Doha round

Qatar Airways was originally launched by the State of Qatar in 1994, although it was a relaunch three years later which saw the airline embark on its ambitious growth agenda. Since then, it has been led by dynamic CEO Akbar Al Baker and is currently 50 per cent owned by the State of Qatar, with the remainder owned by private investors.

Al Baker recalls a conversation he had with a journalist shortly after the relaunch of the carrier about the plans for the future. “In this regard, I told him that we will only operate to 35-40 destinations and we will only operate never more than 35 aeroplanes. ” Those targets have now been convincingly exceeded. At December 2009, the airline flew to 85 destinations from its hub in Doha, stretching to Melbourne, Houston and New York as well as significant networks through the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Serving these routes is a fleet of 72 modern aircraft, most of which have been delivered new to the carrier in recent years.

“We are an aggressively expanding airline,” said Al Baker. “We have launched four destinations already in this financial year (which started in April 2009). We will be adding four to five more destinations over the next four to five months. ” However, Al Baker holds the details of his destinations closely. “We are an airline that secretly plans the infrastructure and business establishment where we plan to go and then we will load (flights into GDS systems) 12-8 weeks before a departure and make the announcement,” he said.

“Our target is to make sure our network reaches 120 destinations in the next three to four years and to grow our fleet size to 120 aircraft by the year 2013,” he added.

Over recent years, passenger numbers on the airline have skyrocketed. “In the whole of 1996, we only carried 400,000 passengers,” said Al Baker. “(Now) we have exceeded 12 million passengers in the previous financial year. I don’t think any airline in the history of aviation has been able to grow at a rate of over 35 per cent year on year continuously for nearly a decade. ” This growth is now being aided by its first direct Australian services. Having long had an offline presence, December 6 saw the arrival of one of the airline’s brand new Boeing 777-200LRs at Melbourne Airport, operating its first nonstop service from Doha. Initially, this was operated three times weekly, but the recent addition of a fourth 777-200LR was due to see the airline increase this to a daily service from January 1.

Added to this, the airline is planning to launch flights to Sydney during 2010, but at the time of writing had not given a specific date for their start.

As with other Middle Eastern carriers, Qatar sees Australia as a major strategic addition to its network, particularly as it is able to offer rapid connections on to destinations in Europe such as Athens, Zurich and London, efficiently through its Doha hub.

“If you just take the flying time from Melbourne to London on Qatar Airways, it is only 21 hours and 40 minutes. That is very similar to the time Qantas flies directly with one stop through Singapore,” said Al Baker.

As with some of its neighbouring airlines, Qatar has positioned itself firmly as Doha round photo –a premium carrier, although Al Baker says that this extends beyond its first and business class cabins. “We don’t forget people who can ill afford the premium classes and travel at the back of the aeroplane,” he said.

As an example, on its 777-200LRs which operate the Melbourne services, the economy class seats feature a roomy 34in (86cm) pitch, although the airline claims that the seat design effectively gives passengers an additional 8cm of leg room. Interestingly, the inflight entertainment is the same as in business class, with over 900 audio and video on demand options available through its Oryx Entertainment system.

However, Al Baker adds that comes at a price to travellers. “Don’t expect to travel cheap on my aeroplane. Our price out of Melbourne is substantially higher than our competition because we have a superior product. ” In business, the carrier offers 1. 92m lieflat beds in a 2+2+2 configuration with a 78in (1. 98m) pitch, while Al Baker claims that the seat is also 5cm wider than competing business class seats. Naturally, the service includes a wide selection of meals and beverages.

Qatar’s approach appears to be paying off, with the carrier receiving a number of awards for its product, with the greatest being its retention of a five star Skytrax rating.

“We are the only carrier in the Middle East which has a five star ranking, and we have had this rating for the last five years,” said Al Baker.

In addition to this, the airline has recently launched Qatari Executive, which currently operates two Bombardier Challenger 605s and one Challenger 300 for executive charter services, while it also has an Airbus A319CJ which is primarily used by the Qatari Royal Family.

Finally, one very unique type to wear the distinctive Qatar Airways livery is a Boeing C-17 military airlifter. The C-17 is one of two recently delivered to the Qatar Emiri Air Force (the other is painted in military grey), and wears the Qatar Airways livery to highlight the nation’s participation in international humanitarian aid, disaster relief and peacekeeping missions.

