Tag Archives: Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has a steadfast vision to provide the best in-flight experience to its passengers. The airline has been eager to replicate the innovative AVANT experience on their Boeing B787-8 aircraft without disrupting the utilization of the fleet and minimizing down time during the retrofit installation. To achieve this ambition, Thales has developed an upgrade program to adapt the existing legacy system to incorporate new AVANT screens and servers into the existing seats and aircraft infrastructure. This turnkey approach includes delivery of full seat modification, hardware and all required certifications, as well as the ability to leverage media integration commonality across the Qatar Airways’ fleet equipped with AVANT. Salam Al Shawa, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Qatar Airways said, “As a leader of innovation within the global aviation industry, we are always looking for ways to further enrich our already exceptional 5-Star on board experience for passengers. With the latest in-flight technology, including lightweight screens, greater content storage and full HD touch screens, we are delighted to work with Thales in bringing the most advanced AVANT IFE system on board our Boeing 787-8 fleet.” Upgrading to AVANT IFE on the Boeing B787-8 fleet introduces the latest High Definition (HD), capacitive touch screen technology enabling passengers to seamlessly navigate the graphical user interface (GUI) using familiar gestures from their smartphone or tablet. The lightweight screens are two to three times brighter than the former technology, featuring more than 16 million colors for a brilliant viewing experience.

Qatar Airways that they are Official Airline Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup, hosted in Qatar for the second year running, where the clash of the world’s continental club champions will take place from February 4 – 11, 2021. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament will be organised according to FIFA’s required safety guidelines to uphold the health and safety of all involved in the competition. Education City Stadium and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium are all set to host the respective matches, with the likes of Ulsan Hyundai (AFC), Al Ahly (CAF), Tigres (CONCACAF) Palmeiras (CONMEBOL), FC Bayern München (UEFA) and host league champions Al Duhail SC (QSL), all set to compete for the most prestigious honour in global club football. In order to ensure a safe and seamless travel experience, the Hamad International Airport team are providing a bespoke operational plan for the teams’ arrivals and departure. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “As we gain momentum towards FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we are delighted to be involved as the Official Airline that brings together the top clubs from every continent, where Qatar will once again be the stage for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020™. As the national carrier of the State of Qatar, we look forward to welcoming world-class football teams who will unite fans watching from around the world.”

Qatar Airways Privilege Club will extend its valued members’ tier status in recognition that travel plans continue to be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative will extend members’ tier status until December 31, 2021 and applies to our Silver, Gold and Platinum members whose tier is due to end this year and have not earned enough Qpoints to retain it. This announcement follows news that Qatar Airways will offer all passengers unlimited date changes and free refunds for tickets issued before 30 April 2021 for travel completed by December 31, 2021. Privilege Club members can therefore benefit from flexible booking policies that will allow them to change their plans with ease if they need to, while retaining their current, hard-earned tier status and enjoying the unique benefits associated with it. Thierry Antinori, Chief Commercial Officer, Qatar Airways said, “Having flown continuously during the pandemic, we currently operate the largest network among airlines based in the Middle East thanks to the flexibility offered by our sustainable, wide body Boeing 787 and A350 aircrafts. We also offer the highest standards of safety on board and at Hamad International Airport – recently endorsed by our Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating Airport Safety Rating. “Our Privilege Club members are very important to us and we want to continue to be there for them. We understand that some of our members may need more time to plan and book their upcoming travel. That is why we are announcing today our latest tier extension as one of the many steps that Privilege Club has taken over the last year to honour the loyalty of our valued members as we navigate these difficult times …

Qatar Airways begin trialling the innovative new IATA Travel Pass ‘Digital Passport’ mobile app, in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), from March 2021. The trial will play an important role in the airline’s vision to have a more contactless, secure and seamless travel experience for its passengers. The first phase of trials of the ‘Digital Passport’ will be rolled out on the airline’s Doha to Istanbul route, enabling passengers to receive COVID-19 test results and verify they are eligible to undertake their journey. It will also allow travellers to safely and securely share their verified ‘OK to Travel’ status with the airline and other stakeholders, even before their arrival at the airport. His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group said, “The IATA Travel Pass effectively acts as a ‘digital passport’ for travellers and is the latest tool in our fight against the spread of COVID-19, enabling passengers to securely and effortlessly navigate their travel plans, safe in the knowledge that their verified travel credential is based on the latest COVID-19 information, the strictest data privacy regulations and entry rules for the destination they will travel to.” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO, said, “The trial will help us build confidence among governments and travellers that IATA Travel Pass can securely and conveniently link traveller identities with their digital travel credentials. It will also help us prove that ICAO’s global standards for digital passports work. And it will highlight the need for governments to accelerate their work with industry to develop global standards for health certificates—a critical enabler to safely re-connecting the world.”

Qatar Airways expans its strategic partnerships signing an expanded codeshare agreement with Iberia. The agreement will enhance connectivity between the two airlines’ complementary networks and will offer additional travel options to our customers travelling between the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport. Sales of the added destinations have commenced already with the additional codeshare flights starting from today. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker said, “Despite the challenges of 2020, it has been our priority to maintain reliable global connectivity for our passengers. This expansion of our strategic partnership with Iberia further strengthens connectivity between the hubs of Doha and Madrid ensuring more flexible travel options for our customers. Qatar Airways and Iberia have enjoyed the mutual benefits our partnership has brought us since its establishment in 2017, providing more choice and seamless global connectivity for our millions of passengers. As global travel recovers, we look forward to further expanding our commercial cooperation with Iberia and continuing to provide the unrivalled five-star service our passengers have come to expect.” Javier Sanchez-Prieto, CEO, Iberia Group said, “The extension of the codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways is very good news for us. At Iberia we work so that, when countries eliminate their restrictions, we can offer our clients the widest and most comprehensive network possible. The extension of this codeshare agreement with our oneworld partner, Qatar Airways, opens up new markets in Australia and Africa and improves the connectivity we offer between Spain and the rest of the world with a very high-quality service offered by our partner, Qatar Airways.”

Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. The announcement follows a detailed audit, carried out by the Skytrax team in December 2020, which assessed how effectively and consistently the airline’s stringent COVID-19 hygiene and safety standards and procedures are adhered to, from flight check-in to on-board aircraft. This included a full review of procedural efficiency checks, visual observation of hygiene and safety levels at all stages of the passenger journey, and on-board Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) sampling tests to measure the potential level of contamination of contact surfaces. The achievement of the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating is in addition to Qatar Airways’ home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), recently being named as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating in December 2020. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said: “As an industry leader and the ‘World’s Best Airline’, as named by Skytrax, we are well-used to setting the standard for others to follow. We are delighted that our commitment to providing the most rigorous and comprehensive COVID-19 safety programme in existence within the global aviation community has been recognised with the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating. “This achievement highlights the fastidious measures and procedures Qatar Airways have employed to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our passengers throughout the global pandemic to date, and follows HIA’s recent success as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. It also provides …

Qatar Airways resumed flights to Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a daily service. QR1164 from Hamad International Airport to King Khalid International Airport took off in Doha at 13:45 local time and landed safely at its destination at 15:10. The flight was operated by Qatar Airways’ Airbus A350-1000. Later this week, Qatar Airways will resume flights to Jeddah on Friday January 15 (QR1188 departing DOH at 18:50) and to Dammam on Saturday January 16 (QR 1150 departing Doha at 17:10). Passengers from KSA can once again enjoy the award-winning Qsuite, featuring sliding privacy doors and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator. The Qsuite seat layout is a 1-2-1 configuration, providing passengers with one of the most spacious, fully private, comfortable, and socially distanced products in the sky. The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 110 destinations with plans to increase to over 125 by the end of March 2021. A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by Skytrax. It is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted ‘Skytrax Airline of the Year’ title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.

Qatar Airways and Monacair have entered a new partnership, commencing July 4, that would allow passengers arriving at Nice International Airport to seamlessly connect to Monte Carlo on a Monacair helicopter flight. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said, “This strategic partnership with Monacair combines perfectly with the launch of our new direct service to Nice, allowing passengers to travel to and from Monaco in just six minutes from Nice International Airport. The agreement with Monacair reflects our commitment to provide our passengers the very best premium travel opportunities, and I am confident that this new partnership will delight our passengers.” “We are tremendously excited about this new collaboration between Monacair and Qatar Airways,” said Gilbert Schweitzer, Managing Director, Monacair. “As in all other services proposed by Monacair, we want to offer our passengers the very best. The H130 provides a unique travelling experience that we want to share with Qatar Airways’ clients.” Launching on July 4, Qatar Airways’ new direct, five times a week service to and from Nice will operate with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, providing passengers from around the world access to the ever-popular tourist destination of the French Riviera.

The State Government of Victoria is celebrating 20 years of trade and tourism ties with the Middle East region. The Australian state set up its Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in 1997 to forge and strengthen trade and investment ties with the region, which two decades later has seen Victoria’s annual exports to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region grow to AUD$ 2.49 billion (US$ 1.85 billion). Tourism and aviation links between Victoria and the region have also multiplied over the years, with Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways all flying daily to Melbourne. Emirates Airline has had a long-term relationship with Melbourne, having sponsored the famous Collingwood Football Club and the Emirates Melbourne Cup, the flagships among a portfolio of key partnerships in the state. Etihad Airways also has a strong connection with Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s Etihad Stadium, and has seen the UAE’s national carrier become the lead sponsor of Melbourne City Football Club.

Qatar Airways announced plans to introduce a fifth daily non-stop service from Doha to Bangkok from June 1, 2017. The increased frequency, along with its double-daily Phuket flights and the five-month-old Krabi operations (four flights a week), will take the number of weekly Qatar Airways departures from Thailand to Doha to 53. In tandem with its expansion into Thailand, Qatar Airways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to come together and boost inbound tourism to Thailand. The MoU was signed by Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Ehab Amin, in the presence of Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker and TAT’s Deputy Governor for International Marketing, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas, Tanes Petsuwan on day one of the Arabian Travel Market taking place in Dubai. They were joined by Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand; Chalermsak Suranant, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Dubai and Middle East Office; and other high-ranking executives from both organisations. H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “Boosting our Bangkok flight frequency to five daily flights is a significant commitment from us to the Thai market and testament to the strong year-round demand on this iconic Far East route. We are delighted to be able to dedicate additional capacity to Thailand, providing even more flexibility and convenience for our passengers travelling to and from the Land of Smiles. Bangkok has long been a hugely popular destination for both business and leisure travellers. The partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand allows us to jointly work together to attract more travellers from secondary cities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa …