qatar air
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (Arabic: القطرية, al-Qaṭariya),[5] operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar.[6] Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha,[7] the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 150[8] international destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania from its base at Hamad International Airport, using a fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Qatar Airways Group employs more than 43,000 people. The carrier has been a member of the Oneworld alliance since October 2013.
History
A Qatar Airways 727-200 at Dubai International Airport in 1996.
Origin
The State of Qatar was a joint-owner member of Gulf Air along with Oman, the UAE (only the Emirate of Abu Dhabi), and the Kingdom of Bahrain, until May 2002, following its withdrawal. It became the first country among the three to withdraw from the airline to solely focus on its own airline Qatar Airways, although it remained a member of the airline for six months after the government announced its complete withdrawal.[9][10]
Foundation
Qatar Airways was established by the government of Qatar on November 22, 1993;[11] operations started on January 20, 1994.[12] Amman was first served in May 1994.[13] In April 1995, the airline's CEO was the Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jabor Al Thani who employed a staff of 75. By this time the fleet consisted of two Airbus A310s that served a route network including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Cairo, Dubai, Khartoum, Kuwait, London,[contradictory] Madras, Manila, Muscat, Osaka,[contradictory] Sharjah, Taipei, Tokyo and Trivandrum.[12] During 1995, two ex-All Nippon Airways Boeing 747s were bought from Boeing.[14][15] The airline acquired a second-hand Boeing 747SP from Air Mauritius in 1996.[16][17]
A Qatar Airways Airbus A320-200 in old livery.
Services to Athens, Istanbul, Madras and Tunis were suspended in late 1996, whereas Calcutta and Muscat were removed from the route network in January and September 1997, respectively.[18] Flights to London were launched during 1997.[19] The airline also took delivery of two second-hand 231-seater Airbus A300-600R aircraft on lease from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) during the year; they replaced two Boeing 747s. The entering of these two A300s into the fleet also marked the introduction of a new logo.[20] A third A300-600R joined the fleet shortly afterwards, also on lease from AWAS.[21] In July 1998 the carrier placed a firm order with Airbus for six Airbus A320s, slated for delivery between 2001 and 2005; it also took options for five more aircraft of the type.[22][23] Also in 1998, the carrier struck a deal with Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) for the lease of four Airbus A320s, with deliveries scheduled between February and April 1999;[24] these latter four aircraft were aimed at replacing the Boeing 727-200 Advanced fleet and to fill the capacity gap before the hand over of the first A320 from Airbus.[23] The airline took delivery of the first A320 powered by Aero Engines V2500 on lease from SALE in February 1999.[25]
Airbus A340-600. The airline became a customer for the type in 2003.[26]
A fourth A300-600R on lease from AWAS joined the fleet in April 2000.[27] In October 2000, Qatar Airways ordered an International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A319CJ and took an option for another aircraft of the type.[28] The airline became the Airbus A380's ninth customer in 2001 when two aircraft of the type were ordered, plus two options.[29] Also that year, the airline resumed services to Jakarta.[30] A year later, in May, Qatar withdrew from Gulf Air to ensure the development of its national airline.
In June 2003, a Qatar Airways Airbus A320 was the first aircraft that resumed the international services to Iraq when it flew the Doha–Basra route.[31] Also that month, Qatar Airways incorporated its first dedicated cargo aircraft to the fleet. It was an Airbus A300-600R that was converted to freighter in Germany for US$10 million.[32] Also in June 2003,[26] at the Paris Air Show, the carrier placed an order with Airbus valued at US$5.1 billion for two Airbus A321s, 14 Airbus A330s and two Airbus A340-600s.[33][34] The deal included eight A330-200s and six -300s;[26] it also included options for further six A330-300s and eight A340-600s.[26] The first aircraft were scheduled to enter the fleet in 2004, with the A340-600 slated for delivery in 2006.[26] During the year the airline started serving the Chinese market with the introduction of flights to Shanghai.[35] Also in 2003, the carrier expanded its portfolio of destinations with the commencement of services to Manchester in April,[36] Tripoli in November,[37] and Cebu and Singapore in December.[38] During the 2003 Dubai Air Show the airline firmed up an earlier commitment for two Airbus A380s and took options for another two of these aircraft. The value of the transaction was US$1.2 billion.[39] It was also in 2003 that Qatar Airways became the first airline to be audited under the new IATA operational audit programme, IOSA.[40]