Growing hub

As Qatar Airways has grown its network, the traffic through its hub airport at Doha has also surged to the point where development of a new airport is currently underway.

Unlike many other hub airports, Doha has somewhat failed to keep up with modern times. The terminal does not have aerobridges, meaning that passengers must be bussed to aircraft parked on remote stands. Nevertheless, the Qatari government has invested well over US$1 billion to modernise its terminals to meet the increase in traffic.

This includes the recent expansion of the airline’s 10,000m2 premium terminal where first and business class passengers are able to complete all their requirements prior to boarding. Originally opened in 2006, the terminal expansion was completed in 2009, and it features a number of luxury appointments including spas, gyms, saunas, restaurants and a dedicated children’s play area.

But with the massive growth planned for the airline over the next few years, Qatar has followed in the footsteps of Dubai and in 2005 started construction of its US$14. 5bn (A$15. 9bn) New Doha International Airport (NDIA) project. The new airport is being built adjacent to the current airport on land partially reclaimed from the Gulf, and will help to cater for the expected rise in traffic the carrier is planning for over the next five years and beyond.

“Don’t expect to travel cheap on my aeroplane. Our price out of Melbourne is substantially higher because we have a superior product. ”

Fittingly, the NDIA project is being managed by Al Baker. Significantly, phases have been consolidated to ensure that the airport is able to open in 2011 and be ready from the start to accommodate Qatar Airways’s growing fleet and network.

The new airport will feature a 219,000m2 terminal with capacity of 24 million pas-sengers annually and feature 40 contact gates, including a number with dual aerobridges to accommodate the A380, which the airport has been designed around. The airport will also feature two parallel runways of 4850m and 4250m lengths.

“I can’t wait for this project to finish so we will move into it, and hopefully I can ask for my retirement!” Al Baker joked.

Innovator

While some may say that Qatar is merely following in the shadows of its Arab rivals, the airline has also been leading in a number of areas, particularly when it comes to fuels and safety.

On October 12 2009 the carrier became the first to operate a revenue flight powered by gas-to-liquid (GTL) kerosene when it flew a service from London Gatwick to Doha using an A340-600 powered by a 50-50 mix of GTL and regular jet fuel.

Qatar has set the goal of operating its fleet using mixed GTL fuel by 2012. Al Baker says that while the fuel does have a greater carbon lifecycle footprint than jet fuel, it produces no sulphur dioxide emissions and no particulates, making it a cleaner fuel.

Partially driving this is the fact that Qatar has the third largest reserves of natural gas in the world, while a number of science and technology organisations in the country have been working on GTL. Qatar Airways is also a key player in the Aviation Global Deal, and is currently the only Middle Eastern carrier involved in the group, which is pushing for a global approach to emissions trading for the airline industry.

Al Baker doesn’t mince his words when talking about the aviation industry’s response to climate change, and is particularly scathing of IATA’s goals of carbon neutral growth by 2020. “I think this is all bullshit, because they do not have a very clear strategy of how they are going to do this,” he told reporters in December.

He also holds little respect for some of the proposed carbon taxes which will be levied on carriers flying to Europe. “What are they going to do with this money? I think they want to use aviation as a cash cow to extract money to use in the treasury for things that have no relation to improving the air quality and reducing carbon footprint. ” Environmental issues aside, Qatar was also the first airline in the world to undertake the IATA Operational Safety Audit in 2003, which has now become the global benchmark for safety compliance with carriers around the world.

“Subsequent audits we have passed again with 100 per cent compliance,” said Al Baker, who received an award in recognition of this achievement from IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani at the organisation’s 2009 annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Fleet

As one of the fastest growing carriers in the Middle East, Qatar has been on something of a shopping spree over the last few years, and a number of narrowbodies and widebody aircraft are expected to enter the fleet over the coming years. For many years the airline was a solely Airbus operator, and its current fleet includes 24 A320 Family aircraft, 19 A330s, four A340-600s and three A300-600Fs for cargo services. However, in 2007 the first Boeing 777-300ER was delivered to the airline, with the smaller -200LR since added for ultra long haul services.

