ANGOLA: Qatar Airways Launches New Service To Luanda, Angola, March 2020.

Qatar Airways will launch a new service to Luanda, Angola, in March 2020.

The service, which will operate up to five-times weekly to the capital and largest city in the country, will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 22 seats in business class and 232 seats in economy class.

It will be Qatar airline’s first gateway to the African nation.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: We are excited to be announcing our new service to Luanda – the latest destination in our rapidly expanding African network connecting Luanda to key markets in the Far East, south-east Asia and Europe.

The new route to the coastal city of Luanda not only further solidifies the links between Qatar and Angola, but will enable us to provide a seamless journey to and from this fascinating country and one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Qatar Airways is committed to growing our presence in Africa and adding to the 24 destinations in 17 countries we already offer.

Perched on the Atlantic coastline, Luanda, offers pristine beaches, sweeping ocean vistas and insight into a rich heritage.

This up-and-coming destination is set to become a favourite with travellers looking to combine natural beauty, history and culture with a vibrant urban experience.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport to more than 160 destinations worldwide.

Tourism Observer

Best, Worst Airlines And Airports In The World

Qatar Airways has been ranked the best airline in the world, according to a new study.

The research, carried out by consumer group AirHelp, has put the Middle Eastern airline on top with Hamad International airport, also based in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The group ranked 72 airlines and 141 airports analysing a series of key performance indicators (KPI) including on-time performance and service quality. Twitter sentiment was also used to measure the KPI of the airports.

Closely followed by Qatar Airways is Lufthansa in second and Etihad Airways in third and Singapore Airlines and South African Airways in fourth and fifth respectively.

Among the worst airlines were Air Mauritius, EasyJet, Pakistan International Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines and Wow Air.

In terms of airports, Greece's Athens International came in second place, followed by Tokyo Haneda, Germany's Cologne Bonn and Changi, Singapore.

The worst were Stockholm Bromma, Sweden; Paris Orly; Lyon; London Stansted and Kuwait International.

London Heathrow did not make it into the top 10, coming in at number 81 out of the 141-strong list.

The report found that Stansted's poor standing was due to a large volume of negative tweets. Gatwick was the worst airport when considering this metric alone, it said.

AirHelp CEO and co-founder Henrik Zillmer said: For some time now UK airports have seemingly been in the news for all the wrong reasons and that has been realised in this data.

The UK is enviably positioned when it comes to physical movement of people globally, but this report needs to serve as a wake-up call when it comes to actual performance.

Passengers are clearly not happy and while it will be a challenge to address the issues highlighted in this report, it is also an opportunity to halt the decline in performance and provide consumers with a better experience.

Best And Worst Airlines

Best And Worst Airports

Tourism Observer

QATAR: Qatar Airways Introduces Flights To Bodrum

Qatar Airways has inaugurated their brand new Bodrum, service. This is the airline’s sixth gateway in Turkey and the third Turkish route in just nine months.

The carrier will launch services to Antalya on a seasonal basis on June 13.

The twice-weekly flights, operating on Tuesdays and Fridays, will run until September 28 this year and will be operated by an Airbus A320, which will have a 2-class configuration, offering 12 seats in Business and 132 in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: Today’s inaugural flight to Bodrum, our third new Turkish route in just nine months, demonstrates our commitment to Turkey.

We have seen very high demand for services to Turkey, as both business and leisure travelers show great interest in experiencing all this country has to offer.

We are tremendously excited to be able to provide passengers with the opportunity to visit the beautiful resort city of Bodrum, just in time for the summer holiday season.

Passengers from Bodrum now be able to travel seamlessly through our award-winning Doha Hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), to any destination in our rapidly-expanding network.

QR317 will depart Bodrum at 0715 local and will arrive in Bodrum for 1155 local. The return, QR318, will depart Bodrum one hour later at 1255 local and arrive into Doha at 1720 local.

This route will connect Turkey with up to more than 150 destinations via Hamad International.

Within Turkey, Qatar operates twice daily services to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, 10 weekly flights to Istanbul Ataturk, three weekly flights to Adana, three weekly flights to Hatay as well as daily flights to Ankara.

The carrier’s Turkish expansion ultimately pushes forward with the overall strategy of expanding further into the middle-east, as well as in the less-contested destinations by other Middle-Eastern carriers such as Emirates and Etihad.

With the carrier also likely to be publishing losses following the political blockade, the airline will be wanting to expand into as many markets as possible in order to boost revenues and ultimately profitability in the wake of the situation.


Tourism Observer

TURKEY: Qatar Airways Emergency Landing In Istanbul

Qatar Airways passenger jet with over 300 people on board made an emergency landing at Istanbul’s main airport Thursday after an engine caught fire, the airline said, blaming a “bird strike” for the blaze.

Video footage showed flames spitting out of the left engine of the Airbus 330 as it prepared to land at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. It made it safely to the ground.

Doha-based Qatar Airways later issued a statement saying that all 298 passengers and 14 crew disembarked normally.

However, local Turkish news agencies reported one woman on board was hospitalized after suffering a fainting spell.

It said it would send a replacement aircraft to Istanbul to ferry waiting passengers onward to its hub in the vast new Hamad International Airport in Doha, which is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The airline blamed the fire on Flight QR240 on what it described as a “bird strike,” without elaborating.

Typically, such strikes can see birds sucked into a passenger plane’s jet engine, sparking a fire and shorting it out.

State-backed Qatar Airways is one of the Mideast’s three biggest carriers, alongside the region’s biggest carrier, the Dubai-based Emirates airline, and the Abu-Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

The three have increasingly challenged Western airlines in long-haul flights.

Qatar Airways has a fleet of 190 aircraft flying to over 150 destinations.

It holds a 20.01-percent stake in British Airways and Iberia parent IAG and posted net profits of $445 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, with revenue peaking to $9.6 billion.



Tourism Observer

QATAR: Visitor Arrivals From Gulf States To Qatar Fall 18% In 7 Months

Qatar’s hospitality sector continues to record weak performance, as visitor arrivals from the Gulf Cooperation Council and other Arab countries continues to fall as the Gulf diplomatic crisis enters its fourth month.

Qatar recorded a drop of 18 percent in visitor numbers from its neighbor countries in the first seven months of 2017 to 656,681 compared with 804,875 during the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.

The diplomatic crisis seems to have also impacted visitor arrivals from other Arab countries as a nine percent decline was recorded during the period.

However, in the first half of the year, Qatar registered 10 percent growth in visitor arrivals from Europe and the Americas, over the corresponding period in 2016.

The increase in arrivals can be attributed to the government waiving visa requirements for 80 nationalities and the launch of an online visa application service for all nationalities.

Qatar, with financial reserves of $340 billion (SR1.27 trillion), has been supporting its economy through the infusion of capital, which, according to a Moody’s estimate, was around $40 billion in the first two months of the conflict with its neighbors.

The ratings agency has changed the outlook on Qatar’s rating to negative from stable in July, saying that the dispute has severely impacted trade, tourism and banking in Qatar, and increased the country’s financing costs.

Acknowledging this for the first time, the Qatar Tourism Authority in its latest tourism report said: May and June saw a drop in arrivals, partly due to slowdown typically seen during Ramadan, which this year fell between May 25 and June 24, and as a result of the regional diplomatic dispute, with large falls in arrivals from GCC and other Arab countries.

Undoubtedly, the diplomatic dispute with three neighboring countries has had a negative impact on visitor arrivals during the summer months, rendering them slower than usual, Hassan Al-Ibrahim, the agency’s chief tourism development officer noted in the report.

Qatar is facing a demand-supply mismatch in the hospitality industry in the run up to the 2022 World Cup.

The country saw the opening of three new properties in the first half of 2017, adding 1,244 new rooms and bringing the total number of rooms available in Qatar to 24,460 across 123 properties, according to hospitality consultancy firm STR.

STR’s July pipeline database shows eight hotel projects in Qatar set to open by the end of 2017.

These additional 1,669 rooms represent a 6.8 percent growth on top of the country’s existing supply, an STR analyst.

Qatar’s hotel sector is expected to see continuous development in tourism infrastructure, with additional hotels and serviced apartments as the country gears up for the 2022 World Cup.

A number of hotel and retail projects are being developed across the country, with the country’s Lusail area seeing increased activity of late.



