Qatar Airways celebrates milestone year in 2015

• 2015 Milestones include Launching of new Brand and On-board Safety Campaign, Commencement of A350 Operations, Winning Skytrax Airline of the Year Award for the third time, Acquisition of a 9.99% Stake in IAG, Passing of 10-millionth-fan mark on Facebook and the Expansion of its Fleet by 20 per cent
• Qatar Airways’ Ambitious Plans for 2016 is to Strengthen its Global Reach through its New Branding Campaign – Going Places Together
• Award-winning Airline Rounds-off 2015 on a High Note with New On-Board Safety Video Featuring FC Barcelona Players

DOHA, Qatar, 2015-12-30 — /Travel PR News/ — Qatar Airways experienced a milestone year in 2015, from beginning with the start of A350 operations for which it was the global launch customer, to growing its fleet by 20 per cent, through to ending on a high note by launching a new brand campaign, “Going Places Together” and debuting an exclusive on-board safety video featuring the world-famous FC Barcelona players.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “As 2015 comes to an end, Qatar Airways is able to reflect on a number of successes throughout the year, while also celebrating  the launch of our new global brand campaign and latest on-board safety video. This has been a momentous way to end what has been a truly historic year for the national carrier of Qatar which has seen, amongst other things, several top award wins, the forging of new partnerships, strong engagement on social media, the launch of a brand new aircraft type and the start of several new routes on both its passenger and cargo networks.”

Qatar Airways recently launched its new global brand campaign featuring the tagline “Going Places Together” reflecting the essence of the airline’s core ambitious plan for next year – to strengthen its global reach by bringing people and places together. The airline also created a huge buzz by breaking industry ‘norms’ with its fresh and unique on-board safety video featuring famous FC Barcelona’s La Liga players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique, Ivan Rakitic and Javier Mascherano.

“The phenomenal response to our new global brand campaign and safety video has been overwhelming and has strengthened the strong bond that Qatar Airways has with its passengers,” said Salam Al Shawa, Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing & Corporate Communications. “The new brand campaign evokes an emotional connection inspiring passengers to go to new places together, where our dreams and ambitions may be brought to life. In a more humourous tone, our new safety video with FC Barcelona players has captured the attention of our passengers and the wider communities, including our large social media fan base.”

Qatar Airways started 2015 as the global launch customer of the A350, the very latest in aircraft design by Airbus. With this achievement, Qatar Airways became the first airline in the world to operate every family of Airbus’ modern airliner portfolio, comprising of the A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380.

Throughout 2015, Qatar Airways added 29 new aircraft to the fleet, increasing its total aircraft count by 20 per cent, reflecting the airline’s significant growth and expansion. At a ceremony at the Dubai Air Show in November, Qatar Airways proudly welcomed the 25th Boeing 787 Dreamliner into its young fleet, direct from the Boeing delivery centre in Seattle. The average age of Qatar Airways’ fleet is four years, amongst the youngest in the industry.

Qatar Airways launched eight destinations during 2015 – Abha, Amsterdam, Durban, Nagpur, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot and Zanzibar. Responding to growing demand in its existing markets, the airline increased service to more than 30 of its destinations. For instance, the airline launched an additional daily flight to Singapore this year and also had a significant increase in seat capacity of around 32 per cent by deploying a larger aircraft to Bengaluru in India, as part of its global expansion drive. Next year promises to be equally exciting with new routes planned to Adelaide, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston, Los Angeles, Sydney and Ras Al Khaimah.

Even as the airline grew, attention and focus on service excellence remained strong. Qatar Airways was proud to be crowned Skytrax Airline of the Year for the third time in five years, being voted as the favourite airline by passengers – a major accomplishment for an airline to reach multiple times. In addition, the airline also collected two other awards: Best Business Class Airline Seat and Best Airline in the Middle East – which Qatar Airways has won for the ninth time.

The Paris Air Show in June was filled with highlights for Qatar Airways as the airline made history by displaying five aircraft at the show – an A380, A350, A320, A319 and a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Qatar Airways had an exciting week at the show by also announcing a firm order for 10 777-8Xs and four 777 freighters with a total order value of US$4.8 billion.

Qatar Executive, Qatar Airways’ business jet division, also announced an aircraft order for up to 30 aircraft from Gulfstream, diversifying their owned-and-operated fleet for the first time. Qatar Executive took delivery of its first G650ER in December.

Qatar Airways created history in 2015 by becoming the first airline in the world to pass 10 million fans on Facebook, by using innovative and effective ways to engage with its fans.

Qatar Airways made a number of strategic business moves in 2015, including strengthening existing commercial ties with International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), by acquiring a 9.99% stake in the group in January. Dhiafatina Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Airways Group, owner of the Oryx Rotana hotel and the Airport Hotel at Hamad International Airport in Doha, expanded beyond the Qatari borders with the acquisition of the Sheraton Skyline Hotel at London Heathrow Airport and the Novotel Edinburgh Park Hotel in Scotland – one of the best-located hotels for travellers to Edinburgh.

To support Qatar Airways’ growth in 2015, the airline increased its group employee numbers by 14 per cent to a year-end total of more than 40,000 staff representing more than 150 nationalities.

“Qatar Airways was steadfast in its pursuit for growth and excellence this year and this was delivered against challenging situations – a testament to the unrelenting dedication of our staff, our loyal passengers and our corporate business strategy,” added Mr. Al Baker.

For Images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/qatarairways/albums/72157662900276766/with/23978183451/

Notes to Editors:

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 18th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 175 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. Qatar Airways won Airline of the Year, Best Business Class Airline Seat and Best Airline in the Middle East at the 2015 Skytrax Awards. This is the third time the airline won the accolade of Airline of the Year.

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance,oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

This year, Qatar Airways launched Oryx One, an enhanced interface for its inflight entertainment system, increasing the number of movies and TV shows on board from 950 to up to 2,000. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 as well as select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the five-star airline’s on-board Wifi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s third largest cargo carrier, serves more than 40 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally on 175 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet now includes six Airbus 330, eight Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747 freighter.

For more information, visit our homepage www.qatarairways.com or our sites on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.

For Qatar Airways corporate images, please click here: http://www.qatarairways.com/corporateimages

For further information contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 40222072, Fax: +974 40225350
E-mail: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa
Website: www.qatarairways.com

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