Qatar - National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce

Qatar Airways Flies High Among
Fastest Growing Airlines Worldwide
Qatar Airways is one of the youngest and
fastest growing airlines in the world. In
less than two decades, Qatar’s flagship airline
has grown from operating a single aircraft as
a budget carrier in 1994, to owning a fleet of
more than 95 new-generation aircraft that
travel to 100 destinations worldwide.
From its Doha hub, Qatar Airways serves
destinations in Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Asia Pacific, South America, and North
America. The airline celebrated its 100th
destination in March 2011, when it began the
first scheduled flights to Aleppo, Syria.
A Qatar Airways Boeing 777 lifts off from Doha
“By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to surpass
120 destinations worldwide,” says Qatar
Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker. “Our ultimate
goal is to be recognized as the best airline in
the world.”
Qatar Airways is almost there. Ranked
the third best airline among the
world’s top ten carriers by the
annual Skytrax audit of global
passenger travel, it is also one of
only five airlines worldwide awarded
Skytrax’s five star ranking for excellence.
Its economy class was voted
“best in the world” in the 2009
Skytrax survey.
Air traffic through Doha has
risen steadily in recent years, thanks
in large part to Qatar Airways. In
2007-2008, the airline carried approximately
10 million passengers per year. By 2008-2009,
this had increased to 12 million annually,
despite the economic slowdown around the
world. The Doha International Airport has
expanded multiple times over the years, but
by 2007, the airport had outgrown its designed
capacity of 12 million passengers annually.
40 NUSACC • www.nusacc.org
Construction of the New Doha International
Airport (NDIA) – one of the largest
infrastructure projects in Qatar – began in
2005 and has attracted a small army of regional
and global companies, including U.S.-based
engineering giant Bechtel. According to Dao
M. Le, Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S.
Embassy in Qatar, the $14 billion project will
be able to handle 24 million passengers when
it opens in February 2012. By 2025, that
number is scheduled to increase to 48 million.
NDIA is the first airport designed and
built specifically for the Airbus double-decker
A 3 8 0 . W h e n
completed, Qatar
Airways’ new hub
will have 80 contact
gates, approximately
25, 0 0 0 s q u a r e
meters of retail
space, and a 4,500
meter runway that
will rank among the
top five in the world.
D o h a w i l l b e
further transformed
into a regiona l
aviation hub.
Keeping pace
with the steady increase in air traffic, Qatar
Airways has committed itself to maintain its
average of 40 percent year-on-year expansion.
Orders have been placed for approximately
220 additional aircraft worth $40 billion to
be delivered over the next few years. The list
includes 60 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and three
Airbus A380 super-jumbos.
The Airbus A380
Partnering with companies such as Qatar
Petroleum, Rolls Royce, Shell, Airbus, Woqod,
and the Qatar Science & Technology Park,
Qatar Airways is exploring the use of cleaner
burning alternative fuels on commercial
flights. The airline is hoping to become the
first airline in the world to operate a commercial
flight using jet fuel containing Gas to
Liquids (GTL) kerosene.
“As an industry leader, Qatar Airways and
our group of companies strive to be the best
in everything we do,” says CEO Al Baker.
“We are leaders in new-generation fuel research
and are giving back to the communities we
serve. We take our responsibility in protecting
the environment seriously.”
Artists’ renderings of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA)