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Tag: Qatar Airways

  • Foreign brands bowl over India as IPL turns global advertising pitch

    Foreign brands bowl over India as IPL turns global advertising pitch

    MUMBAI: As the Tata IPL 2025 continues to bowl over audiences with record-breaking viewership, it’s not just the players on the pitch who are playing for high stakes. Global brands are stepping up to bat, making India’s biggest sporting spectacle their preferred launchpad for business growth and JioStar’s broadcast and digital platforms their prime ad real estate.

    Joining the international sponsor squad this season is Danube Properties, coming on board as a ‘co-powered by’ sponsor on Star Sports, and Lattafa Perfumes, which becomes the first international retail brand to advertise on JioStar’s cricket coverage. Their presence signals a wider trend: cricket is no longer just India’s game, it’s the world’s marketing playground.

    In recent seasons, JioStar has attracted heavyweights like Etihad, Emirates, Disney Cruise Line, DP World, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Tourism, and more. Sectors like real estate, aviation, and tourism have taken centre stage, capitalising on cricket’s pan-India reach and its increasing influence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

    JioStar chief business officer for sports revenue SMB & creator Ishan Chatterjee said, “Cricket in India is no longer just a national obsession, it’s a global advertising stage. We’re seeing international brands increasingly turn to JioStar as a gateway to scale, status, and cultural relevance. These partnerships go beyond awareness; they’re delivering real business outcomes, from lead generation to brand affinity in one of the world’s most dynamic markets.”

    Danube Properties founder and chairman Rizwan Sajan said, “Danube Properties is thrilled to partner with Star Sports this year on the Tata IPL. India is one of the biggest markets for Danube Properties, and there isn’t a better medium than Star Sports and the Tata IPL to maximize our reach. The Tata IPL takes place during one of the busiest periods in our investment cycle for both commercial and residential properties and being able to reach that scale of high-net-worth individuals within just two months gives our business a significant boost. This association continues to be a key driver of investor interest, making it easier than ever to own a property in Dubai. It has been a truly impactful association, and we look forward to even greater success ahead.”

    Danube’s campaign is cleverly timed with one of their busiest investment cycles, tapping into IPL’s ability to deliver scale within just a few weeks.

    India’s evolution into a premium consumption hub has turbocharged this trend. It’s now one of the top five global source markets for airlines, a significant base of NRI property buyers, and a high-spending outbound tourism segment. For global brands, India is not just a pit stop, it’s the prize.

    And as JioStar transforms cricket coverage into a blend of sports and sophisticated storytelling, it’s offering more than just visibility,  it’s delivering leads, loyalty, and legacy. In the grand theatre of the IPL, it’s not just sixes that soar, so do global ambitions.

  • Qatar Airways launches Hollywood-style campaign ‘A World Like Never Before’

    Qatar Airways launches Hollywood-style campaign ‘A World Like Never Before’

    MUMBAI: Qatar Airways started the new year with the launch of the airline’s biggest and most cinematic brand campaign to date, ‘A World Like Never Before’. Conceived and created by 180 Kingsday – Qatar Airways’ agency on record – and produced by London production company, Ridley Scott Associates Films, the commercial takes passengers on a magical journey to a fantasy world that will capture their hearts and imagination.

    The campaign includes film, digital, print, events and product campaigns featuring the airlines award-winning cuisine, service, in-flight entertainment, and Oryx Kids Club.

    Qatar Airways group chief executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker said, “This campaign embodies everything at the heart of Qatar Airways’ brand values, as well as the pride we share in providing exceptional service to our passengers across the globe.”

    He added, “The aim is to inspire and delight the viewer, and open them up to the possibilities that Qatar Airways, as the world’s fastest growing airline, has to offer with gateways to more than 160 exciting destinations around the world. We want people to see the world in a new and exciting way… Like Never Before.”

    Qatar Airways senior vice president marketing and corporate communications Salam Al Shawa said, “This brand film is different than anything Qatar Airways has ever done before. In many ways travel is a dream, a fantasy – and we have focused on these elements to create a film that takes the passenger on a magical journey. Our ultimate goal was to create a Hollywood-style film that would not look out of place on the big screen and which epitomises the five-star image passengers have come to associate with the airline.”

