Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum with HE al-Sulaiti and al-Baker at the Dubai Airshow 2015.
Qatar Airways yesterday “showcased the best of its ultra-modern fleet”, with three of the airline’s latest generation aircraft on display on the opening day of the Dubai Airshow.
The UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, was led on a tour of the Qatar Airways A380 by Qatar’s Minister of Transport HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti and Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker.
Abdullah bin Nasser Turki al-Subaey, Qatar Civil Aviation Authority chairman, was also present.
A senior delegation of Dubai Government officials accompanied Sheikh Mohamed on the ‘VIP tour’ of the state-of-the-art A380. Among the delegation was the president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline & Group, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum.
The Dubai Airshow, first held in 1986, has evolved to become one of the largest aerospace events in the world, and takes place this week at Dubai World Central (DWC), on a venue specifically designed for the event.
Qatar Airways is displaying three of its aircraft, the A380, A350, for which it was the global launch customer, and a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, its 25th of this aircraft type, delivered directly from Boeing to the show.
A large number of other notable VIP dignitaries were present during the first day of the show, including Nathan Deal, governor, State of Georgia, and Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp, who were provided with an exclusive tour of the Qatar Airways’ aircraft on display.
Al-Sulaiti, said: “Qatar is proud to be home to one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, Qatar Airways, and to be here at one of the world’s premier airshows displaying the very latest aircraft in the sky.”
Al-Baker, said: “The Dubai Airshow enables Qatar Airways to showcase the very latest advancements, product design and technology available across our modern fleet. It is a proud moment to see the Qatar Airways livery on display this week on the world’s very latest generation aircraft and to showcase our award-winning products and hospitality on board to our visiting guests.”
With bespoke, highly-customised interiors, the airline’s range of aircraft drew crowds to see the latest entrants into the Qatar Airways fleet, the A350 and the A380. The A380 entered service with Qatar Airways last autumn and Qatar Airways received the A350 as global launch customer in December 2014.
The A350, which entered service in January, now flies double-daily to Frankfurt, triple-daily to Singapore and daily to Munich. The business class cabin has 36 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration featuring an 80-inch full flat bed and 17-inch HD in-flight entertainment screen. Economy class features 247 18-inch wide seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, each with a 10.6-inch in-flight entertainment screen, and more space at shoulder level for passengers in window seats due to the vertical side wall panel design.
The 517-seat A380 aircraft, comprising first, business and economy class over two decks, is the largest passenger jet in the world, and currently flies to Bangkok, Paris and London from Doha.
The new first class A380 features a seat with a 90-inch pitch that transforms into a fully-flat bed and has up to 2,000 entertainment options displayed on individual HD 26-inch television screens.
Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner has a two-cabin configuration, comprising 22 seats in business class and 232 economy class seats with a class-leading standard of comfort on board, including individual 10.6-inch television screens for all economy class seats and an award-winning food and beverage service.
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 18 years of operation and currently flies a modern fleet of 170 aircraft to 152 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. Qatar Executive, Qatar Airways’ private jet division, will receive its first Gulfstream G650ER shortly. This is the first Gulfstream aircraft for its fleet. Page 3
