Every attempt to halt Qatar Airways march towards achieving more successes and accomplishing exceptional achievements by the blockading countries has failed and Qatar’s national carrier is ever growing around the world by continuously expanding its operations and setting new standards in global aviation industry.
Qatar Airways has now unveiled its new expansion plans under which the national airline of Qatar will reach around 220 destination by 2022, the year in which Qatar is set to host 2022 FIFA World Cup. Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways, has said that the award-winning airline will increase its reach to around 220 destinations by 2022 from the current count of over 164 destinations. Qatar Airways is also set to add new destinations to its air cargo and the total number of destinations will reach around 250 destinations.
“Qatar Airways will continue its march ahead, we will continue expanding and continue purchasing new aeroplanes to fulfill our need for network expansion not only for us but also helping our partners in which we have invested to also keep on expanding the network and providing them the capacity they require,” Al Baker said addressing a press conference on the occasion of receiving a specially-branded Boeing 777 aircraft painted in FIFA livery, ahead of the tournament’s Semi-Final and Final matches.
The story of Qatar Airways’ growth, achievements and resilience in last one year under unjust siege has been simply amazing. Despite a challenging regional environment and lot of airspace restrictions by the siege countries, the airline continued to deliver beyond expectations throughout 2017, accelerating new routes, doubling frequencies and capacity to numerous destinations and launching its award-winning new Business Class seat, Qsuite.
Qatar Airways enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2017, with the airline claiming more global awards than ever before in its 20th year of operations. Qatar’s national carrier received more than 50 individual awards across multiple categories since January, demonstrating its continued commitment to exceeding passenger expectations with its innovative approach to product development and dedication to customer experience.
Leading the host of awards received by the airline this year is the prestigious accolade of 2017 ‘Airline of the Year,’ awarded by international air transport rating organization Skytrax. Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class,’ ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’ at the Skytrax awards ceremony held in Paris in June.
Qatar Airways also continued to forge strong partnerships around the world and proved its commitment to creating lasting relationships with global partners. In November, it announced an acquisition in fellow oneworld member Cathay Pacific, purchasing approximately 9.61 per cent of Cathay Pacific’s total issued share capital.
On February 20 this year, Qatar Airways took the delivery of the world’s first Airbus A350-1000 as the aircraft’s global launch customer in a ceremony held at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France. The award-winning airline is expected to take delivery of 30 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus in 2018.
