Qatar Airways celebrates 2015 accomplishments

Jan 04, 2016: Qatar Airways started 2015 as the global launch customer of the A350, the very latest in aircraft design by Airbus. The company became the first airline in the world to operate every family of Airbus modern airliner portfolio, comprising of the A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380.

Qatar Airways started the year with A350 operations for which it was the global launch customer, to growing its fleet by 20 percent. It launched a new brand campaign, “Going Places Together”.

Akbar Al Baker , chief executive, Qatar Airways Group, said ,“As 2015 comes to an end, Qatar Airways is able to reflect on a number of successes throughout the year, while also celebrating the launch of our new global brand campaign and latest on-board safety video. This has been a momentous way to end what has been a truly historic year for the national carrier of Qatar which has seen, amongst other things, several top award wins, the forging of new partnerships, strong engagement on social media, the launch of a brand new aircraft type and the start of several new routes on both its passenger and cargo networks.”

“The phenomenal response to our new global brand campaign and safety video has been overwhelming and has strengthened the strong bond that Qatar Airways has with its passengers,” said Salam Al Shawa, senior vice president marketing & corporate communications, Qatar Airways. “The new brand campaign evokes an emotional connection inspiring passengers to go to new places together, where our dreams and ambitions may be brought to life. In a more humourous tone, our new safety video with FC Barcelona players has captured the attention of our passengers and the wider communities, including our large social media fan base.”

At a ceremony at the Dubai Air Show in November, Qatar Airways added the 25th Boeing 787 Dreamliner into its young fleet, direct from the Boeing delivery centre in Seattle.

Qatar Airways launched eight destinations during 2015 – Abha, Amsterdam, Durban, Nagpur, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot and Zanzibar. Responding to growing demand in its existing markets, the airline increased service to more than 30 of its destinations. For instance, the airline launched an additional daily flight to Singapore this year and also had a significant increase in seat capacity of around 32 percent by deploying a larger aircraft to Bengaluru in India, as part of its global expansion drive. Next year promises to be equally exciting with new routes planned to Adelaide, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston, Los Angeles, Sydney and Ras Al Khaimah.

The Paris Air Show in June was filled with highlights for Qatar Airways as the airline made history by displaying five aircraft at the show – an A380, A350, A320, A319 and a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Qatar Airways had an exciting week at the show by also announcing a firm order for 10 777-8Xs and four 777 freighters with a total order value of $4.8 billion.

Qatar Executive, Qatar Airways business jet division, also announced an aircraft order for up to 30 aircraft from Gulfstream, diversifying their owned-and-operated fleet for the first time. Qatar Executive took delivery of its first G650ER in December.

Qatar Airways made a number of strategic business moves in 2015, including strengthening existing commercial ties with International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), by acquiring a 9.99 percent stake in the group in January.

To support Qatar Airways growth in 2015, the airline increased its group employee numbers by 14 per cent to a year-end total of more than 40,000 staff representing more than 150 nationalities.

“Qatar Airways was steadfast in its pursuit for growth and excellence this year and this was delivered against challenging situations – a testament to the unrelenting dedication of our staff, our loyal passengers and our corporate business strategy,” added Al Baker.

Photo : Qatar Airways featured pride of place at the Paris Air show 2015, which attracted over 200,000 visitors, by displaying five aircraft.