    Director Ben Scott of RSA Films said, “Qatar Airways have been extremely bold in giving me the freedom to make this film. It takes its cue from the period of first-class travel, by using the craft and technique from the golden days of the Hollywood musical. We have created a fantastical journey around the world. Something I hope feels like a dream come true.”

    180 Kingsday executive creative director Kalle Hellzen said, “Qatar Airways is a remarkable brand that creates experiences that transform. I am very proud of the way creative ambition, talent and teamwork have combined to deliver this campaign – the next evolution in the brand’s incredible story.”

  • Qatar Airways is the Prestige Partner and Official Airline of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018

    Qatar Airways is the Prestige Partner and Official Airline of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018

    MUMBAI: Qatar Airways is proud to announce that it is the Prestige Partner and Official Airline of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018, taking place in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, from 18 August until 2 September 2018. The highly-anticipated sporting event will bring athletes from 45 participating nations to Jakarta and Palembang to compete for the coveted prizes.

    To mark this occasion, a high-level signing ceremony took place in Jakarta, Indonesia on 9 August 2018, in the presence of the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Mr. Jusuf Kalla; the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Mr. Ahmed bin Jassim Al-Hamar and the President of the Indonesian Asian Games 2018 Organising Committee (INASGOC), Mr. Erick Thohir.

    Following the tremendous success of the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM, of which Qatar Airways was the Official Partner and Official Airline, the national carrier of the State of Qatar has now shifted its focus from Russia to Asia, to expand its global portfolio and celebrate its strong ties across the continent.

    Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to be the Prestige Partner and Official Airline of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018, and to once more unite fans from around the world through a shared love of sport. This highly-anticipated event strengthens our extensive global sporting portfolio and asserts our continuous dedication to celebrating sports as a means of bringing people together. We are tremendously proud to be flying the Qatar team of more than 200 athletes to Jakarta for the event, and we look forward to welcoming all fans to Jakarta and Palembang.”

    Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Mr. Ahmed bin Jassim Al-Hamar, said: “I am very proud that Qatar’s multiple award-winning national flag carrier, Qatar Airways is the Prestige Partner and Official Airline of the 18th Asian Games. This is a significant and historic moment for the State of Qatar and the Republic of Indonesia and will further strengthen the already strong bonds that exist between the two nations.

    This important partnership will further increase tourism and business links between Qatar and Indonesia as well as extending Qatar’s warm hospitality and welcoming culture to the people of Indonesia and fans from around the world. We look forward to continuing to deepen relations between the Qatari and Indonesian people and wish all teams the best of luck.”

    President of the Indonesian Asian Games 2018 Organising Committee (INASGOC), Mr. Erick Thohir, said: “We greatly appreciate Qatar Airways’ support of the Asian Games 2018 and look forward to the success of this new and exciting partnership. This event is not an ordinary sports tournament, but an important occasion that promotes both peace and unity between countries in Asia. We wish all participating nations the best of luck in this memorable world-class event.”

    This is the second time that Qatar Airways has sponsored the Asian Games; the national carrier of the State of Qatar was also the Official Airline of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006, where it proudly welcomed thousands of fans from around the world to watch the games unfold in what was the biggest sporting event in the history of Qatar. Qatar Airways wishes Qatar’s national team all the best in the competition.

    The Asian Games is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years and is the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. The prestigious competition is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and will include 61 sporting disciplines in more than 40 facilities throughout the two host cities. Qatar Airways will proudly fly the Qatar team, consisting of more than 200 athletes, to Jakarta for the event.

    The award-winning airline currently provides triple-daily services to Jakarta, served by a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class, and triple-daily services to Denpasar, served by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, featuring 24 seats in Business Class and 388 seats in Economy Class.

    In May 2017, Qatar Airways announced a ground-breaking sponsorship deal with FIFA, which saw the award-winning airline become the Official Partner and Official Airline of FIFA until 2022. The partnership, one of the biggest sporting sponsorships in the world, will give Qatar Airways extensive marketing and branding rights at the 2022 World Cup Qatar™, with an expected audience reach of more than two billion people.