Tourism Observer

QATAR: Qatar Airways Flys To Over 150 Deastinations With Over 180 Aircrafts

Qatar Airways Company operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar.Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha,the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 150 international destinations across Africa, Central Asia, Europe, Far East, South Asia, Middle East, North America, South America and Oceania from its base at Hamad International Airport, using a fleet of more than 180 aircraft.

Qatar Airways Group employs more than 40,000 people, of whom 24,000 work directly for Qatar Airways. The carrier has been a member of the Oneworld alliance since October 2013, the first Gulf carrier to sign with one of the three airline alliances.

The new age of airline dining revolves around you. Relish sumptuous cuisine designed by the best chefs in the world and savour expertly served exclusive vintages. An on-demand à la carte menu lets you enjoy mouth-watering dishes whenever you like. Each seat has a spacious dining area so you can enjoy your world-class meal in the sky.

Satisfy your palate and excite your senses with A variety of delectable dishes. Meals are prepared with a focus on the quality and freshness of ingredients. Dine in spacious, extra-wide seats, and choose from a variety of appetisers, main courses and desserts.

Find the perfect beverage to accompany your perfect meal. Qatar Airways offers a range of refreshments, before, during and after meals. Enjoy a tantalising combination of fruity fizz or spicy zest, mocktails and fruit juices. Relax and unwind with a freshly brewed cup of coffee or tea served after each meal.

The airline has won the "World's Best Airline" awards four times, including the most recent year (2017), and has been acclaimed as among the world's best airlines.

Qatar Airways was established on November 22, 1993;operations started on January 20, 1994.Amman was first served in May 1994.In April 1995, the airline's CEO was the Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jabor Al Thani who employed a staff of 75. By this time the fleet consisted of two Airbus A310s that served a route network including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Cairo, Dubai, Khartoum, Kuwait, London, Madras, Manila, Muscat, Osaka,Sharjah, Taipei, Tokyo and Trivandrum.During 1995, two ex-All Nippon Airways Boeing 747s were bought from Boeing.The airline acquired a second-hand Boeing 747SP from Air Mauritius in 1996.

Services to Athens, Istanbul, Madras and Tunis were suspended in late 1996, whereas Calcutta and Muscat were removed from the route network in January and September 1997, respectively.Flights to London were launched during 1997.The airline also took delivery of two second-hand 231-seater Airbus A300-600R aircraft on lease from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) during the year; they replaced two Boeing 747s. The entering of these two A300s into the fleet also marked the introduction of a new logo.

A third A300-600R joined the fleet shortly afterwards, also on lease from AWAS.In July 1998 the carrier placed a firm order with Airbus for six Airbus A320s, slated for delivery between 2001 and 2005; it also took options for five more aircraft of the type.Also in 1998, the carrier struck a deal with Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) for the lease of four Airbus A320s, with deliveries scheduled between February and April 1999;these latter four aircraft were aimed at replacing the Boeing 727-200 Advanced fleet and to fill the capacity gap before the hand over of the first A320 from Airbus.The airline took delivery of the first A320 powered by Aero Engines V2500 on lease from SALE in February 1999.

A fourth A300-600R on lease from AWAS joined the fleet in April 2000.In October 2000, Qatar Airways ordered an International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A319CJ and took an option for another aircraft of the type.The airline became the Airbus A380's ninth customer in 2001 when two aircraft of the type were ordered, plus two options.Also that year, the airline resumed services to Jakarta.In 2002, the government of Qatar withdrew from Gulf Air.In June 2003, a Qatar Airways Airbus A320 was the first aircraft that resumed the international services to Iraq when it flew the Doha–Basra route.

Also that month, Qatar Airways incorporated its first dedicated cargo aircraft to the fleet. It was an Airbus A300-600R that was converted to freighter in Germany for US$10 million.Also in June 2003,at the Paris Air Show, the carrier placed an order with Airbus valued at US$5.1 billion for two Airbus A321s, 14 Airbus A330s and two Airbus A340-600s.The deal included eight A330-200s and six -300s;it also included options for further six A330-300s and eight A340-600s.

The first aircraft were scheduled to enter the fleet in 2004, with the A340-600 slated for delivery in 2006.During the year the airline started serving the Chinese market with the introduction of flights to Shanghai.Also in 2003, the carrier expanded its portfolio of destinations with the commencement of services to Manchester in April,Tripoli in November,and Cebu and Singapore in December.

During the 2003 Dubai Air Show the airline firmed up an earlier commitment for two Airbus A380s and took options for another two of these aircraft. The value of the transaction was US$1.2 billion.It was also in 2003 that Qatar Airways became the first airline to be audited under the new IATA operational audit programme, IOSA.

The Qatar Airways Group which included Qatar Airways, Doha International Airport and corporate business air services, ground handling and in-flight catering companies,reported its first profit ever for the fiscal year (FY) that ended on March 2004. The FY2004 saw the airline transporting 3.35 million passengers.Zurich became the carrier's 53rd destination worldwide in July 2004;Yangon was added to the list of destinations in December the same year.A new service to Osaka was launched in March 2005.Its first A340 was delivered on September 8, 2006.

In May 2007, Qatar Airways and Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the acquisition of 80 Airbus A350 XWBs, including 20 A350-800s plus 40 and 20 aircraft of the 900 and 1000 variant, respectively, with the first aircraft initially slated for delivery in 2013.The agreement was firmed up in June during the 2007 Paris Air Show;three more Airbus A380s were also made part of the order.In July the same year, during the unveiling ceremony of the Boeing 787 in Everett, Qatar Airways was recognised as a future customer for the type when its logo appeared on one side of the brand new aircraft.

By that time, the airline had not acknowledged it had placed an order for a number of these new aircraft.In November the same year, a firm order for 30 Boeing 787-8s, plus options for 35 more aircraft of the –9 or –10 variant, was confirmed. The order also included 14 Boeing 777-300ERs, six Boeing 777-200LRs and seven Boeing 777Fs, whereas five more aircraft of the type were on option.

The combined order was valued at US$13.5 billion.The airline took delivery of its first 335-seater Boeing 777-300ER in late November 2007.The route network grew further during 2007 with the incorporation of Newark in June,Nagpur —the carrier's seventh destination in India,in September,and Stockholm in November. A new scheduled service to New York-JFK that commenced in November 2008 replaced the Newark route.The first two Boeing 777-200LRs were handed over by the aircraft manufacturer in February 2009.

On June 15, 2009, at the Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways ordered 20 Airbus A320 and 4 Airbus A321 aircraft worth $1.9bn.

On October 12, 2009, the company completed the world’s first commercial passenger flight powered by a fuel made from natural gas,also in 2009, Qatar Airways launched its first scheduled flights to Australia with Melbourne being the first city served;routes to Chengdu, Hangzhou, Phnom Penh and Clark International Airport in the Philippines were launched during 2009 as well.

Tokyo-Narita was first served by the carrier in April 2010.On May 18, 2010, the airline put its first Boeing 777F (A7-BFA) into service, with a flight from Doha to Amsterdam. The aircraft had been delivered on May 14, 2010.

The airline has launched 22 new destinations since 2010, with nine more destinations announced: Ankara, Aleppo, Bangalore, Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hanoi, Montreal, Nice, Phuket, São Paulo, Shiraz, Kolkata, Medina, Oslo, Sofia, Stuttgart, Venice and Tokyo. Qatar Airways also launched Benghazi and Entebbe during 2011. Service to Baku and Tbilisi, originally planned for 2011, was delayed until February 1, 2012 due to "operational issues".

Boeing's handover of a Boeing 777-200LR in September 2011 marked Qatar Airways receiving its 100th aircraft from this aircraft manufacturer. In November the same year, at the Dubai Airshow, the airline ordered 55 Airbus planes: 50 A320neo and 5 A380, in addition to two Boeing 777 freighters.

In July 2012, Perth became the second city served in Australia.On October 8, 2012, Qatar Airways announced its intention to join the Oneworld alliance.

Qatar Airways became the seventh carrier worldwide that incorporated the Dreamliner to the fleet when Boeing handed over the airline's first aircraft of the type on November 12, 2012,the first one delivered to a Middle East airline.The aircraft was deployed on the Doha–Dubai corridor on nov. Dreamliner services on the long-haul Doha–London-Heathrow route commenced on Dec 13, with the airline becoming the first one to offer regular services to the United Kingdom using this aircraft.During 2013, Qatar Airways launched flights to Gassim in Saudi Arabia, Basra and Najaf in Iraq, Phnom Penh,Salalah and Chicago.Services to Ethiopia began in September 2013.

In February 2013, Qatar Airways opened its European Customer Service centre, which is in Wrocław, Poland.

In June 2013, the airline firmed up an order for two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft plus seven options.On November 17, 2013, the first day of the Dubai Airshow, Qatar Airways purchased 50 Boeing 777-9Xs.The commitment was firmed up during the 2014 Farnborough Air Show in a deal worth US$18.9 billion; purchase rights for another 50 aircraft of the type were also taken. In addition, the transaction included firm orders for four Boeing 777Fs plus options for another four with a combined value of US$2.7 billion.Deliveries of the passenger aircraft are expected to start in 2020.

An all-business class flight to London Heathrow was launched in May 2014 with Airbus A319LR aircraft.Flights to Edinburgh were launched in May 2014.The carrier expected to take delivery of its first three Airbus A380 aircraft in June 2014,with plans for the aircraft to be displayed at the Farnborough Air Show.There were intentions to first deploy the type on the Doha-Hamad–London-Heathrow route starting jun 17;another two undisclosed European points would likely become served with the A380.

In late May 2014, it was reported the delivery of the aircraft would be delayed by several weeks.Further delays shifted the start of A380 services to London to August 1, 2014Delivery of the first aircraft of the type finally took place on 16 September 2014.A380 services to London commenced in October 2014.The airline became the launch customer for the A350 XWB; the first Airbus A350-900 was handed over to the company on December 22, 2014 and had its first revenue flight to Frankfurt almost a month later, on January 15, 2015.

In January 2015, the airline concluded an order for four Boeing 777Fs in a deal worth US$1.24 billion; Qatar Airways also took purchase rights on four more aircraft of the type.In June 2015, it was disclosed Qatar Airways ordered ten Boeing 777-8Xs and four additional Boeing 777Fs for USD 4.18 billion.

In January 2016, the carrier received its first Boeing 747 nose loader.

As of 5 February 2017, the airline has the longest regularly scheduled airline flight, between Doha and Auckland.

As at June 2017 the Qatar Airways' CEO is Akbar Al Baker,who has been serving in this position since November 1996.Baker is also a member of the Heathrow Airport board.

The company is fully owned by the Qatari government.Qatar Airways has been fully controlled by the government since July 2013,following the buyout of a 50% stake from a former foreign minister and other shareholders. The Qatar Airways Group employs more than 40,000 people; 24,000 of them work directly for the airline.

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 Airways Cargo, the airline's freight branch, is the world's third largest international cargo carrier.It 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 operating 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-O'Hare with a stop-over in Amsterdam, Netherlands using Boeing 777 freighter aircraft.

On March 13, 2013, Qatar Airways Cargo first of three A330F was delivered provided on lease from BOC aviation replacing A300-600F.

Global Supply Systems operated three Boeing 747-8F aircraft under a wet lease arrangement for British Airways World Cargo until BA terminated the contract early on January 17, 2014.An agreement with Qatar Airways to operate flights for IAG Cargo using Boeing 777F was announced on the same day.

On March 18, 2015, Qatar Airways Cargo announced that starting April 4, 2015 will launch a twice-weekly Boeing 777 Freighter service to Los Angeles which will become Qatar Airways Cargo’s fourth US freighter destination alongside Houston, Chicago and Atlanta.

On December 27, 2016, Qatar Airways Cargo announced that it will launch freighter operations to four new destinations in the Americas, Boeing 777 freighters will fly twice a week to the South American cities of Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Quito and the North American city of Miami. starting 2 February 2017.

Qatar Executive is a corporate jet subsidiary of Qatar Airways, with its own livery, sporting a white fuselage with a slightly smaller Oryx painted in the airline's traditional colours of burgundy and gray.

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

Al Maha Airways was a proposed airline based in Saudi Arabia fully owned by Qatar Airways. It used a similar livery, except in green instead of burgundy.It was planned to launch in September 2014, but due to licensing problems this may not happen until the summer of 2016. By May 2015 the airline had already taken delivery of 4 Airbus A320 aircraft.

In February 2017, Qatar Airways however announced that the Al Maha Airways project is cancelled and the airline will not start operations due to ongoing issues gaining its operational license.

Qatar Airways has an oryx, the national animal of the State of Qatar,as its logo.The aircraft decor includes the word Qatar appearing in burgundy-coloured letters on a light grey background at both sides of the forward part of the fuselage with the word Al Qataria in Arabic titles appearing close to it in a darker grey and a smaller typeface. A burgundy oryx in a grey background adorns the tailfin. The airline unveiled this branding in 2006

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-liquids (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.

Sponsorships

- Qatar Airways has sponsored weather forecasts on Sky News since August 2005.

- In July 2013, Qatar Airways became FC Barcelona's primary shirt sponsor.

- In August 2016, Qatar Airways became Official international Airline Sponsor for Sydney Swans

- In May 2017, Qatar Airways became FIFA Partner and 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups Official Sponsor.

On 27 May 2014, the touchdown of a flight from Bahrain at Doha's Hamad International Airport marked the official transfer of Qatar Airways' operations to its new hub, replacing Doha International Airport.

Fourteen additional destinations were added to the Qatar Airways network during 2012, including Addis Ababa, Baghdad, Belgrade, Erbil, Gassim, Kigali, Kiliminjaro, Maputo, Mombasa, Perth, Saint Petersburg, Warsaw, Yangon, and Zagreb.

Qatar Airways serves 146 points worldwide following the launch of flights to Asmara.The airline had previously added to the route network Dallas/Fort Worth, the carrier's seventh destination in the United States and the second one in Texas along with Houston,Haneda,Miami,Edinburgh, its third destination in the United Kingdom,Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, its third point served in Turkey, and Djibouti.The carrier serves Amsterdam and Durban.

On October 8, 2012, Qatar Airways announced it would be part of Oneworld within the forthcoming 18 months.The entrance of the carrier into the alliance was mentored by British Airways. The joining ceremony took place on October 29, 2013. The event marked Qatar Airways as the first of the major Gulf carriers in being part of an airline alliance.

Since June 2017, planes owned by Qatar Airways are banned from UAE and Saudi ports. Planes owned by the two countries are also banned from Qatar ports.

Codeshare agreements

Qatar Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines and train systems:

Air Botswana
Asiana Airlines
Azerbaijan Airlines
Bangkok Airways
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Comair
Finnair
Gol Transportes Aéreos
Japan Airlines
JetBlue Airways
Malaysia Airlines
Middle East Airlines
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Jordanian
S7 Airlines
SUN-AIR
SNCF (Railway)
SriLankan Airlines
Vueling
Iberia

Fleet

More than 180 planes

Though not affiliated with the airline, some VIP aircraft belonging to the Royal family and Government are also painted in Qatar Airways livery and operate as Qatar Amiri Flight.

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. The A380s features a 90-inch seat pitch, transforming into a fully flat bed, together with an expansive choice of entertainment options displayed on individual 26-inch television screens. It is configured as 1-2-1.An all new Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft 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, 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 and 787 aircraft are offered touch-screen TVs.

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 less 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 personal items such as digital cameras.

In-flight entertainment

Qatar Airways' in-flight entertainment system is called Oryx One.With the exception of some Airbus A320 family aircraft, all aircraft have personal seat-back television screens. Some Airbus A320 family aircraft are fitted with main screen entertainment. Qatar is updating Airbus A320 family aircraft to seat-back AVOD. Qatar Airways also offers Onboard Connectivity Wi-Fi, which allows passengers to send SMS and MMS, access email, and browse the internet. This service is available on all A380, A350, B787, A319, and select A320, A321, and A330-200 aircraft.

Privilege Club

Qatar Airways' Privilege Club loyalty program has reciprocal agreements with Middle East Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and Gol Transportes Aéreos.Privilege Club also has tie-ups with international hotel and car rental companies.

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.

The airline's first lounge outside Doha opened at London Heathrow's Terminal 4 in January 2012 and Qatar Airways has opened its new Premium Lounge at Dubai-International's Concourse D in April 2016 .

After commenced full operations at its new hub, Doha in 2014, Al Mourjan Business Lounge for Qatar Airways’ Premium passengers opened in July 2014. Al Mourjan Business Lounge is about 10 times the size of an Olympic size swimming pool and the Lounge access is for Qatar Airways and oneworld first and business class passengers only.

