BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) has decided not to receive any delivery of Boeings’ 787 Dreamliner until the ‘material defective mid-fan-shaft’ in its engine is replaced, Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer of the QA told yesterday.
While commenting on the question on the recently reported cracks in the 787’s engine, he said: “We have informed Boeing that we will not take deliveries until the faulty new mid-fan-shaft is replaced. And this is what Boeing is going to oblige.”
“The 787 has an engine with new technology with very sophisticated power plants for powering an airplane. However, there has been a material defect in the mid-fan-shaft of the engine which now needs replacement and inspections,” Baker said.
Earlier, Qatar Airways had made similar demands for Airbus A380, when cracks were found on the wings of the aircraft. And the company agreed satisfy its demand with a new designed wings. Last month, GE, the largest jet engine maker investigated a second failure of the GEnx engine after a Boeing aircraft aborted a takeoff in China.
ONEWORLD MEMBERSHIP
Meanwhile, on the issue of Qatar Airways’ joining the ‘oneworld alliance’ to become the first airline from the Gulf to joint the alliance, he said: “As far as the oneworld admission is concerned, at present QA is not considering joining any alliance. If we decide in the future, I am sure you will read in the newspapers.”
Alliances were formed by the airlines in the early 90s to get benefited from each other when controlled bilateral traffic rights reduced the market share of other players. Earlier, it was reported in the media that QA is going to join the ‘oneworld’ alliance as its latest member at a press meeting in New York to be held on Monday. But Baker has rejected news by saying, “I am not going to New York this weekend”.
EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT
Asked, if ‘being a pilot’ has given him a greater understanding to deliver his services: “I took pilot training as a hobby when I was a 19-year-old employee of the Qatar Civil Aviation. I did that to have more knowledge about the industry I was working in not to become the CEO of QA.
However, he admitted that it helps him to understand the people sitting across his table and having discussions on the subject. “Interestingly it helps me to correct people when somebody just tries to say something unconvincing…and it is always very interesting to know something which people know that you don’t know. And this is a very important part to manage a big organisation,” Baker said jokingly.
Commenting on the indefinite delay in the opening of New Doha International Airport (NDIA), he said: “Due to the failure of two contractors, unfortunately we will not be able to open the airport on 12/12/12. But we are doing our best to inaugurate it as soon as possible.”
SUBSIDY ISSUE
Responding to the accusations made by the Western airlines and governments that QA is being subsidised for not been able to compete in the free market, he said: “Frankly speaking, all these statements are crap. We are not subsidized by the state. But even if we get subsidy from state, they are the owners of the airline… an equity injection by the owners of a company cannot be called subsidy. Gulf carriers are being accused of stealing traffic from European airlines, in particular Germany. This is coming out of their own inefficiencies. There is no question of stealing traffic at a time when they are also growing at the rate of 10-15 percent annually.”
Highlighting some of the factors responsible that has earned QA as the best airline two years in a row, he said: “Look at QA, the average age of our fleet is only four years and two months, but those carriers that are screaming have an average age of fifteen years. They are fuel inefficient. They are products that does not meet today’s travel requirement. And in addition to this, they do not have adequate infrastructure.”
According to Baker QA’s aircraft utilisation of a white body is 17 hours a day, while others (QA critics) have only 11.5 hours a day. Its narrow body utilisation is 13.4 hours a day while other players have 7 hours a day, Qatar has 24 hours airport. So he said that it is the efficient use of equipments which has made the airline as best, and not the subsidies.
“As a CEO of QA, I will be ashamed of getting subsidy or hand outs from my owners. We are growing with the rate of over 30 percent, and adding 15-16 destinations annually.”
Suggesting the critics to go back to their history, he said: “If we go back to 18 years history of all these airlines that are compiling about subsidy, they themselves were subsidized. Lufthansa received huge bailout funds from its government in 1993, as they were nearly bankrupt. Similarly, Air France’ which has 26 percent government stake, is in dire need of equity injection, of which 26 percent will come from the state, I question, will they call it a subsidy.”
He went ahead in lambasting the European airlines and said: “Not only that, even Margaret Thatcher wrote off over Pound 4bn of the debt of British Airways in order to privatise the airline. And most recently, Air Canada received ‘Pension Shortage Contribution’ from the government. What are these? These are all subsidies, but it is okay, when it suits them. But when a government- owned company gets equity injection it is named as subsidy.”
The Peninsula
