways operates services across Africa, Central Asia, Europe, Far East, South Asia, Middle East, North America, South America and Oceania.

The airline employs more than 20,000 people. 14,000 employees work for the airline directly while the other 6,000 work in the airline’s subsidiaries.

Qatar Airways has many divisions including: Qatar Aircraft Catering Company, Doha International Airport, Qatar Airways Holidays, United Media Int, Qatar Duty Free, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Distribution Company and Qatar Executive.

Qatar Executive is a corporate jet subsidiary of Qatar Airways. The jets are painted in a different paint scheme than the rest of Qatar Airways’ fleet, sporting a white fuselage with a slightly smaller Oryx painted in the airline’s traditional colors of burgundy and gray.

The Royal fleet of Qatar Emiri Flight also are painted in full Qatar Airways livery, however they are not part of the airline or Qatar Executive.

Qatar Airways Cargo

Qatar Airways Cargo, the airlines freight branch, has ordered three Boeing 777F. The first Boeing 777F was delivered to the airline in on May 14, 2010, and has freight facilities able to handle 750,000 tonnes of cargo per annum during its first development phase. The Boeing 777F will be used primarily on Qatar Airways’ Far East and European routes and will be supplemented by Airbus A300-600F freighters that operate on regional routes feeding the airline’s hub.

Dedicated cargo flights to Cairo International Airport were launched in June 2009 complementing the passenger services already operated.

On August 18, 2010, the airline launched its first US dedicated cargo service from its hub in Doha to Chicago with a stop-over in Amsterdam, Netherlands with Boeing 777 freighter aircraft.

Natural gas to liquid fuel demonstration

On October 12, 2009, a Qatar Airways Airbus A340-600 conducted the world’s first commercial passenger flight using a mixture of kerosene and synthetic Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuel, produced from natural gas, on its flight from London’s Gatwick Airport to Doha. The experiment’s purpose was to demonstrate the viability of jet fuel made from a source not subject to rapidly fluctuating oil prices. In addition, positioning natural gas in particular as an alternative source of jet fuel is in the interests of the Qatari government; Qatar is the world’s leading exporter of natural gas. However, some experts believe that GTL fuel is likely to remain a marginal choice due to an expensive production process.

Cabin crew

Qatar Airways cabin crew was voted Best Cabin Crew in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year at the 2009 Skytrax airline awards. Qatar Airways has over 120 nationalities as cabin crew.

Destinations

Qatar Airways is expanding. The airline has launched 22 new destinations since 2010, with 9 more destinations announced. These new destinations which Qatar Airways has already launched are Ankara, Aleppo, Bangalore, Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hanoi, Montreal, Nice, Phuket, São Paulo, Shiraz, Kolkata, Medina, Oslo, Sofia, Stuttgart and Venice, and Tokyo. Qatar Airways will also launch Baku, Tbilisi, and Entebbe during 2011. These new routes will bring the number of destinations Qatar Airways serves from 85 to 110 worldwide.

As of July 2012, Qatar Airways serves 119 destinations and Qatar Airways Cargo serves 33 (including 26 destinations served by Qatar Airways also) destinations in 66 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania from its hub at Doha International Airport, making it one of only a small number of airlines to fly to all six inhabited continents.

Current fleet

As of April 2012, the Qatar Airways fleet consists of 110 aircrafts, with an average age of 4.9 years. These include the Airbus A310-300, A319CJ, A320, A330-200, A340-200, A340-500, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787.

In November 2011 at the Dubai Airshow, the airline announced an order of 55 Airbus planes: 50 A320neo and 5 A380, in addition to 2 Boeing 777 freighters.

First class

Qatar Airways offers First Class passengers over 6.5 feet of legroom and seats that fold into flat beds with feather duvets. First Class seats are equipped with massage functions and an entertainment system. Qatar Airways plans to eliminate First Class cabins from existing A340 aircraft, as well as new aircraft deliveries, except the A380s. Al-Baker has announced that all upcoming 777 and 787 deliveries will be in standard two-class configuration.

Business class

Qatar Airways offers Business Class passengers fully flat horizontal beds in a 2-2-2 configuration on board its Boeing 777 aircraft. On other long-haul aircraft, business class seats recline up to 172 degrees, with massage functions. Wines and Champagne are served.

Qatar Airways has introduced new Business Class seats on board its newly delivered A320 aircraft with IFE seat-back PTVs in every seat. It will introduce the new seats in each upcoming new A320 aircraft, as well as retrofitting 4 existing A321 and 2 A319LR aircraft.

In March 2012 Qatar Airways revealed a new business class cabin, to be launched on the new Boeing 787 aircraft from summer 2012, initially on intra-Gulf routes before being introduced on the Doha to London Heathrow route. The new seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration allowing direct aisle access for every passenger, and provide almost twice as much space as existing business class cabins. The seats will be 22 inches wide and converts easily to a flat-bed which extends to 80 inches and is 30 inches wide. Each seat has also been fitted with touch screen technology which is powered by Android.

Economy class

Qatar Airways Economy Class was named best in the world in the 2009 and 2010 Skytrax Awards. Qatar Airways offers Economy Class passengers a seat pitch of up to 34 inches. Economy class passengers on A330/A340 aircraft are offered individual seat-back TV screens. Passengers on Boeing 777 aircraft are offered touch-screen TV’s.

Qatar Airways has taken delivery of several A320 family aircraft so far with individual seat-back personal televisions in every seat in economy class. The IFE is equipped with the same Thales entertainment system as used in the widebody fleet. A further four A321s and the two A319LRs will be equipped with the new IFE, as well as new upcoming A320 family aircraft deliveries.

New economy seats will be introduced with the launch of the 787. These new seats will be produced by Recaro and are fitted in a 3-3-3 configuration. 16.9 inch width and a pitch of 32 inches will offer more personal space than before. Furthermore each seat will have a 10.6 inch in seat TV monitor offering in-flight entertainment. The features will also extend to the possibility of Wi-Fi and GSM telephony usage and USB ports for connecting for instance digital cameras.

Inflight entertainment

Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system is called Oryx Entertainment. With the exception of some Airbus A320 family aircraft, all aircraft have personal seat-back television screens. Some Airbus A330s and the remaining Airbus A320 family aircraft are fitted with main screen entertainment. Qatar is updating Airbus A320 family aircraft to seat-back AVOD and removing main screen entertainment from some Airbus A330s.

Privilege Club

Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club loyalty program has reciprocal agreements with Asiana Airlines’ Asiana Club, bmi’s Diamond Club, Middle East Airlines’ Cedar Miles, All Nippon Airways’ Mileage Club, United Airlines Mileage Plus, and US Airways Dividend Miles frequent flyer schemes. Privilege Club also has tie-ups with international hotel and car rental companies.

Qatar Airways Exclusive Premium Terminal and Premium Lounge

The Premium Terminal, Qatar Airways’ dedicated terminal for First and Business Class passengers, opened at Doha International Airport in Winter 2006. Built in nine months at a cost of US$90million, the 10,000sqm Premium Terminal features facilities include check-in, duty-free shopping, conference rooms, nursery and play area, spa treatment rooms, sauna, Jacuzzi and restaurants. The business class lounge has undergone renovation that has increased the seating capacity by more than 80%. CEO Akabar Al Bakar is also leading the development of the New Doha International Airport, which opens in phases from 2011.

The airline’s first lounge outside Doha airport could be found in terminal 4 at London Heathrow. The lounge opened in January 2012 and is modelled after their premium terminal in Doha. Now it covers about120 destinations across the globe in 6 continents.

 

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