Later, in 2015 Qatar Airways opened Al Safwa First Lounge for its First class passengers, also Al Safwa lounge has been presented the prestigious Seven Star First Class Lounge Award by the Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyle Awards at an award ceremony held in Marbella, Spain on October 15.

In January 2017, Qatar Airways opened its new premium lounge within Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle Airport , its third internationally after London Heathrow Airport and Dubai Dubai International Airport.

April 19, 2007: An Airbus A300, registration A7-ABV, was written off as a result of a hangar fire during maintenance at Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies.

In 2013, The Economist claimed that "a perusal of online forums used by cabin crew suggests that Qatar has a reputation for severity among industry professionals, including "allegations of harsh treatment and overbearing scrutiny are commonplace", and that "the conditions laid down by Qatar Airways go beyond more familiar rules ... the employee can be fired if she becomes pregnant (which she is contractually obliged to disclose 'from the date of her knowledge of its occurrence')".The airways' CEO Akbar Al Baker has previously stated, "We are not running an intelligence agency, we are an airline company. The reason why I know everything happening in the company is ... I'm simply everywhere, talking to everyone, listening to them".

In 2014, the Swedish newspaper Expressen published a report ostensibly based around three Qatar Airways employees, whose lives were allegedly heavily "monitored" and "controlled" by the company.Qatar Airways' Swedish PR agency responded to the report by stating, "Because we do not know which individuals and which particular cases the article is based on, Qatar Airways is unable to comment".CEO Akbar Al Baker stated that the allegations are not against the company but against Qatar. He added, They are throwing stones at my country for no reason at all.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has "slammed" Qatar Airways for certain stipulations found in the standard hiring contracts for female cabin crew members, including the need to apply for permission before getting married.The ITF has lobbied the International Civil Aviation Organization to take action on what ITF termed flagrant abuses of aviation workers’ labour rights by carriers based in Qatar and the UAE.

In August 2015, Qatar Airways was forced into relaxing its policy of sacking cabin crew for getting pregnant or marrying in their first five years of employment. A spokeswoman stated “our policies have evolved with the airline’s growth”. Under the new regulations, “we will provide an opportunity for someone to continue working in a ground position”, the spokeswoman said.

In 2016, American Airlines, Delta, and United claimed that their forensic investigators had uncovered documents that allegedly indicated that Qatar Airways had received more than $7 billion in aid from the Qatari government.According to reports, the investigation was conducted by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.

In July 2016, the U.S. Department of State held talks with Qatar government officials regarding the allegations of unfair competition. No formal action was taken by the Department of State.Qatar Airways has denied allegations that subsidies were received and Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker condemned the accusations.


PLEASE TRAVEL WITH QATAR AIRWAYS



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QATAR: Qatar Airways Ban Lifted On Flights To USA

Qatar Airways has confirmed it has been approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to permit passengers to carry personal electronic items on board U.S.-bound flights, departing from its hub Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

The airline gained the exemption earlier today after U.S. officials inspected the security measures in full operation at Qatar’s state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport (HIA), an airport recently awarded five stars by Skytrax, the first airport in the Middle East to be bestowed with this recognition.

With the lifting of the electronics restrictions, passengers departing from HIA to all Qatar Airways’ U.S. destinations will be able to carry their personal electronic devices on board, and have uninterrupted use of them for business and leisure purposes throughout their flight.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: We are pleased to announce that the electronics ban has been lifted from Qatar Airways flights departing to all destinations in the U.S. Safety and security are always our highest priority. They are expressed throughout all of our corporate values, and must never be compromised.

The security measures in place in Doha allow us to continue to provide our renowned world-class service for all our passengers travelling to the U.S. We look forward to providing our passengers an even greater choice of U.S. destinations soon, with the addition of San Francisco to our expanding network, on board the most modern of aircraft including the Airbus A350 and our Qsuite retro-fitted Boeing 777 aircraft.

Qatar Airways has confirmed it has been approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to permit passengers to carry personal electronic items on board U.S.-bound flights, departing from its hub Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

The airline gained the exemption earlier today after U.S. officials inspected the security measures in full operation at Qatar’s state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport (HIA), an airport recently awarded five stars by Skytrax, the first airport in the Middle East to be bestowed with this recognition.

With the lifting of the electronics restrictions, passengers departing from HIA to all Qatar Airways’ U.S. destinations will be able to carry their personal electronic devices on board, and have uninterrupted use of them for business and leisure purposes throughout their flight.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: We are pleased to announce that the electronics ban has been lifted from Qatar Airways flights departing to all destinations in the U.S. Safety and security are always our highest priority. They are expressed throughout all of our corporate values, and must never be compromised.

The security measures in place in Doha allow us to continue to provide our renowned world-class service for all our passengers travelling to the U.S. We look forward to providing our passengers an even greater choice of U.S. destinations soon, with the addition of San Francisco to our expanding network, on board the most modern of aircraft including the Airbus A350 and our Qsuite retro-fitted Boeing 777 aircraft.

Meanwhile, As the Kareef season approaches the southern parts of the Sultanate of Oman, Oman Air, the national airline for the Sultanate of Oman, is catering for the increased demand by adding to its frequency and capacity between Muscat and Salalah.

This latest schedule development enabled as many Oman Air guests as possible to get away and enjoy Oman’s southern most region during the holiday period. During the Eid holiday period from the 23rd June to 2nd July Oman Air offered an additional 5,100 extra seats between Muscat and Salalah.

During the Khareef season (July and August), Oman Air will further increase the number of daily flights from nine to 13 departures daily. Capacity will increase by nearly 57% with 1,616 seats available daily, one way, compared to the standard 1,028 in the normal schedule.

The Khareef season, which begins every year on June 21 and ends on September 21, is considered to be one of the most important tourist seasons in the Gulf as the weather is much cooler than the rest of the region. Many locals, residents, and tourists, flock to Dhofar, sometimes referred to as Oman’s best kept secret, as it is the only region in the GCC where visitors can enjoy greenery, a forest-like environment and seasonal showers.

In 2016 Dhofar welcomed 653,000 visitors during Khareef and it is anticipated that this year figures could grow by as much as 20%, facilitated by the new flights and additional hotel accommodation now available in Salalah.

Deputy CEO & Chief Commercial Officer Abdulrahman Al Busaidy said: The increase in flights signifies our commitment to the citizens and residents of Oman as well as a growing number of international visitors who wish to enjoy the holiday season in Salalah along with their friends and relatives to experience the cool rains and unique beauty of the Khareef season.

Last year Oman Air offered eleven flights a day with a capacity increase of 15,000 seats compared to the previous year; an increase that was very well received by our guests. This year with 13 daily flights we will offer even more choice and will operate a mixture of fleet including the award winning A330 and the Dreamliner.

As the Kareef season approaches the southern parts of the Sultanate of Oman, Oman Air, the national airline for the Sultanate of Oman, is catering for the increased demand by adding to its frequency and capacity between Muscat and Salalah. This latest schedule development enabled as many Oman Air guests as possible to get away and enjoy Oman’s southern most region during the holiday period. During the Eid holiday period from the 23rd June to 2nd July Oman Air offered an additional 5,100 extra seats between Muscat and Salalah.

During the Khareef season (July and August), Oman Air will further increase the number of daily flights from nine to 13 departures daily. Capacity will increase by nearly 57% with 1,616 seats available daily, one way, compared to the standard 1,028 in the normal schedule. The Khareef season, which begins every year on June 21 and ends on September 21, is considered to be one of the most important tourist seasons in the Gulf as the weather is much cooler than the rest of the region.

Many locals, residents, and tourists, flock to Dhofar, sometimes referred to as Oman’s best kept secret, as it is the only region in the GCC where visitors can enjoy greenery, a forest-like environment and seasonal showers. In 2016 Dhofar welcomed 653,000 visitors during Khareef and it is anticipated that this year figures could grow by as much as 20%, facilitated by the new flights and additional hotel accommodation now available in Salalah.

Deputy CEO & Chief Commercial Officer Abdulrahman Al Busaidy said: The increase in flights signifies our commitment to the citizens and residents of Oman as well as a growing number of international visitors who wish to enjoy the holiday season in Salalah along with their friends and relatives to experience the cool rains and unique beauty of the Khareef season.

Last year Oman Air offered eleven flights a day with a capacity increase of 15,000 seats compared to the previous year; an increase that was very well received by our guests. This year with 13 daily flights we will offer even more choice and will operate a mixture of fleet including the award winning A330 and the Dreamliner.


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QATAR: Qatar Won't Bow To Gulf Countries Demands, Inspite Of The Economy Feeling The Blockade Pinch

A boycott imposed by four Arab nations that accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism is squeezing the tourism sector and Doha's hotels which would normally be full in the Eid al-Fitr holiday have seen steep falls in their occupancy rates.

Major hotels found average occupancy was around 57 percent at the start of the Eid festival on Sunday which marks the end of the Ramadan fasting month when friends and families eat and pray together and take holidays.

We’re usually packed with Saudis and Bahrainis but not this year, a staff member at a five-star hotel said.

Hamad International Airport, one of the Middle East's busiest, would handle 76 percent as many flights in early July compared with the same period last year, a loss of about 27,000 passengers a day.

The airport does not talk about data on the impact of sanctions.

Visitors from the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council usually account for almost half of all visitors to Qatar. So a decision by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to cut diplomatic and transport ties on June 5 hit traffic hard.

Doha in early July, assuming the restrictions remain, will have less capacity than a year ago - a confronting figure for a region where every month sets year-on-year records, analysts on Aviation say.

There is no breakthrough in sight for the crisis in which the four Arab nations issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera television, curb ties with Iran, shut a Turkish base and pay reparations.

A defiant Doha has denied accusations of supporting terrorism and says the demands are unrealistic.

Hundreds of weekly flights to and from Qatar have already been cancelled because of the dispute. Hamad airport will lose fees paid by airlines and passengers, as well as terminal revenue from duty free shops and restaurants.

Air blocades by the four Arab states represented around 25 percent of flights by state-owned Qatar Airways, one of the region's big three carriers.

Elsewhere in the tourist sector, hotels, restaurants and other facilities have had to find new sources of services and goods, in some cases, at higher cost, due to the boycott.

A substantial drop in visitor arrivals is likely to force hotel and real estate developers to re-evaluate their strategies and priorities, potentially causing delays to some of the ongoing tourism projects.

Qatar’s World Cup organising committee said sanctions had not affected preparations for the tournament and alternative sources for construction materials had been secured.

Qatar has said 46,000 rooms will be available to host fans by the time of the World Cup. In March, it had 119 hotels with 23,347 rooms, according to the tourism authority.

Developing business and leisure tourism is part of Qatar's drive to develop its economy away from reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Doha aims to raise the tourism sector's contribution to GDP to 5.2 percent by 2030 from around 4.1 percent now, while raising the number of people employed by nearly 70 percent to 127,900.

Qatar's foreign minister has called the Saudi-led blockade of his country a clear aggression and an insult and urged its opponents to act with reason and through dialogue to solve problems in the Middle East.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told an audience in London that attempts to silence Qatar's independence would only exacerbate the serious problems experienced in the region and accused Saudi Arabia and its regional allies of demanding that we must surrender our sovereignty as the price for ending the siege.

His speech at the Chatham House think tank comes as the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain met in Cairo to consider its response to Qatar's refusal to give in to 13 demands, including ending alleged support for terrorists and shutting down media organisations.

Qatar's foreign minister said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the main drivers of a campaign to isolate it, but added that Qatar was unlikely to be thrown out of the Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC) regional group.

We believe that this entire campaign is merely driven by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and these are the countries that we need to engage to find out what are the real problems and what are the real grievances, he said.

Bin Abdulrahman also used the London event to call for dialogue and to openly welcome any serious effort to solve the crisis with its Arab neighbours through dialogue not blockade.

He said: Qatar continues to call for dialogue. We welcome any serious efforts to resolve our differences with our neighbours, he said, adding: We don't accept intervention in our own affairs.

But he said Qatar would not take the first step, and declined to disclose the details of a response that Qatar has given to the Arab states' demands. They should not expect from me a first step, I should expect from them a first step for engagement, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi foreign ministry said it had received Qatar's response to their demands - which include Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood and closing broadcaster Al Jazeera - and would respond at the right time.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have not said what steps they could take next, but there are fears of a wider embargo that would hurt the Qatari economy, with ratings agency Moody's announcing it was changing Qatar's outlook to negative over the crisis.

A group of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia has severed air, sea and ground links with Qatar, cutting off vital routes for imports including food.

Qatar Fgn Minister tells Chatham House audience '12000 families affected by Arab blockade/siege' on Qatar. pic.twitter.com/QhYVNlNAeP

They also ordered Qatari citizens to leave their territories and took various steps against Qatari firms and financial institutions.

The Qatari foreign minister told the London event that the underlying cause of the conflict was Qatar's different views on wider issues in the Middle East amid concerns over extremism. Why is Qatar's independence a threat to blockading countries? Because we have different views,he said.

The foreign minister said the crux of the issue was differences in approach from the Saudi bloc and Qatar. He said: Here is the crux: we have seen how young people left without hope turn to violence. We have watched as the world blames Islam. As the emir has said, the cause is not Islam. It is hopelessness. There are serious problems in the Middle East. Silencing Qatar will not stop them.

The crisis has raised concerns of growing instability in the region, home to some of the world's largest energy exporters and key Western allies who host US and UK military bases.

Energy-rich Qatar has been defiant throughout the crisis, insisting it can weather action taken against it.

However, the Qatari minister suggested he saw little hope of a rapid reconciliation and that his country was preparing for a more protracted rift.

What we've done in the last few weeks is develop different alternative ways to ensure the supply chain for the country not to be cut off.

He looked ahead to the football world cup that Qatar does not host until 2022

Even if the blockade is lifted, we have to rely on ourselves and ensure we deliver a World Cup that is attractive to the world, he said.

Responding to the accusation that it was now too close to regional rival Iran, he said Doha had to live alongside Tehran since the two states shared a gas field.

In a question and answer session at the Chatham House event the Qatari foreign minister denied Saudi and UAE claims that the country had paid ransom money to a Shia group to free kidnapped hunters in Iraq.

Bin Abdulrahman said the payment was made to the Iraqi government, and not Iran-backed militants.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has transferred over $30 billion worth of its domestic equity holdings to the finance ministry and may sell other assets as part of a restructuring drive, people familiar with the matter said.

Stakes in 18 companies were transferred earlier this year, before Qatar's diplomatic rift with other Gulf states.

The stakes include major holdings in some of the country's top firms such as Qatar National Bank, telecommunications operator Ooredoo and Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

The Qatar Investment Authority, one of the world's largest sovereign funds, moved the holdings as part of efforts by the entire government to become more efficient and generate higher returns, the sources said.

The assets were transferred so that the Ministry of Finance could oversee these holdings in a more active manner, one of the sources said.

He added, Under the rule of Sheikh Tamim, Qatar is moving into an era of greater government scrutiny and oversight of funds. The finance ministry has a hands-on approach to public investments.

A second source said an internal restructuring of the QIA had started earlier this year, aiming to ensure the fund focused on its strengths, particularly international investing.

The QIA declined to comment.

The QIA, which rarely discusses its operations publicly, is believed to have over $300 billion of assets around the world.

The holdings transferred to the finance ministry include stakes across the country's banking industry: Islamic lender Masraf al Rayan, Ahli Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Doha Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar and Al Khalij Commercial Bank.

They also include industrial, trading and transport firms: Qatar National Cement, Al Meera Consumer Goods , Qatar Gas Transport, Gulf International Services, Mannai Corp, Mayaza Qatar Real Estate, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Co and Qatar Oman Investment Co.

The sources did not specify exactly how holdings in these companies would be managed more actively.

They bring to the finance ministry annual dividend revenue estimated at over 3 billion riyals ($824 million) this year.

It has not been decided yet how the revenue from the company dividends will be used.

They could form an additional revenue stream for the government, or the finance ministry holdings could be prepared for privatisations or strategic sales, the first source said.

The restructuring of the QIA was decided months before Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha this month, accusing it of backing terrorism, a charge which Qatar strongly denies.

The changes at the QIA are part of a country-wide consolidation drive which includes planned mergers of state-owned liquefied natural gas producers Qatargas and RasGas, and Qatar Petrochemical Co with Qatar Vinyl Co.

The second source said assets which the QIA might sell included Hassad Food, the country's top investor in the international food and agri-business sectors.

It was established in 2008 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the QIA. No decision has been made, the source stressed.

QATAR: Gulf Crisis Affecting Qatar Tourism

The boycott imposed on Qatar by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt is squeezing the country’s tourism sector and Doha’s hotels, which would normally be full in the Eid Al Fitr holiday, have seen steep falls in their occupancy rates.

