Airline News
Qatar Airways expands its business jet subsidiary
July 20th 2015
Qatar Executive is expanding into aircraft management, providing “aircraft owners with services tailored to each individual’s requirements, but generally includes taking care of the entire flight operation. It includes trip planning and the allocation of pilots and flight attendants, right up to the organization of catering and all ground arrangements including fuelling, hangar parking and cleaning of the aircraft in Doha and worldwide.” Qatar Airways’ boss, who is also chief executive of Qatar Executive, said there was “substantial market potential” for the product. Read More »
Qatar Executive has a fleet of eight Bombardier aircraft, including three Challenger 605s, four Global 5000s and a Global XRS, plus a 40-seat A319, which also available for worldwide charter for larger groups. Last year, it announced the purchase of up to 30 Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. aircraft, including firm orders and options of a combination of Gulfstream’s new wide-cabin aircraft, the G500 and G600, and the flagship G650ER. The first G650ER aircraft is expected to join Qatar Executive’s fleet in the last quarter of 2015.
Dominique Thillaud, president of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, the owner of Nice, Cannes and Saint Tropez airports, told Arabian Business the longstanding disagreement between the French government and Qatar Airways over fares and competition issues has been settled and Qatar Airways was set to re-launch its Doha-Nice service at the beginning of 2016, once the agreement has been formally ratified. “This is very good news for my territory,” Thillaud said, adding that around 265,000 passengers travelled from the Middle East to Nice last year alone. It remains to be seen if Qatar Airways will also realise a new Lyons service. It had earlier said Lyons was on its wish list.
Separately, flag carrier Oman Air has contracted Boeing for a suite of services to support the upcoming service entry of the its six-on-order B787s, including Component Services (formerly Rotables Exchange), Loadable Software Airplane Parts service and Airplane Health Management.
Kuwait Airways chief, Rasha Al Roumi, has said the national carrier would retire its fleet of five A300-600s and three A310-300s at the end of the year as it is takes delivery of five A330-200s, on lease from Airbus. Next year, the Kuwaiti carrier will phase out its four older A320s, while its A340-300s and B777-200ERs will be gradually replaced with ten-on-order B777-300ERs from November 2016. Al Roumi said the retirement of the carrier's older wide bodies should be completed by June 2017. The loss-making carrier has firm orders for 15 A320neos and ten A350-900s, with deliveries starting in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