    The agreement sees Qatar Airways become the Official Airline Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup™, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, the FIFA Under-20 and Under 17 World Cups™, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™, and the FIFA Interactive World Cup™.

    In addition to its existing partnership with the German football club giants FC Bayern München AG, for which it is a Platinum Partner, Qatar Airways also recently revealed multi-year sponsorship agreements with Italian football club AS Roma, for which it will become the Official Jersey Sponsor; and with Argentinian football club Boca Juniors, for which it will become the Official Jersey Sponsor.

    Qatar Airways made headline news last month at the Farnborough International Airshow 2018, with a number of high-profile announcements and award wins. The airline picked up four prestigious awards at this year’s 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards, being named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ for the sixth time and third consecutive year; ‘Best Airline In The Middle East’, ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’ and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite.

    Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft via its home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), to more than 150 destinations worldwide. Earlier this year, Qatar Airways revealed a host of forthcoming global destinations in line with its expedited expansion plans, including Tallinn, Estonia; Valletta, Malta; Langkawi, Malaysia and Da Nang, Vietnam.

  • Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club launches refreshed brand identity

    Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club launches refreshed brand identity

    MUMBAI:  Qatar Airways’ Frequent Flyer Programme, Privilege Club has refreshed its brand identity, under the slogan — ‘Don’t just collect miles, collect memories’.

    The refreshed brand identity, which was initially announced at ITB Berlin earlier this month, will include a range of new programme enhancements, and bring a new luxurious look and feel to the programme, coinciding more closely with Qatar Airways’ brand.

    Over the upcoming weeks, Privilege Club will launch a number of celebratory offers and more programme enhancements, including a new member log in area, dashboard and other functionalities designed to make the members’ experience with Qatar Airways easier and more seamless than ever before. Programme guides have also been updated to reflect Privilege Club’s new programme changes and newly added partnerships. For platinum members, the new redesign will allow them to enjoy newly designed membership packs, cards and baggage tags.

    The first celebratory offer commences between 28 March and 12 April 2018, and will offer Privilege Club members an exclusive chance to earn 3,000 bonus Qmiles in premium class and 1,500 bonus Qmiles in economy class when booking a ticket by 12 April 2018 for travel until 30 September 2018.

    In addition, there is also a second celebratory offer which will commence between 1- 15 April 2018, and will offer Privilege Club members an exclusive chance to take advantage of a 50 per cent Qmiles discount when they pay using Qmiles at select stores at Hamad International Airport and the Oryx Galleria, Doha. For more information and full terms and conditions visit: https://www.qatarairways.com/en/Privilege-Club/qatar-airways-offers/QDF.html

    Qatar Airways chief commercial officer Ehab Amin said, “This new brand identity illustrates our continued commitment to listen to our members and make the programme easier and more engaging to the increasingly discerning world traveller.”

    Additional improvements as part of Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club rebrand include members’ ability to do all their account activities online, including purchasing award tickets using Qmiles, nominating family members to join their membership account, updating personal profiles and requesting services including cabin upgrades, excess baggage, date changes, refunds and much more.

    Qatar Airways continues to innovate its product offering and services for all its passengers. Just last week, the award-winning airline launched its latest loyalty programme for its youngest travellers – Oryx Kids Club and Oryx Kids Loyalty Programme, designed to put even more fun into flying for children. The Oryx Kids Club and Oryx Kids Loyalty Programme offer special new children’s in-flight meal boxes and plush toys on board, in addition to a new and exclusive frequent flyer programme designed just for young passengers. Children between the ages of two and eleven will be able to register for the Oryx Kids Loyalty Programme and earn Qmiles, which they can redeem for attractive awards and exclusive benefits. They will also earn Qpoints, which allow them to upgrade to a higher tier.

    Qatar Airways Privilege Club was named “Best Rewards Programme” among airlines in the region and received the “Outstanding Benefit” award at the sixth annual FlyerTalk awards 2017.