Average occupancy was around 57 per cent at the start of the Eid festival on Sunday.

We’re usually packed with Saudis and Bahrainis but not this year, a staff member at a five-star hotel said.

The aviation analyst Will Horton estimated Hamad International Airport, one of the Middle East’s busiest, would handle 76 per cent as many flights in early July compared with the same period last year, a loss of about 27,000 passengers a day.

Visitors from the rest of the GCC usually account for almost half of all visitors to Qatar and the decision to cut diplomatic and transport ties on June 5 hit traffic hard.

Doha in early July, assuming the restrictions remain, will have less capacity than a year ago - a confronting figure for a region where every month sets year-on-year records, said Mr Horton, senior analyst at Australia’s CAPA Center for Aviation.

Hundreds of weekly flights to and from Qatar have already been cancelled because of the dispute. Hamad airport will lose fees paid by airlines and passengers, as well as terminal revenue from duty free shops and restaurants.

Air links suspended by the four Arab states represented around 25 per cent of flights by state-owned Qatar Airways, one of the region’s big three carriers.

Elsewhere in the tourist sector, hotels, restaurants and other facilities have had to find new sources of services and goods, in some cases, at higher cost, due to the boycott, said Rashid Aboobacker, a senior director at TRI Consulting in Dubai.

A substantial drop in visitor arrivals is likely to force hotel and real estate developers to re-evaluate their strategies and priorities, potentially causing delays to some of the ongoing tourism projects, he said.

Developing business and leisure tourism is part of Qatar’s drive to develop its economy away from reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Doha aims to raise the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP to 5.2 pe rcent by 2030 from around 4.1 per cent now, while raising the number of people employed by nearly 70 per cent to 127,900.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Is ‘Best Airline' ,Gulf Rift Not To Halt Fleet And Route Growth Plans

Qatar can feel proud of the fact that it’s state-owned airline is once again the world’s top-ranked carrier.

Qatar Airways reclaimed the No. 1 spot in this year’s Skytrax awards, a coveted list of the leading 100 airlines announced on the second day of the Paris Air Show. Qatar unseated Emirates, which slipped to fourth. The rankings are based on an annual passenger survey.

Second and third position went to Singapore Airlines and ANA All Nippon Airways.

In addition to being voted Best Airline by travellers from around the world, Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including Best Airline in the Middle East, World’s Best Business Class and World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge. Qatar Airways' home and hub, Hamad International Airport, was this year also rated five-star by Skytrax, one of only five in the world to be given this recognition.

Akbar al Baker, Qatar Airways’s chief executive officer, used the platform to make an impromptu speech in which he condemned the blockade of Qatar, which he had previously likened to the Soviet siege of West Berlin after World War II.

"At these difficult times of illegal bans on flights out of my country by big bullies, this is an award not to me, not to my airline, but to my country," Al Baker said after being handed the microphone at the ceremony’s climax.

Tensions between Qatar, one of the world’s richest countries and the biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, and its neighbours are escalating after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic relations and closed transport routes three weeks ago.

Qatar Airways has closed 52 routes, with remaining services forced into diversions ranging from five minutes to two hours to avoid closed airspace.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG managed to improve its ranking by three slots to the seventh position, making it the only European carrier in the Top 10 and the only airline not from Asia or the Persian Gulf.

At the same time it failed to secure a five-star ranking, something it has been targeting since 2015, though CEO Carsten Spohr pledged to get there soon. Only nine airline hold the status, seven from Asia and two from the Middle East.

There are no US companies featured in the Top 20 of the survey’s rankings, which cover more than 325 airlines and are a powerful marketing tool to attract more high-spending business or leisure travelers.

Turkish Airlines tumbled out of the Top 10 list, having been placed 7th last year.

Skytrax also hands out awards for various sub-categories, which include best cabin staff, best in-flight entertainment or best low-cost airline.

Gulf rift will not halt Qatar Airways’ fleet and route growth plans

A boycott by four Arab nations will not halt Qatar Airways’ growth or plans to accept delivery of new aircraft, it said on Monday, adding it was seeing demand return after an initial downturn.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5 in the worst diplomatic crisis in the region in years.

The crisis has seen those countries close their airspace to Qatar Airways, forcing it to fly longer routes and thereby adding costs.

There has been monetary impact, Chief Executive Akbar al Baker said in an interview onboard one of Qatar Airways’ 777 jets at the Paris Airshow on Monday.

We have had a lot of cancellations, especially to the four countries that did this illegal blockade, but we have found new markets and this is our growth strategy, he said, adding passengers were returning to the carrier after initially being deterred when the boycott started.

He said Qatar was not the only country affected by the crisis.

All these countries have families on either side of the borders, they have relatives, children, investments. Eventually people will realise that the move they have done against my country was ill-thought out and ill-advised and that life has to come back to normal, he said.

Qatar is talking with the United Nations’ aviation agency, ICAO, about the airspace rights’ dispute, and Al Baker said he was disappointed with their actions thus far.

“I don’t think they have moved enough, I don’t think they have taken this matter very seriously,” he said.

He said Qatar Airways had plenty of growth opportunities elsewhere, citing new routes opening this month to Dublin, Skopje and Sarajevo as examples.

We are not going to defer any of our aircraft, We are continuing our aircraft deliveries at the same pace as we are contractually obligated to do, he said, adding Qatar was in talks to add more freighter capacity.

Al Baker said Qatar Airways still wanted to buy a stake in Italian carrier Meridiana, though there were a few things to iron out.

However, Qatar is not interested in struggling carrier Alitalia, which is in the process of seeking a buyer.

We are not interested to look at the books because I know how it has been left behind by one of the airlines that was too keen to relaunch it and failed,he said.

Separately, Qatar plans to set up a full service Indian carrier to fly domestic routes with around 100 narrowbody planes after the country opened up the airline industry to foreign investors.

Al Baker said an application would be made for an operating licence soon, without giving a more precise timeframe.

GULF REGION: Uncertainty In Gulf Aviation, Over 100 Planes Grounded Or Delayed, Passengers Stranded

Dozens of Qatar Airways flights grounded as four nations close airspace, triggering fears for future of Gulf aviation.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have closed their airspace to Qatari aircraft on Tuesday amid a deepening diplomatic row, forcing Qatar's flag carrier to re-route its flights over Iran, Turkey and Oman.

The decision by the four Arab nations to sever diplomatic ties and cut off sea and air links with Qatar has caused major disruptions to air travel across the Gulf and raised fears for the future of aviation in the region - home to several of the world's major long-haul carriers.

The countries that launched the measures against Qatar have accused it of supporting terrorism, a claim Qatar has called unjustified.

More than 70 flights were grounded across the region on Tuesday, according to data from scheduling firm OAG. A majority of the flights belong to Qatar Airways.

Other airlines affected include Dubai's Emirates, Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, Saudi Arabia's Saudia, and Bahrain's Gulf Air, which have all cancelled flights to and from Doha.

Alexandre de Juniac, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has expressed concern over the blockade and called for more openness.

We would like borders to be reopened, the sooner the better, he told reporters at the group's annual meeting in the Mexican city of Cancun on Monday. Aviation is globalisation at its very best.

The departure terminal at Doha's Hamad International Airport was virtually deserted early on Tuesday. More than 30 flights were shown as cancelled on airport television screens.

Qatar Airways, in a statement on its website, said passengers holding a confirmed ticket to any of the four Arab nations between June 5 and July 6 are permitted to rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current departure date.

The airline said its offices would continue to operate as normal in affected countries.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation, however, revoked the airline's license on Tuesday and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours.

Qatar Airways could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, many of the airlines' passengers were complaining online of delays in rebooking and obtaining refunds.

Analysts said the altered routes for Qatar Airways flights will lead to longer flying time, lowering demand, thus affecting the airline's profits.

An image posted online by flight tracking group Flightradar24 showed the restricted routes Qatar Airways flights were taking because of the blockade. The aircraft were being forced to take a single flight path in out of Doha.

Many of Qatar Airways' flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia. Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey, Flightradar24 said. Flights to Africa may route via Iran and Oman and then south.

The CAPA Centre for Aviation in Melbourne, Australia, in a report on Monday, said the Gulf diplomatic crisis has dealt a blow to public confidence in aviation and may have a far-reaching impact on the region's airlines.

There can be few winners, the group said, adding that the crisis has already created wider uncertainty for Gulf aviation and passengers whose bookings are months away.

