AIRSPACE CLOSURES HAVE HARDLY ANY IMPACT ON QATAR AIRWAYS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
(Posted 15th June 2017)
90 percent of all flights operated by Qatar Airways have departed on time, i.e. within the 15 minute margin allowed for reporting on time departures, it was learned yesterday when the airline clarified again on the ongoing denial of airspace by several of their GCC neighbours.
The airline considers such action as a violation of international treaties while the travel trade now increasingly speaks up against the other Gulf carriers’s attempt to decampaign Qatar Airways in order to grab market share.
In the past week, the award-winning global airline has flown approximately 1,200 flights between Doha and its network of more than 150 destinations around the globe.
In the coming months, that network will continue to grow. The airline, the day before yesterday as was reported here, launched direct services to Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. Qatar Airways’ service to Nice, France, will commence on 04th of July, and flights to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on 17th of July. Other new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018 include Las Vegas (USA), Canberra (Australia), Mombasa (Kenya), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Medan (Indonesia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as many others.
Earlier this week the airline released its annual report for the fiscal year 2017, revealing a net profit of $541 million, a 21.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: ‘Qatar Airways’ global operations continue to run smoothly, with the vast majority of our network unaffected by the current circumstances. Our focus is on supporting any passengers impacted by the current situation and ensuring that we continue to deliver our award-winning service. Our network expansion continues with two new destinations launching in the next month. As far as we are concerned, it is business as usual. This blockade is unprecedented and it is in direct contradiction to the convention that guarantees rights to civil overflight. We call upon the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to declare this an illegal act. We are not a political body, we are an airline, and this blockade has stripped us of the rights which are guaranteed to us‘.
In light of the blockade, the airline has significantly increased the operations of its global call centre and social media to ensure concerned customers receive the best possible care, and has even extended its commercial policy to ensure greater flexibility for refunds and rebooking for any passengers whose flight is impacted by the recent travel bans. The airline has also introduced new functionality on Facebook to provide customers with flexible call-back options. The airline is widely recognised as offering the world’s best service and holds the title ‘Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East’ as awarded by the customer-voted Skytrax awards.
Qatar Airways’ revolutionary new “First in Business” seat, Qsuite, will be showcased to thousands of visitors at the Paris Air Show from 19th to the 25th of June before debuting on its first route, between Doha and London Heathrow, later this month.
The Qsuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room. Adjustable panels and movable TV monitors on the centre four seats allows colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite, allowing them to work, dine and socialise together.
In Eastern Africa does Qatar Airways fly daily between Doha and Entebbe and Kigali but also serves Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar either daily or double daily.