  • Razorfish India appoints Swapnil Puranik as Mumbai’s head of strategy

    Razorfish India appoints Swapnil Puranik as Mumbai’s head of strategy

    MUMBAI:  Razorfish has appointed senior team member,  Swapnil Puranik, as head of Strategy in  Mumbai. He will be responsible for driving strategic business transformation and digital roadmaps for Razorfish’s clients.

    “Growth is the real ROI” believes Puranik, “and that businesses today are no longer looking for superficial solutions and metrics, but strategies to transform and evolve their business by maximizing relevant consumer interaction through technology adoption, data analytics, deeper consumer insight and non-intrusive creative ideas”

    With 13 plus years of advertising and marketing experience, across agencies, businesses and successfully running his own startup, Puranik has experience across multiple categories like telecom (RCom); Travel & Hospitality (Qatar Airways, Hyatt, Sofitel); BFSI – Aditya Birla Finance MyUniverse, ICICI Prudential MF, Reliance Mutual Fund; Fashion (Lilliput, 109F, Fusion Beats; Electronics (JBL, Harman Kardon); Luxury (Davidoff, Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli) amongst others.

    He led the digital marketing team and launched many successful campaigns like iPhone 5S/5C launch in India, longest Twitter campaign during WorldT20 2014 (Limca Book of World Records); leading media for Qatar Airways for the SEA region. As Business Head – Worldoo.com, he was responsible for defining product roadmap, product validation and launch the product

    He has also helped startups scale up, which led him to build his own business, which successfully got acquired.

    Prior to joining Razorfish, he was business head at Anvis Digtial – a young Mumbai based startup, where he grew the business to become a full service digital and tech company and helped win digital mandates for brands like Qatar Airways, Roche Bobois, Davidoff, Calvin Klein, MyTangerineTree amongst others.

    “I am super excited about co-writing the India Digital story with Razorfish. I have been following some of their transformational work in India and global regions and clearly this is where the future is,” says Puranik,

    Razorfish India COO Gaurav Pathak said, “Puranik’s incredible blend of a probing and intuitive approach coupled with a mature understanding of the latent consumer insights is what we want to bring as an important dimension to our Digital solutions. We are building a strong senior team that can guide clients in their business transformation journey beyond vanilla digital offerings. ”

    Charulata Ravi Kumar, CEO Razorfish India adds, “In today’s digital world, increasing discovery, generating conversations and driving advocacy is all clichéd and given. What we look for is a curious mind and fire in the belly. And of course clients who have the appetite for it to take their brands to the next level of this matrix.”

    Razorfish India has a team of over 500 (Strategy, Technology, Creative& Media) across Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore.

  • Razorfish India appoints Swapnil Puranik as Mumbai’s head of strategy

    Razorfish India appoints Swapnil Puranik as Mumbai’s head of strategy

    MUMBAI:  Razorfish has appointed senior team member,  Swapnil Puranik, as head of Strategy in  Mumbai. He will be responsible for driving strategic business transformation and digital roadmaps for Razorfish’s clients.

    “Growth is the real ROI” believes Puranik, “and that businesses today are no longer looking for superficial solutions and metrics, but strategies to transform and evolve their business by maximizing relevant consumer interaction through technology adoption, data analytics, deeper consumer insight and non-intrusive creative ideas”

    With 13 plus years of advertising and marketing experience, across agencies, businesses and successfully running his own startup, Puranik has experience across multiple categories like telecom (RCom); Travel & Hospitality (Qatar Airways, Hyatt, Sofitel); BFSI – Aditya Birla Finance MyUniverse, ICICI Prudential MF, Reliance Mutual Fund; Fashion (Lilliput, 109F, Fusion Beats; Electronics (JBL, Harman Kardon); Luxury (Davidoff, Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli) amongst others.

    He led the digital marketing team and launched many successful campaigns like iPhone 5S/5C launch in India, longest Twitter campaign during WorldT20 2014 (Limca Book of World Records); leading media for Qatar Airways for the SEA region. As Business Head – Worldoo.com, he was responsible for defining product roadmap, product validation and launch the product

    He has also helped startups scale up, which led him to build his own business, which successfully got acquired.

    Prior to joining Razorfish, he was business head at Anvis Digtial – a young Mumbai based startup, where he grew the business to become a full service digital and tech company and helped win digital mandates for brands like Qatar Airways, Roche Bobois, Davidoff, Calvin Klein, MyTangerineTree amongst others.