The row between Gulf states is a fresh challenge for the region's airlines at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to restrict the travel of passengers to the US from some Muslim-majority countries.

US authorities have also banned the use of most electronic devices on board aircraft from some Gulf countries.

Amidst growing security concerns and the existing laptop ban, passengers are unlikely to dig in to the reason for this ban. Gulf aviation becomes less attractive for all, CAPA said.

IATA's De Juniac meanwhile said profits and passengers have fallen sharply in the Middle East in recent months.

There is growing evidence that the ban on large electronic devices in the cabin and the uncertainty created around possible US travel bans is taking a toll on some key routes, he said.

Kuwait is trying to mediate a regional crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich, travel-hub nation from the outside world, Qatar's foreign minister said.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday in a coordinated move, accusing the peninsula of supporting terrorists and Iran.

Yemen's internationally recognised government also cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

The Maldives and Libya's out-of-mandate Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni later joined the Arab nations in saying they too would cut ties.

Sanctions include shutting down transport links, including closing borders, airspace and maritime territories, which led to fears of supply shortages.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, had asked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's ruling emir, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis late on Tuesday night.

He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis, Sheikh Mohammed said.

Sheikh Sabah called on Qatar's ruler to focus on easing tension and advised against making decisions that could escalate the situation.

Still, the Qatari foreign minister struck a defiant tone, saying his nation rejected those trying to impose their will or intervene in its internal affairs.

There are many analysts who believe that a potential break-up of the GCC has to be considered right now.

He added that if tension escalates, some have warned of a military confrontation.

If these countries fail to resolve their issues and such tensions reaches new heights, we have to be very open to the possibility of these six Arab countries no longer being able to unite under the banner of one council.

The dispute between Qatar and the Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatar's state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

As it cut ties on Monday, Saudi Arabia charged that Qatar was embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL also known as ISIS and armed groups supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive east.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an antagonist approach towards Cairo and said all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed.

Qatar denied the allegations, with a Foreign Ministry statement describing them as "baseless" on Monday.

The group issuing sanctions on Doha is clearly the imposition of guardianship over Qatar, which is in itself a violation of its sovereignty, and is rejected outright, the statement said.

The move came just two weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat terrorism and contain Iran.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in long-standing differences and urged the parties to resolve them.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Flying Nonstop To Tbilisi, Georgia From Hamad International Airport

Qatar Airways celebrated the launch of new direct flights from Doha to Tbilisi, increasing travel options to and from Georgia, while enhancing overall journey times.

Qatar Airways now operates four direct flights to Tbilisi from Doha’s Hamad International Airport, complementing the existing seven weekly flights that operate via Baku in Azerbaijan.

Operated by a Qatar Airways Airbus A320 aircraft, the new direct scheduled flight time of just over three hours from Doha sees overall journey times drop significantly across the airline’s global network to and from this increasingly popular tourist destination, complemented by seamless transfers through the airline’s global home and hub, Hamad International Airport, in the State of Qatar.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said we are delighted to celebrate the launch of direct flights to Tbilisi, offering Georgian citizens shorter journey times to more than 150 destinations around the world.

As both an economical and cultural hub, our new shorter flight times will attract many business and leisure passengers alike, while our tagged service via Baku will continue to offer a quick and efficient link between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Qatar Airways also increased service to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, from a four to five weekly service on 15 December, with an additional frequency each week due to the popularity of the route which was first inaugurated in May 2016.

The Airbus A320 aircraft offers a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy, featuring individual television screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system Oryx One with 3,000 different entertainment options.

Qatar Airways Business Class is widely recognized as an industry leader recently receiving two significant accolades at the 2016 Skytrax World Airline Awards, with passengers choosing Qatar Airways as the World’s Best Business Class and also Best Business Class Airline Lounge in the Middle East.

Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines in aviation history with a network of over 150 exciting destinations.

In 2016 travellers continued to see Qatar Airways expand its global reach, with services launched to Adelaide (Australia), Atlanta (USA), Birmingham (UK), Boston (USA), Los Angeles (USA), Marrakech (Morocco), Pisa (Italy), Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), Sydney (Australia), Windhoek (Namibia), Yerevan (Armenia), Krabi (Thailand) and the Seychelles.

QATAR: Qatar Airways Offering Free Luxury Hotel, Visa To Passengers Stopping Over In Doha

Qatar Airways has launched a unique stopover package in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) to promote and market Qatar as a destination of choice for international travellers, offering transit passengers the opportunity to discover Doha with free luxury hotel stays and complimentary transit visas.

The unique offer is part of a broader campaign called +Qatar which looks to encourage all transit passengers to consider adding Qatar to their itinerary.

This unique offer from QTA and Qatar Airways allows passengers travelling through Doha to experience a taste of the Middle East for free.

Throughout the summer, the national carrier, with the support of QTA, will give passengers the chance to turn a layover into a stayover by offering four and five star hotel accommodation at no charge to those transiting through Doha.

The promotion invites all Qatar Airways passengers to add Doha to their vacation by taking advantage of a free one-night hotel stay from a selection of the country’s best four- and five-star hotels in Doha.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is more than just a national flag-carrier for Qatar; we are proudly patriotic and want to share Qatar’s many exciting attractions with our passengers from around the world. This exclusive initiative provides the opportunity to add an extra element to our passengers’ existing travel plans with a complimentary hotel stay in some of Doha’s finest hotels.

We want to ensure that our passengers have a memorable experience every time they travel with Qatar Airways, and now, we’re going even further to make sure that we exceed their expectations.”

Chief Tourism Development Officer, Qatar Tourism Authority, Hassan Al Ibrahim, said: “It was a great source of pride for all of us in Qatar when we launched the transit visa last November. We have already seen a surge in stopover passengers, with a 53 per cent increase recorded in March 2017, compared to the same month last year.

With the launch of +Qatar today, we aim to convert a larger portion of the 30 million passengers passing through Hamad International Airport into stopover visitors. We are delighted to make Qatar more accessible to people from around the world and invite them to discover our country, our cultural heritage and our natural treasures.”

Passengers transiting through Doha can extend their stay to make the most of their journey taking in the sights of Doha with a completely free night courtesy of Qatar Airways and QTA or stay a little longer with a second night’s stay for a modest $50 booking fee.

Passengers can choose from hotels such as The Four Seasons, Marriott Marquis, Radisson Blu and Oryx Rotana.

The free hotel accommodation, available throughout the summer, will offer passengers the opportunity to explore Doha and experience city tours, desert safari adventures or a dinner cruise aboard a traditional dhow, giving visitors a taste of authentic Arabian hospitality, courtesy of Discover Qatar.

To be eligible for this offer, passengers simply book their flight on www.qatarairways.com, select ‘multi-city’ and choose their hotel once they receive their flight confirmation. The online transit visa application is also free and is eligible for those in transit between five and 96 hours.

This ground-breaking offer is available for all Qatar Airways passengers, both Premium and Economy, demonstrating the airline’s commitment to its brand ethos of ‘Going Places Together’.

To maximise their time in Qatar, visitors can explore additional stopover packages offered by Discover Qatar.

This unique offer with QTA has been launched by Qatar Airways' newly created destination management company, Discover Qatar, and is just one of many new initiatives that will be launched over the coming months to generate awareness of, and visits to, Qatar.

It was designed to kick off the newly launched campaign ‘+Qatar’ from Qatar Tourism Authority and is aimed at supporting the growing demand for tourism in Qatar.

This exciting and innovative announcement comes as the airline celebrates its 20th year of operations, marking two decades of growth, industry leadership and innovation.

This year, Hamad International Airport (HIA) was also ranked the Sixth Best Airport in the World by the 2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards, as well as having been named Best Airport in the Middle East for the third consecutive year, and recognised as having the Best Staff Service in the Middle East for the second year in a row.

Known for introducing industry firsts, Qatar Airways is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 197 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. Exciting new destinations being launched in 2017 include Nice, Chang Mai, Dublin and Skopje.

Qatar Airways invites passengers to start planning their next trip with amazing discounts on flights across all cabin classes. With the airline’s Global Sales Campaign, which starts on April 26 and lasts through May 3, families, friends and couples can book flights to any destination across the airline’s network of more than 150 destinations across the globe, with validity to travel until June 21, 2017.

Travellers can now avail offer of up to 40% off on all-inclusive fares. To take advantage of this offer, travellers should visit their travel agent, any Qatar Airways sales office or qatarairways.com/travelnow.

