Qatar's Executive offering goes from strength to strength

Last June, at the Paris Air Show, the carrier confounded the general gloom surrounding the aviation industry with a huge aircraft order and massive expansion news. Also announced was the launch of the airline’s new charter division Qatar Executive with an initial fleet of two 11-seat Challenger 605s and an eight-seat Challenger 300. Less than 12 months later, the airline’s charter operation has paid dividends, established a solid base of clientele, and is pushing ahead with plans to grow the fledgling business further.

Earlier this year at the Bahrain Airshow, Qatar Airways chief executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, who also presides over Qatar Executive said that the new division has received great response from customers: “We have experienced a steady stream of bookings and have, within the short time span we have been operating, already established a strong client base. Private jet travel is all about convenience, saving time and money, especially in the Middle East where economic activity is at an all-time high.”

The reasons for this early success is that Qatar Executive, following the standards of its parent 5-star airline, sought to establish a benchmark in providing its customers with an exclusively premium travel experience, one of the best available in private jet market. Qatar Executive travellers can book an aircraft as fast as four hours before departure, 24/7 and check-in as little as 15 minutes prior to take-off.

The airline caters not only towards government officials, businessmen, bankers and politicians who are focused on time and economic efficiency, but also to well-healed families who desire luxury, privacy and a homely atmosphere while travelling right from the time they arrive at the airport.

The market for Qatar Executive unsurprisingly focuses on Qatar, but business comes from across the GCC as well as the wider Middle East region. Qatar Executive said it is already developing a reputation among elite travellers for extremely high levels of service and professionalism in the competitive European market, particularly in Russia, France and the UK.

The company has pledged to build the fleet as the market grows. The airline says that there has been a 20% growth in executive travel in the Middle East over the past seven years, and it predicts further growth until at least 2012. The sector has more than doubled in value.

Qatar says it will continue to develop. “This will refer to all business activities fleet size and structure, business model, product and services as well as geographical coverage,” Al Baker said.

“Even as the travel industry faces the continued pressure of a challenging global economic climate, there remains a strong need for the corporate world to conduct face to face business meetings in the shortest possible time,” Al Baker said

The carrier has invested solidly in aircraft and infrastructure since its start-up in 1997 and has more than US$40 billion worth of aircraft on order. Qatar has also made its own additions to Doha International Airport such as the Premium Terminal to cope with its astonishing growth, as the airline waits to take possession of its new home when the US$14.5 billion New Doha International Airport opens in 2011.