    “I am super excited about co-writing the India Digital story with Razorfish. I have been following some of their transformational work in India and global regions and clearly this is where the future is,” says Puranik,

    Razorfish India COO Gaurav Pathak said, “Puranik’s incredible blend of a probing and intuitive approach coupled with a mature understanding of the latent consumer insights is what we want to bring as an important dimension to our Digital solutions. We are building a strong senior team that can guide clients in their business transformation journey beyond vanilla digital offerings. ”

    Charulata Ravi Kumar, CEO Razorfish India adds, “In today’s digital world, increasing discovery, generating conversations and driving advocacy is all clichéd and given. What we look for is a curious mind and fire in the belly. And of course clients who have the appetite for it to take their brands to the next level of this matrix.”

    Razorfish India has a team of over 500 (Strategy, Technology, Creative& Media) across Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore.

  • Coca-Cola IPTL names FedEx as the official logistics partner

    Coca-Cola IPTL names FedEx as the official logistics partner

    MUMBAI: One of the world’s largest express transportation company FedEx, has announced its association with the Coca Cola International Premier Tennis League.  The league will be held at Manila, Singapore, New Delhi and Dubai from 28 November to 13 December 2014. 

     

    FedEx services executive vice president marketing and communications Raj Subramaniam commented, “In the past, FedEx has successfully leveraged sports marketing to connect with customers. IPTL provides an additional platform to communicate with customers in addition to sharing the FedEx brand characteristics of speed and precision.”

     

    The Coca-Cola IPTL presented by Qatar Airways is a professional team tennis competition founded by India’s Mahesh Bhupathi, featuring some of the best current and past champions and played across four countries in Asia. 

     

    FedEx Express vice president EMEA customer service, MEIA marketing and  communications  Nathalie Amiel-Ferrault  said, “FedEx is pleased to share the passion and excitement of the team based professional tennis league and of having the best of the best in tennis playing in front of the public in the four key cities. We share many attributes with tennis as a sport and that’s what makes this association such a great fit.” 

     

    The Coca-Cola IPTL will showcase iconic tennis players like Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic in these countries. The league is expected to reach over 125 countries and 300 million households internationally and will be broadcasted in the US, Brazil, Europe, South-East Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. FedEx has a history of tennis sponsorships and currently sponsors Roland-Garros in France and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) across 13 countries. 

     

     

  • Coca Cola IPTL gets Qatar Airways onboard as presenting sponsor

    Coca Cola IPTL gets Qatar Airways onboard as presenting sponsor

    MUMBAI: The national carrier of the state of Qatar, Qatar Airways, has teamed up with Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) as the presenting sponsor for the inaugural edition of the event. In its capacity as the presenting sponsor, it will be undertaking a series of on-ground activations to engage with tennis fans across the globe.  

     

    Founder of IPTL Mahesh Bhupathi said, “Qatar Airways’ legacy as a committed sponsor of global sports events is well known. We’re glad to partner with an award winning airline like them as presenting sponsor and look forward to enjoying a long and fruitful association during and after the IPTL season.”

     

    The tennis league is the first of its kind initiative in tennis to encourage a competitive franchise based competition. The league will travel to the cities of Manila, Singapore, New Delhi and Dubai featuring current and former ATP and WTA players in its inaugural season from 28 November until 13 December 2014.

     

    Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: “We are extremely excited about our partnership with the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League. At Qatar Airways, we have a long-standing history of associations with large-scale sporting events which allows us to connect with sporting fans and legendary sportsmen across the globe through our widespread global route network. Qatar Airways’ associations with this event will further promote the game among the increasing fan base of tennis enthusiasts across the world.”

     

    Starting from the Philippines, the league will travel to Singapore and India before culminating in Dubai. In its inaugural season, the championship will feature players such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and others playing for four tournament franchises – Manila Mavericks, DBS Singapore Slammers, Micromax Indian Aces and the UAE Royals, that have been sponsored by corporates and leading sports legends.