The 777s appear to be in favour with the airline, which was the launch customer for the higher gross weight version of the competing A340-600. At a press conference in March, Al Baker noted that the A340 was relatively fuel inefficient compared to the twinjets in its fleet, going so far as to say, “If I could, I would throw them away. ” That may become a possibility, given the large number of orders that the carrier has racked up in recent years, including a number announced at major airshows around the world. Currently it has announced orders and options for 80 A350s, 24 A320 Family aircraft, five A380s, 60 787s and 21 777s (including freighters).

More orders are also coming. “We have recently placed another small order at the Dubai Airshow, but I will not announce this order as we have only signed an MoU and we will announce the order at the Farnborough Airshow in the middle of (2010),” Al Baker told reporters in Melbourne during December.

While many airlines have sought to defer deliveries, Al Baker’s growth strategy will continue to see the airline take its aircraft on time. “Over the next few years, Qatar Airways will be receiving on average over one aircraft per month, which shows our confidence in the aviation industry against the economic situation that has been making headlines around the world,” he said.

Al Baker explains that with the average age of the fleet currently at just over three years he intends to keep new aircraft rolling through the fleet. “Qatar Airways will never keep an aircraft more than five years old in our fleet. We will always replace those aircraft with more fuel efficient, state-ofthe- art aeroplanes,” he said.

However, Al Baker has also shown that those orders are not completely firm. At the 2009 Paris Airshow, he openly threatened to cancel its order for 30 Boeing 787s and 30 options due to the ongoing delays to the aircraft’s development, which have pushed back first delivery to late 2011.

“Boeing doesn’t realise how much they’re hurting their customers’ plans,” he said at the time. “They’re very much mistaken if they think we’re going to give them much more time on the issue. Then Boeing will be left with a load of parked planes. It may be that we become an exclusive Airbus customer. ” Despite assurances soon after the airshow from Boeing and the airline that the order still stands, Al Baker was still holding his position at the end of 2009. “I want my aircraft earlier … We gave them an ultimatum to accept the conditions because they have been continuously delaying the delivery,” he said in an interview with the BBC in late November.

Assuming its 787s arrive on time, the subsequent significant new aircraft type to enter the fleet will be its A380s, with deliveries of the first of the five set for 2012.

The airline has revealed few details about the aircraft, but it is expected that they will be luxuriously appointed, and will initially be used on services to London, with other high density routes to follow.

The airline also has orders for 80 A350 XWBs, comprising 20 A350-800s, 40 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s. The first delivery is due in 2013.

As well as the significant build-up of its widebody fleet, Qatar has also been building up its A320 Family fleet, which includes 11 A320s, eight A321s and three A319s (including one A319CJ) which are powered by IAE V2500s. At June’s Paris Airshow it provided one of that bleak show’s few order highlights when it signed straight shooter Al Baker has developed a reputation for straight talking. (Qatar Airways) a firm contract for 24 more A320 Family aircraft. Most recently, the airline has taken delivery of a new A320 featuring a new interior cabin, which features individual AVOD (audio visual on demand).

A320s aside, Qatar was also identified as one of the earliest customers to show interest in the Bombardier CSeries. In the press release announcing its launch, Al Baker was quoted as saying that the airline would work quickly to secure an order, although by December 2009 this appears not to have been forthcoming due to a disagreement with Bombardier over prices and performance guarantees.

Working against the CSeries may be a possible re-engining of the A320 with the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan.

Al Baker has publicly expressed interest in such a program, which is rumoured to be under consideration by Airbus. “This development would put them at least 10 years ahead of the competition on the single-aisle aircraft and most definitely kill the CSeries program,” Al Baker said in an October interview with Bloomberg.

Looking forward

While Qatar Airways has not been immune to some of the troubles faced by other carriers as a result of the global financial crisis, its relatively small size has meant that it has been able to buck the tide and continue to grow.

Helping it is a very strong local economy.

Driven by major gas and oil projects, Qatari GDP was forecast to grow by 9. 4 per cent during 2009, with double digit growth forecast for the years ahead.

Al Baker makes it clear that his airline is only set to grow further. “Our long term strategy is aggressive. Regardless of the economic conditions or the financial impacts in the world, Qatar Airways will keep on growing aggressively. ”