OMAN AIR AND QATAR AIRWAYS REVEAL EXPANDED CODE SHARE DEAL
(Posted 30th December 2020)
Qatar Airways was the only global airline flying consistently throughout 2020 and played a vital role in the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The airline closes one of the most challenging years in the history of aviation with an optimistic outlook for 2021
Code-share expansion will significantly increase the number of destinations available to Oman Air passengers from three to 65* on the Qatar Airways network
Expansion of code-share agreement is the first step in further strengthening commercial cooperation between the two Gulf airlines
At the close of an extraordinary year and one of the most challenging in the history of aviation, Qatar Airways reflects on its achievements in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “This year has been unlike any other, with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting people and businesses all around the world. Aviation has been one of the most affected industries, with a unique set of challenges resulting from a more restrictive travel environment and subdued demand.
However, at Qatar Airways we have never shied away from a challenge and I am immensely proud of our response. Firstly, we never stopped flying throughout the pandemic, fulfilling our mission of taking stranded passengers home on scheduled and charter flights. We were able to do this thanks to our varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft that allows us to respond quickly to market changes, as well as the incredible efforts of our staff.
Our fleet has also allowed us to rebuild our network from our lowest point in May, when we served 33 destinations, to over 110 destinations today and 129 by the end of March 2021. We have even launched seven new destinations during the pandemic to meet demand so that passengers can travel with an airline they can rely on.
We have led the industry in the implementation of new and robust safety measures to ensure that passengers are safe when travelling with us on board and on the ground. But unlike some of our competitors, we have continued to invest in the passenger experience both on board and at Hamad International Airport.
Looking ahead, we expect the global travel and tourism industry to continue to gradually recover. Developments to roll out a vaccine worldwide look promising, giving us greater confidence particularly as we look to the second half of 2021. Much work has been done by the hospitality industry in Qatar to ensure that visitors can enjoy a safe visit when its borders open and I believe that travellers will be eager to see what we have to offer, especially as interest in Qatar will grow in the run up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.”
Qatar Airways’ key achievements in 2020 include:
Taking people home
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the national carrier of the State of Qatar remained focused on its fundamental mission of taking people home. The airline’s network never fell below 33 destinations and it continued to fly to key cities including Amsterdam, Dallas-Fort Worth, London, Montréal, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. As a result, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Qatar Airways became the largest international carrier in between April and July, accounting for 17.8% of global international passenger traffic in April.
During the pandemic, the carrier has taken home over 3.1 million passengers and worked closely with governments and companies around the world to operate over 470 charters and extra sector flights. The airline’s efforts provided a lifeline to those in certain industries such as seafarers, with the airline repatriating over 150,000.
Qatar Airways’ repatriation work saw the airline fly to destinations not previously part of its network, including Antananarivo, Bogotá, Bridgetown, Havana, Juba, Laâyoune, Lomé, Maun, Ougadougou, Port-of-Spain, and Port Moresby.
An adaptable and state-of-the-art fleet
Qatar Airways was able to continue flying throughout the pandemic thanks to its varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft that has allowed it to offer the right passenger and cargo capacity in each market as its operations are not dependent on any specific aircraft type. Instead, the airline’s fleet of 52 Airbus A350 and 30 Boeing 787 are the ideal choice for the most strategically important long-haul routes to Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. In the last few months of 2020, Qatar Airways took delivery of three Airbus A350-1000s, reaffirming its position as the largest operator of Airbus A350 aircraft with an average age of 2.6 years. All three were fitted with the airline’s multi award-winning Business Class seat, Qsuite.
New safety measures
As the largest airline flying consistently throughout the pandemic, Qatar Airways accumulated unrivalled experience of how to safely and reliably carry passengers during these uncertain times.
Qatar Airways stringently implemented the most advanced safety and hygiene measures, including the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit and disposable face shields for passengers.
Additionally, among other enhanced hygiene measures, the airline was the first international carrier to deploy Honeywell’s Ultraviolet (UV) Cabin System, operated by Qatar Aviation Services, further advancing its hygiene measures on board.