     

  • Qatar airways voted best middle eastern airline for seventh consecutive year

    Qatar airways voted best middle eastern airline for seventh consecutive year

    MUMBAI: For the seventh year in a row, Qatar Airways was presented “Best Middle Eastern Airline” at the TTG Asia Travel Awards held in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, 3rd October.

    The Doha-based airline was voted by readers of one of the most respected travel trade magazines in the Asia Pacific, TTG Asia. Readers based their voting on the strength of the airline’s customer service, its route network, services and its marketing and advertising programmes.

    Qatar Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer Marwan Koleilat, who accepted the award on behalf of the airline, said that the honour demonstrated the airline’s continued popularity amongst passengers.

    “Qatar Airways continues to consolidate its position as one of the world’s leading airlines by winning several awards year on year,” said Koleilat. “Winning the Best Middle Eastern Airline award reiterates the airline’s commitment to create superior travel experiences for its passengers and to offer them the best service levels.”

    “We are very proud of this recognition from our esteemed customers who are true advocates of our product,” added Koleilat. “Asia Pacific is one of the most significant regions for Qatar Airways and we will continue to focus on delivering excellent customer service while, of course, expanding our operations in this region.”

    New routes launched by Qatar Airways in the Asia Pacific region this year are Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, and Chengdu in Western China. The airline has been operating daily flights to Phnom Penh International Airport since February this year and three-flights-a-week to Chengdu since 3rd September. Another significant addition will be three-flights-a-week to Clark Airport in the Philippines which will be launched on 27th October.

    While launching new routes, the airline is also simultaneously increasing frequencies to its existing network in Asia Pacific. Yangon, which was re-launched last October with three flights a week, will be upgraded to a daily non-stop service from 27th October. Another popular route, Jakarta, recently saw an increase in capacity from 11 to 14 flights a week, resulting in double-daily flights to the Indonesian capital city.

    Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 132 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

    In 2013, Qatar Airways has launched nine destinations to date – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Chengdu (China), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and most recently Ta’if (Saudi Arabia).
    Over the next few weeks and months, the network will grow further with Clark Manila International Airport, Philippines (October 27) and Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014)

  • Airlines first a380 in Qatar airways colours takes flight carrier will take delivery of its first A380 in spring 2014

    Airlines first a380 in Qatar airways colours takes flight carrier will take delivery of its first A380 in spring 2014

    MUMBAI: The much anticipated delivery of Qatar Airways’ first A380-1000 is one step closer to joining the airline’s fleet, as the aircraft was ferried from Toulouse to Hamburg during a test flight last week.

     

    The Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, is one of thirteen on order by Qatar Airways. The airline is set to take delivery of the aircraft in spring 2014.

     

    The aircraft will be fitted in a tri-class configuration with seats in First Class, Business Class and Economy Class. The first route will be to a European destination, with the city to be confirmed at a later date. The airline’s original order of 8 A380-1000 aircraft was made at the Dubai Air Show in January 2004, and then nearly doubled with an order for an additional 5 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow in 2010.    

     

    Qatar Airways’ future home, the Hamad International Airport, scheduled to open in the beginning of 2014, has been specially designed to cater to the A380, with 6 contact gates designed with specifications required for the super jumbo. In addition, the maintenance hangar at HIA – which will be the largest in the world – is able to accommodate two of A380s simultaneously.

     

    Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said that the airline is pleased to see the progress being made on their first A380.

     

    It is thrilling to see the A380 painted in Qatar Airways colours on display during its test flight from Toulouse to Hamburg. We have been awaiting the delivery of our first A380, and are delighted to soon operate passenger services with this fantastic aeroplane.

     

    “Our mission is to provide our passengers the best – whether it is comfort, cuisine, the most expansive route network, or the best connectivity. By introducing the A380 to our ever expanding young and modern fleet, we are keeping to our commitment of ensuring that our passengers have the best possible experience when travelling with Qatar Airways,” he added.

     

    The airline has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 130 key business and leisure destinations worldwide.

     

    Qatar Airways has so far launched eight destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq) and Chengdu, (China).

     

    Over the next few weeks and months, the network will expand with the addition of further destinations – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Ta’if, Saudi Arabia (October 2), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 27), and Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014).