22/02/2005 -
Qatar Airways
Celebrates Global
Unveiling of Airbus
A380
World’s Biggest
Aircraft Showcased
In Toulouse
18 January 2005
European heads of
state and A380
customers at the
official unveiling
of the A380
Toulouse, FRANCE
– Qatar Airways, one
of the fastest
growing airlines in
the world, was among
the launch customers
at the official
unveiling today of
the world’s newest
and largest
passenger jet, the
Airbus A380-800
‘super jumbo’ in
Toulouse.
European
government leaders
joined senior
airline industry
figures from around
the world for the
ceremony at Airbus’s
headquarters in the
French city for a
first glimpse of the
aircraft before it
enters commercial
service next year.
French President
Jacques Chirac poses
with children
dressed up as Qatar
Airways cabin crew
at the A380
unveiling
British Prime
Minister Tony Blair,
French President
Jacques Chirac,
Spanish Premier Jose
Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero and German
Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder joined in
the celebrations to
showcase the A380 in
front of the world’s
media.
Qatar Airways,
national airline of
the State of Qatar
in the Arabian Gulf,
has ordered four
A380-800s, of which
two are on firm
order and two on
option.
The airline is
scheduled to take
delivery of its
first A380 in 2009
to coincide with the
opening of the New
Doha International
Airport (NDIA), the
first airport in the
world to be designed
and built
specifically to
accommodate the
twin-deck A380.
The 555-seat
four-engined A380 is
the most advanced
aircraft ever built,
designed in close
collaboration with
major airlines,
airports and
airworthiness
authorities
worldwide.
Qatar Airways
Chief Executive
Officer Akbar Al
Baker, pictured
left, addresses the
A380 Reveal ceremony
press conference in
Toulouse, France
Qatar Airways
Chief Executive
Officer Akbar Al
Baker said the
airline was proud to
be one of the launch
customers of the
A380, which has been
hailed in the
aviation industry as
an engineering feat.
“We are looking
forward to the
arrival of this
aircraft to join our
existing all-Airbus
fleet. It will
provide the ultimate
travel experience
with spacious and
comfortable cabins
throughout the
aircraft,” he said.
“Though we are
four years away from
taking delivery of
our first A380, we
are already working
on creating
spectacular
interiors to make it
an experience of a
lifetime for our
passengers.”
Qatar Airways
plans to initially
operate the A380 on
its flagship
European route
between Doha and
London Heathrow and
other prime,
high-density routes.
The New Doha
International
Airport is scheduled
to open in 2009 at a
cost of $2.5bn in
the first phase and
will be capable of
handling 12 million
passengers a year.
Once fully developed
in 2015 at a cost of
$5.5bn, the airport
is expected to
handle up to 50
million passengers.
One of the
project’s key
features is that 40%
of the site will be
built on reclaimed
land from the
Arabian Gulf.
Qatar Airways
will manage the new
airport, designed to
help shape Doha as a
key regional and
global aviation hub.
Qatar Airways CEO
Akbar Al Baker,
pictured at the
front 2nd from right
with fellow A380
airline CEOs at the
A380 Reveal ceremony
press conference in
Toulouse, France
Added Akbar Al
Baker: “This airport
will be custom-built
for the new A380.
Qatar Airways will
proudly showcase
this aircraft when
it makes its maiden
flight in our
colours to the new
airport in Doha in
2009.”
As one of the
fastest growing
airlines in the
world, Qatar Airways
has quickly
established itself
as a leading player
in the aviation
industry in just a
short few years
since its launch in
1997.
The airline
currently operates
39 aircraft flying
to 59 destinations
across Europe,
Middle East, Africa,
Indian sub-continent
and Asia. For winter
2004/2005, the
airline has added
six new routes from
Doha – Beijing,
Seychelles, London
Gatwick, Yangon,
Johannesburg and
Cape Town.
From summer 2005,
the network will
grow to cover Osaka,
Tunis, Algiers and
Athens and, by the
end of 2005, the
airline’s
international reach
will spread to 70
cities.
Qatar Airways has
earned global
recognition for its
award-winning
service, being one
of only three
airlines in the
world to have
achieved a Five Star
ranking for
excellent service
standards by Skytrax,
an independent
aviation industry
monitoring agency.
A380 showcased to
the world
In addition to
its Five Star
ranking, Qatar
Airways was voted by
Skytrax for having
the best cabin crew
in the Middle East
for the second year
running in 2004 and
fifth best overall
worldwide.
Qatar Airways’
inflight
entertainment system
was ranked 8th best
in the world by
Skytrax. The airline
is currently
retrofitting its
A330 long-haul fleet
with a new
state-of-the-art
Audio Video On
Demand (AVOD) system
for passengers
travelling in First,
Business and Economy
Class. Qatar Airways
was also the first
Middle East carrier
to install fully
flat beds in First
Class on its A330
fleet.
In October, Qatar
Airways took
delivery of the
first of its 14
long-range A330-300s
and is the only
operator of the
aircraft-type in the
Middle East. The
airline already
operates the
A330-200s,
A300-600Rs,
A321-200s, A320-200s
and A319s.
During the
2003/2004 financial
year, Qatar Airways
carried 3.3m
passengers, up 35%
on the previous
12-month period.
Passenger numbers
are projected to
rise sharply in the
2004/2005 period to
4.5m. |