Leading the recovery of global travel
In May, Qatar Airways’ network had fallen to 33 destinations at the height of the pandemic and travel restrictions worldwide. From then, the airline gradually rebuilt its network in line with global travel demand to reach 110 destinations by the end of the year. Not only did Qatar Airways work to rebuild its pre-pandemic network, it also added seven new destinations: Abuja, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Brisbane, Australia; Cebu, Philippines, Luanda, Angola; San Francisco, USA; and Seattle, USA (starting 15 March 2021).
In order to ensure passengers have the confidence to book travel in a less predictable climate, Qatar Airways offered some of the most flexible booking policies in the market, offering a range of options including two year ticket validity, unlimited date changes, the exchange of tickets for a future travel voucher with increased value, and unlimited destination changes. Qatar Airways was also committed to honouring passenger refunds, paying out over USD $1.65 billion. The airline recently announced that it will offer passengers unlimited date changes and fee-free refunds for all tickets issued by Qatar Airways through to 30 April 2021 for travel completed by 31 December 2021
Qatar Airways has also persevered in our ambition to forge strategic alliances across the globe and agreed several new partnerships in 2020, including with American Airlines, Air Canada, and Alaska Airlines.
Continued investment in customer experience
Despite the economic impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry, Qatar Airways continued to invest in its products and services to ensure that its customer experience remains the best in the world. In August, we announced major updates and new features to our mobile application and in September we celebrated the 100th aircraft in our fleet to be fitted with ‘Super Wi-Fi’, becoming the airline offering the largest number of aircraft in Asia equipped with high-speed broadband.
On board, the airline has continued to deliver its full dining experience, comfort amenities and award-winning service, with enhanced safety measures. In Business Class, the airline’s Dine-on-Demand service is now presented fully covered on a tray with our beverage selection. In Economy Class, Qatar Airways’ full dining experience ‘Quisine’ is available, with food and cutlery served completely sealed as usual on a tray. In October, Qatar Airways introduced its first vegan range of gourmet dishes for premium customers. It also continued to surprise and delight customers with limited edition menus and special touches for key celebrations of Eid, Thanksgiving, Qatar National Day, and the festive season.
Qatar Airways has enhanced the dining concept at Al Mourjan Lounge at Hamad International Airport (HIA) to include a superior a la carte menu, freshly prepared sushi, a self-service cold buffet and a fully assisted hot buffet. It also established the Mariner Lounge – a dedicated space for seafarers to relax in comfort while in transit – in recognition of their vital role in keeping the global economy moving.
Importantly has the airline also made major improvements to Qatar Airways Privilege Club, as part of a transformation of our loyalty programme to provide more and better rewards to its members. In August, Qatar Airways Privilege Club revised its Qmiles policy – when a member earns or spends Qmiles, their balance will be valid for a further 36 months – and also removed booking fees for award flights. More significantly, in November, Privilege Club cut the number of Qmiles required to book award flights by up to 49 per cent and also launched Student Club – a new programme that offers a range of unrivalled benefits curated for students to support them throughout their educational journey.
In regard to the code share deal signed with Oman Air Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are pleased to further expand our code-share cooperation with Oman Air, one of the leading airlines in the Gulf region. Now more than ever, it is important to strengthen strategic partnerships across the industry to optimise our operations and provide seamless connectivity to hundreds of destinations across the globe for our passengers. Since 2000, both airlines have seen the benefits that commercial cooperation has brought, providing our passengers with unrivalled service and more flexibility to travel when they want. I look forward to further strengthening our commercial cooperation with Oman Air to provide even more benefits to our customers.”
Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Mr. Abdulaziz Al Raisi commented: “We are delighted to expand our commercial cooperation with Qatar Airways, which will streamline flying for leisure travellers from around the world to enjoy Oman’s culture, scenic beauty and hospitality, and facilitate travel for those who visit the Sultanate of Oman for abundant, fast-growing business opportunities across a diverse range of sectors. The expansion of our code-share agreement is just the first step, and we look forward to working with Qatar Airways to further strengthen our strategic partnership to enhance the business and leisure travel experience for our customers in Oman and throughout the world.”
The code-share expansion will significantly increase the number of destinations available to Oman Air passengers from three to 65* on the Qatar Airways’ network across Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, India, and the Middle East. Qatar Airways passengers will also benefit from additional connectivity, with the ability to book travel on an additional six destinations across Africa and Asia in Oman Air’s network. Both airlines will also explore a number of joint commercial and operational initiatives to further optimise their partnership.
