FIVE YEARS AND COUNTING AS QATAR AIRWAYS MEETS UGANDAN MEDIA ON ANNIVERSARY DAY
(Posted 10th November 2016)
Time flies goes the saying, especially in the aviation industry where flying is the order of the day.
Qatar Airways, five years ago, commenced daily passenger flights from Doha to Entebbe, and on to Kigali, using Airbus A320 aircraft on the route. In addition is the route served with an Airbus A330F which presently operates a dedicated cargo service three times a week.
At the time, in 2011, was the airline’s new hub airport, Hamad International, in the early stages of construction. Since then has HIA been completed and became one of the world’s leading hub airports with over 30 million passengers handled last year already. Qatar Airways itself too has grown in leaps and bounds, today flying to some 150 destinations worldwide with a fleet of now 191 aircraft in service, a number however rising rapidly as orders worth around 90 BILLION US Dollars are pending and more planes are delivered every month.
About a dozen Ugandan journalists were invited for a lunch briefing at the Kampala Serena’s Pearl Restaurant and besides QR’s Uganda Commercial Manager Donald Ajuoga did Doha based Gayathri Pradeep, Senior Media Relations Officer / Corporate Communications attend the meeting.
(Daniel Ajuoga and two of the Qatar Airways staff from the airline’s Kampala office)
In a related development did Hamad International Airport on the same day also launch its latest App for Android in both English and Arabic languages, to make the passenger experience even better. Notably has Hamad International Airport also the Apple Indoor Positioning technology available for iPhone users, giving them information of their location and where to go for their connecting flights.
Earlier this year did HIA became one of the few airports in the world to have successfully deployed iBeacons to provide location based services. With a simple scan of the boarding pass and opt-in for location detection, the app provides real-time information about flight status, baggage claim, time and direction to boarding gates and food, beverage and retail offers from Qatar Duty Free (QDF), the airport’s award winning shopping emporium.
To ensure that customers benefit from the best deals, the app alerts users when walking past outlets with ongoing promotions. Currently, the location services primarily address the departure and transfer experience, including retail, dining, boarding gates and other airport amenities; with the coverage being progressively increased.
Qatar Airways’ Senior Vice President for Africa, Middle East and Pakistan, Mr. Ehab Amin sent the following message for the event: ‘Qatar Airways is delighted to be celebrating five years of successful operations from Uganda, giving the airline the ability to meet growing demand in bringing tourists and business travelers to this vibrant region in Africa. Qatar Airways has enjoyed great success in its operations in Uganda, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their continued support, loyalty and appreciation of our award winning services. We are honoured to continue serving the Ugandan market, building strong relationships with our business partners for the long terms and we look forward to working and growing together over the coming years and beyond‘.
In the immediate Eastern African regions does Qatar Airways fly, besides, Entebbe, to Kigali, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar while also serving Addis Ababa, Asmara and Djibouti in the wider region.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Hon. Najib Balala, during the recently concluded Magical Kenya Travel Expo, also insinuated that Qatar Airways would be granted traffic rights to commence flights to Mombasa.
