Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker addresses international media at the VIP Lounge of Dubai International Airport yesterday.

By Pratap John/Dubai

 

All five Dreamliners currently in the Qatar Airways fleet will be fitted with modified lithium-ion batteries before the month-end, airline Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker said yesterday.

Already one Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner that is fitted with the modified battery has been tested and put on a regular commercial service on the Dubai route, he told Gulf Times here.

“A team from Boeing is currently working on our other four Dreamliners,” al-Baker said.

Qatar Airways would deploy Dreamliner on some of the key European routes such as London, Munich and Frankfurt from May 20, starting with Heathrow. Dreamliner would be put into service on the Munich route on May 22 and Frankfurt from May 26.

From today, the Boeing 787 would operate four services to Dubai every day. This will be followed by seven frequencies daily from May 10.

“And by the month-end, all our five Dreamliners would be pressed into commercial service,” al-Baker said.

Asked whether the Boeing 787 would be used on the long-haul North American routes such as Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Houston and Montreal he said: “That will not happen until sometime next year. Because those aircraft need crew rest and our later variants will have the crew rest facility.”

He reiterated that “Dreamliner is absolutely a safe aircraft” and that Qatar Airways and its passengers have confidence in the Chicago-based Boeing company.

“We would not be flying the aircraft if it is not safe. We will never put our passengers in an unsafe aircraft. And to prove to the people that the aircraft is absolutely safe, it has been tested; time and time again…it has thousands of hours of tests already. And that’s why the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recertified the aircraft, which was followed by regulators in Europe and elsewhere.

“Today’s flight to Dubai has commercial passengers in majority,” al-Baker said.

Yesterday QR116 became the first Qatar Airways Dreamliner to resume service after the Boeing 787 was grounded worldwide after batteries overheated on two aircraft.

The national carrier’s decision to take to the skies again with Boeing 787 aircraft comes close on the heels of Ethiopian Airlines operating a Dreamliner between Addis Ababa and Nairobi on Saturday.

Al-Baker said there was a delay in further delivery of five Dreamliners, which Qatar Airways had ordered due to the delay in certification procedures.

“As per schedule we should have got one Dreamliner in March this year, one in April, and the remaining aircraft in June, July and September. Now the delivery of the five additional aircraft will begin only in June,” the airline CEO said.

He said there was no question of a rethink on the 37 additional Dreamliners Qatar Airways had ordered.

“If Boeing can give me the additional Boeing 787 in the timeframe I want, we will like to take them. But those will be the 787-9 variant,” al-Baker said.

Last week, the FAA issued a formal directive lifting the ban on Dreamliners.

According to that ruling, airlines can begin using 787s after they modify the lithium-ion battery system. The FAA said it will be closely monitoring the modification and inspecting the work.

The modified batteries are now housed in a stainless steel box and will run at a much cooler temperature.

There is also a ventilation pipe that leads directly from the box to the outside of the plane, meaning that in the event of a fire, the remainder of the aircraft would be unaffected by smoke.

 

Airline to join global alliance by October

Qatar Airways will be integrated into the oneworld global alliance by October, CEO Akbar al-Baker said in Dubai yesterday.

“We are well advanced in integrating our processes and systems; we look at early October in getting into oneworld,” he said.

Qatar Airways is the first of the three major airlines based in the Gulf region to sign for any of the global airline alliances.

As a member of oneworld, Qatar Airways will fly alongside some of the biggest and best brands in the airline business. British Airways will serve as its sponsor in joining oneworld, supported by the central oneworld alliance team, mentoring the recruit through its alliance implementation programme.

Qatar Airways will be oneworld’s second member airline based in the Middle East, alongside Royal Jordanian.

Qatar Airways’ addition will increase oneworld’s global coverage to some 856 destinations in 159 countries, served by a combined fleet of 2,600 aircraft operating more than 9,300 flights and carrying almost a million passengers every day, generating annual revenues of nearly $120bn.

The airline already code-shares with oneworld member designate Malaysia Airlines.  It will develop bilateral links with more airlines in the alliance as it moves towards becoming a member of the group.

Two established oneworld member airlines currently serve its Doha home - British Airways from its London hub, and Royal Jordanian from its Amman base - along with member elect SriLankan, from its Colombo hub.   When Qatar Airways becomes part of oneworld, its customers will gain access to the alliance’s global network.


BELOW: Dubai-bound passengers on board the Qatar Airways Dreamliner, which resumed service yesterday.