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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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Qatar Airways stretches its wings by Indunil Thenuwara Qatar Airways, the national carrier of Qatar, commenced double-daily flights from Doha to Colombo from December 10.
"The twice a day flights will offer people greater choice and flexibility when travelling between the two destinations. It reflects our strong desire and commitment to offer a fast and convenient service to Sri Lanka," the airline's Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker said. He made this announcement to a group of local media personnel, which the airline hosted in Doha, Qatar in partnership with the Rydges Plaza Hotel in Doha. The airline, till last week, was offering nine weekly flights to the island. "We believe that Sri Lanka has the potential to surpass other tourist destinations in that part of the world. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has forward looking visions for the country's development and the peace process will bring dividends for the people. The only problem is the lack of tourism infrastructure. Once this is in place, tourism could become a major foreign exchange earner for the island. A Qatari delegation will soon be in Sri Lanka to look at investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector," he said, reiterating their commitment to Sri Lanka. "Qatar Airways' new service will also vastly improve the access that people in Europe and the Middle East have to Sri Lanka, specially during the winter season when the European leisure demand is at its peak," he said. Flights will leave Doha every day at 12.20am and 8.40am and will reach Colombo at 8.00am and 4.25pm respectively. Return flights will leave Colombo every day at 9.20am and 9.00pm and reach Doha at 11.25am and 11.05pm respectively. The new service will use A330-200, A320-200 and A300-600 aircraft. The airline's Area Manager for Sri Lanka, Danny Schepers said the new service offers people a choice about the time of day they want to travel. "It means more and faster connections between Colombo and Doha from any of our international destinations. London-bound passengers will now have 12 weekly connections with transit times reduced to a minimum of 1.35 hours," he said. The airline will also increase its fleet from the present 28 to 52 aircraft within the next five years and to 56 by 2011. It has signed a US$ 5 billion order for 34 Airbus aircraft. The A300s are being phased out gradually, giving way for the A330s. The phase-out will be completed in five years, when all the A300s are converted into freighters. Qatar Airways presently flies to 46 destinations throughout the Indian subcontinent, Middle East, Far East, Europe and North Africa with Vienna, Singapore, Cebu in the Philippines, Tripoli, Shanghai and Seoul being the latest destinations. The number of destinations will grow to 50 before the end of this year and to 60 by the end of 2005. The airline, which started in 1994 with one leased jet got a new lease of life in 1997 with Al Baker coming on board. It recently became the first airline in the world to pass the new International Air Transport Association's Operational Safety Audit, with 100 per cent compliance. This system had been set up to standardise and rationalise a number of safety and security audits carried out by individual airlines for code sharing purposes. "We are now automatically compliant with both US and European air safety regulations and can join code sharing agreements with other airlines around the world without undergoing further audits. We currently code share with six airlines in Europe and the Far East and are considering further agreements to increase the number of destinations served," Al Baker said. The airline was also voted recently by Skytrax as the Best Cabin Service in the Middle East, ranking it fifth in the world. Al Baker, who is also CEO of Doha International Airport (a subsidiary of the airline), briefed the media on the planned new airport that is expected to cost two billion US dollars for the first phase alone. He had announced these plans at last month's World Travel Market in London.
Construction of the new airport will begin next year with the reclamation of land from the sea. It will have two parallel runways and an estimated capacity to handle and process nearly 12 million passengers annually. The terminal would have 24 contact gates in the first phase and would be able to accommodate upto six A380-800 Super Jumbos, the world's largest passenger aircraft, when fully developed. Doha will be one of the first airports in the world to be built specifically to accommodate this type of aircraft for which the airline will be one of the launch customers. It will also be a launch customer for the high gross weight A340-600s that will be received in 2006. The Qatar Airways headquarters and several star-class hotels will also be housed at the airport. "Importantly, the new airport will position Doha as a leading regional aviation hub for at least the next 50 years. It will allow us to offer our passengers fast and efficient connections as we build up our route network. When it opens in 2008 after the completion of the first phase, it will be able to accommodate two A380-800s at any given time. Facilities to accommodate six of these aircraft will be provided by the time the new airport is fully developed," he said. Until the new airport is opened, the existing airport will be upgraded to handle the increasing number of passengers. "We have already announced a US$ 38 million programme to upgrade the terminal this year as part of a broader US$ 140 million programme to increase the airport's annual capacity from 4.2 million to 7.5 million passengers. Airlines numbering 22 presently operate through Doha," Al Baker said. Qatar Airways has continued to record 40 per cent passenger growth rates to become one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. According to Al Baker, although all other airlines were adversely affected by the September 11, 2001 incidents, "we reported growth after this period by redeploying our resources". Fifty per cent of the airline is currently owned by the government while the rest is owned by individuals. The company will seek a public listing in three to four years, he said. Its subsidiaries include Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Aviation Catering Company, United Media International, Qatar Airways Holidays and Qatar Duty Free. |
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