Al-Baker is joined by Dunleavy (second right), Amin (left) and Kendigelen (second left) at the celebration of becoming the first airline in the world to reach 10mn likes on Facebook.
Qatar Airways has become the world’s first airline to pass the 10-million-fan mark on Facebook, it was announced yesterday.
The airline first became the most popular carrier ever on Facebook when it passed 8mn fans in December 2014, and has held the title consistently since.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar al-Baker said: “Qatar Airways’ success is directly related to our connection with our customers, whether on-board or on-line. Awards such as the 2015 Skytrax World’s Best Airline and recognition such as this recent milestone achieved with 10mn fans on Facebook serve to motivate us to continue anticipating our customers’ needs and delivering a great experience. Without our loyal passengers and our social media fans, none of this would be possible.”
Al-Baker was joined at a celebratory ceremony by the airline’s chief commercial officer Hugh Dunleavy, senior vice president commercial – Qatar, Ehab Amin and Erden Kendigelen, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Doha who created the cake to help mark the special occasion.
Qatar Airways created its Facebook account in 2011, and has grown its on-line community through multiple engagement strategies, including current competitions such as “The Heart of Barca”, where FC Barcelona fans can enter to win exclusive prizes and experiences.
Other successes include the recent “#DREAMSterdam” competition, asking fans to submit original art work capturing the spirit of Amsterdam, which Qatar Airways started serving in June this year. More than 280 original art work pieces were submitted for this competition, and a gallery is available on Qatar Airways’ Facebook page to view them.
Qatar Airways senior vice president marketing and corporate communications Salam al-Shawa, said: “We are so proud of this achievement, because our fans provide instant feedback and validation, and together we are a community that learns from each other and celebrates milestones together. Our fans represent all of the regions of the world we serve, more than 150 destinations on six continents, and they all share the same love of travel and the wonder of flying.”
Qatar Airways has 13 social media channels in total. They are: www.facebook.com/qatarairways, www.instagram.com/qatarairways, www.flickr.com/qatarairways, www.foursquare.com/qatarairways, http://google.com/ qatarairways, www.linkedin.com/company/qatar-airways, www.pinterest.com/qatarairways, www.twitter.com/qatarairways, http://qatarairways.tumblr.com, VK (Russia): www.vk.com/qatarairways, WeChat (China): www.wechat.com, Weibo (China) www.weibo.com/qatarairways, and www.youtube.com/qatarairways