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Ehab Amin said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our passengers such a wide variety of choice in choosing a destination. With this new promotion, passengers can easily choose where to go next with amazing offers across all of our cabin classes. Travellers are truly spoilt for choice with Qatar Airways’ extended network of more than 150 destinations.”

Recently the airline revealed its latest premium class product “Qsuite,” a fully transformable suite of seats that allows parties of two, three or four to create their own unique space within the Business Class cabin.

This game-changing patented design is set to transform the face of aviation and Business Class travel by bringing a First Class product to the Business Class cabin. Qsuite also features the first ever double bed in Business Class, another ground-breaking innovation brought to passengers by Qatar Airways.

The airline was named the World’s Best Business Class by Skytrax in 2016, and its home hub, Hamad International Airport, was also recently given five stars at the Skytrax World Airport Awards, as well as being named the World’s Sixth Best Airport.

Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, with a network of more than 150 destinations. The airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017, including Chiang Mai, Yanbu, Dublin, Nice, Skopje and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of 195 aircraft.

QATAR: Doha’s Hamad International Airport Is World’s Sixth 5 Star Airport

Hamad International Airport (HIA) becomes the sixth airport in the world to receive the ‘5-Star Airport’ designation by Skytrax, the London-based aviation institute and the gold standard for conveying the passenger’s voice in airport and airline rankings. This makes HIA the first ever airport in the Middle East to earn this highly sought after and acclaimed title.

The prestigious 5-Star Airport rating is only awarded to airports achieving the highest overall Quality Performance. The 5-Star Airport rating recognises those airports providing excellent facilities for customers combined with high quality airport staff service. Airport Quality ranking covers frontline areas for departures, arrival and transfer, including airport facilities, customer service, security, immigration, shop outlets and food and beverage facilities.

The highest rating – five stars – has previously only been awarded to five other airports worldwide: Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo-Haneda and Munich. This recognition is particularly timely as it comes after a year of reaching a number of strategic milestones at HIA, including the introduction of its iBeacon enabled mobile app, the launch of the Smart Airport features in the terminal, the operation of the dual passenger train shuttle to concourses D and E and the opening of multiple duty free stores.

Moreover, HIA has continued to work closely with Qatar Museums adding multiple international and local art installations across the terminal.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: 'Hamad International Airport was designed and built in the modern era, taking into account what passengers want most - convenience and service. HIA more than exceeds passenger expectations by providing what passengers want in an environment that is beautiful, thoughtful and welcoming. HIA’s success is apparent in the fact that it is now at capacity, and the third phase of its development is highly anticipated.

The airport serves more than 30 million passengers every year, and will grow to 50 million, yet each passenger can design their own experience at the airport, whether it is shopping in the world-class Qatar Duty Free premium stores, relaxing in one of its 12 lounges, resting comfortably in the Airport Hotel or using one of the many amenities at the Vitality Spa including the squash courts and the swimming pool. The airport experience is designed to be as memorable as the journey'.

Engineer Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport added his own voice when he said: 'Joining the elite of airports and being the first airport in the Middle East to earn five stars from Skytrax is an honour, and a direct result of the thousands of people who ensure HIA operates smoothly every day, every flight.

No matter how long our guests are with us, we strive to make their journey flawless and memorable. This acknowledgement is highly gratifying, and will continue to motivate us to create an exceptional experience for everyone'.

Mr. Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax then commented on HIA's new ranking: 'We extend our congratulations to Hamad International Airport for achieving this 5-Star Airport recognition, as well as being the first airport in the Middle East to gain this status. This accolade brings the challenge that 5-Star Airports find their customers become ever more demanding, and we have every confidence that HIA will continue to both maintain and improve standards as we move forward into 2017'.

With just three years of operations, HIA has garnered world-class awards and recognition, including Skytrax Middle East’s Best Airport in 2015 and 2016, Skytrax Best Staff Service in the Middle East 2016 and previously Best Airport Award at the Future Travel Experience (FTE) Asia Awards in 2015.

Qatar Offers 96 Hours Transit

In order to promote Qatar as a world-class stopover destination, Qatar Airways, Qatar Tourism Authority and Qatar's Ministry of Interior have announced a revised tourism visa scheme available to passengers transiting through Doha.

"The new transit visa structure now allows passengers with a minimum transit time of five hours in Hamad International Airport, to stay in Qatar for up to 96 hours (four days), without the requirement to apply ahead of time for an entry visa," a statement issued by Qatar Airways said.

Qatar Airways operates three flights daily from Kathmandu to Doha, connecting Nepal to over 150 destinations worldwide, according to the statement.

QATAR: Hamad International Airport Among 10 Best Airports In The World

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been acknowledged as the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ by the 2016 Skytrax World Airport Awards for the second consecutive year at a ceremony that took place during the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Cologne, Germany.

At the same time, HIA became the first airport in the Middle East to enter the World’s Top 10 Best Airports of the Skytrax World Airport Ranking.

HIA also won the award for Best Staff Service in the Middle East. The Skytrax World Airport Awards are the most prestigious recognition of quality for airports across the world.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “Being named the Best Airport in the Middle East for the second year running is a major accomplishment for Hamad International Airport, the home of Qatar Airways.

“To be announced as the first airport in the Middle East to be listed among the top 10 world ranking airports is a great honour, and is testament to the satisfaction that global travellers feel when they are going places through one of the most advanced, and passenger-focused airports, in the world.

We will continue working with all our passengers and our partners to ensure that Hamad International Airport remains among the world’s best.”

Attending the awards, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport, stated: “It is a great privilege to be named the Middle East’s Best Airport by Skytrax for the second year running. More importantly we are delighted to see that within less than two years since HIA’s opening, our airport is considered among the top 10 best airports in the world, rising from position 75 in 2014 and reflecting HIA’s position as a leading international aviation hub.

“This prestigious accolade follows a year of significant milestones achieved by HIA: crossing the 30 million passenger threshold while offering award-winning passenger services and adding more space with the opening of concourses D and E.

“We are of course most grateful to our staff and partners, as well as the State of Qatar who continue to give us their strongest support in delivering a top quality passenger experience at all times. I would like to dedicate the Best Staff Service award to them for their outstanding teamwork.

“These awards are greatly motivational for us all and drive us to aim even higher. We pledge to continue improving our infrastructure and delivering an exceptional travel experience to all our passengers, who have graciously given us their vote of confidence.”

The World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey. The survey and awards process is totally independent and guaranteed free of any airport influence or interference in final results.

The World Airport Awards are based on 12.85 million customer nominations across 110 nationalities of air travellers, and included 410 airports worldwide. The survey evaluates customer satisfaction across 39 key performance indicators for airport service and product - from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, through to departure at the gate.

QATAR: Hamad International Will Host Airport Council Asia Pacific 2017

Hamad International Airport (HIA) announced yesterday that it will host the 12th Airport Council International Asia Pacific Regional Assemble Conference and Exhibition,which will be taking place in the city of Doha in 2017, bringing together aviation leaders from the entire region.

Over the years, the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition has made its name as one of the most important aviation events, addressing major issues affecting the aviation industry and attracting high level representation from airports and industry partners, including airlines, regulators and suppliers from all over the world.

The hosting honour was handed over to HIA, Qatar’s airport, at the 11th ACI Asia Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition - hosted at the Gold Coast, Australia - by Mr. Chris Mills, CEO of Queensland Airports Limited to Mr. Abdulaziz Al Mass, Vice President Commercial and Marketing at HIA. During the event, HIA’s Vice President Operations, Ioannis Metsovitis, participated in a panel discussion regarding airports preparing and facilitating for world events, presenting the preparation framework for welcoming the World Cup of 2022.

Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at HIA said: 'As proud hosts of the 12th ACI Asia Pacific Regional Assembly, we anticipate welcoming our industry peers to Doha through the gates of our airport to experience Qatar’s warm hospitality and culture along with its cosmopolitan sophistication. Most importantly, together with ACI Asia Pacific, we will be providing the platform for industry leaders to come together to discuss trends and challenges, as well as propose ideas that will make a real difference to the future of aviation'.

This is the second time Doha’s airport will be hosting a major ACI event with the previous hub, Doha International Airport, hosting the ACI Airport Exchange 2013.

Hamad International is the home airport of Qatar Airways and connecting airport for many travelers from Eastern Africa, where QR serves Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.