Qatar Airways picks up two awards for flagship A380 and A350 aircraft

DOHA, Qatar: Qatar Airways, crowned Airline of the Year at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2015, won two awards at the recent Australian Business Traveller Awards. The Doha-based carrier’s superjumbo A380 Lounge was named “Best Inflight Lounge” and the airline also picked up the “Best Economy Class” accolade for its A350 Economy Class cabin.   

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to have received these two accolades for our flagship A380 and A350 aircraft, particularly so for the A350 which only commenced operations just seven months ago. 

These awards bear testament to our commitment and dedication to delivering a high quality travel experience for all passengers who fly with Qatar Airways, across all classes of travel. Whether you are travelling with us in the Premium Cabins or in Economy Class, our five-star service offering remains consistent.”

Qatar Airways’ A350 Economy Class cabin was named Best Economy Class as it “cleverly marries the overall sense of space in the Airbus A350 cabin with an economy seat that’s a generous 18 inches wide, with ample room around the knees for even the tallest traveller,” said David Flynn, editor of the Australian Business Traveller.

In addition to wider seats in Business and Economy Classes, the state-of-the-art aircraft is also quieter and features advanced air conditioning technology coupled with mood lighting to reduce passenger fatigue after a long flight.

Qatar Airways is the global launch customer for the A350, and currently flies the world’s newest wide-body aircraft on the Frankfurt and Singapore routes. 

The airline has 76 A350 aircraft on order and future destinations earmarked for the A350 are Munich, Germany, from October 1, 2015, and the United States of America in 2016 (Philadelphia from January 1, New York from March 1 and Boston from March 16). 

Besides “Best Economy Class”, Qatar Airways’ elegantly designed A380 on-board lounge was also named “Best Inflight Lounge” by the Australian Business Traveller Awards.

The lounge on board the airline’s bespoke A380 superjumbo was praised for “offering travellers a social space where they can mix and mingle and boasts an undeniably private jet vibe.”

The Australian Business Traveller Awards are organised by the Australian Business Traveller, the Asia Pacific region’s leading website for business travellers and frequent flyers. 

The Awards recognise the trend-setters and game-changers in the highly competitive business travel market across 33 categories including first class suites and business class seats, airport lounges, frequent flyer programs, inflight food and wine, travel technology and more.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 18 years of operations, and is currently flying a modern fleet of 163 aircraft to 151 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

Qatar Airways Cargo adds new B747 freighter to fleet

Qatar Airways Cargo’s first Boeing B747 freighter has joined the carrier’s expanding fleet having completed its first flight from Doha to Hong Kong.

Qatar Airways Cargo operates one of the most modern freighter fleets comprised of Boeing B777 and Airbus A330 freighters. The addition of the popular Boeing B747-400BCF heavy cargo aircraft, and its 112.5 tonne capacity, will enable Qatar Airways Cargo to satisfy growing demand for outsized freight transportation from customers investing in significant infrastructure projects in the Middle East and throughout the world.

Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo Ulrich Ogiermann said: “A dedicated charter aircraft will enable Qatar Airways Cargo to satisfy growing demand from our customers for capacity in the ad-hoc charter market. Qatar Airways Cargo continues to grow: we have achieved our status as the world’s fifth largest cargo carrier by adopting a market-responsive strategy that is strengthened by our global network and expanding fleet. The addition of the B747 freighter will enable further flexibility by supplementing our existing scheduled services as and when required.”

Flexibility in loading is a key feature of the Boeing B747 freighter. With a large side cargo door the aircraft can be loaded quickly and easily, whether the cargo is made up of standard containers and pallets or nonstandard, outsized objects.

The airline will welcome a Boeing B747-400F with a nose-loading door to its fleet in October, replacing the existing Boeing B747BCF to provide even more flexibility to satisfy customers’ oversized cargo transportation demands.

One of the largest palletised cargo aircraft available in the market, the Boeing B747F will provide belly freight capacity and main cargo deck capacity with 39 ULD positions. The pressurised cargo cabin means that the aircraft is suitable to transport freight of all kinds and can provide a temperature control range from 4-degrees to 30-degrees Celsius. Livestock and horses, perishables, heavy machinery, oversized equipment, oil and gas equipment and humanitarian and relief aid can all be transported worldwide on this aircraft, which is suitable for long haul cargo flights of up to 10 hours.

Qatar Airways Cargo confirmed an order for an additional four Boeing B777Fs at the Paris Air Show in June, increasing its outstanding fleet order to eight Boeing B777Fs and two Airbus A330Fs.