Qatar Airways Holds Corporate Advisory Council

Qatar Airways recently hosted its 2nd annual Corporate Advisory Council at the Peninsula Hotel in New York City. The event focused on providing corporate partners with a forum to learn more about recent airline growth and to create an active dialogue on best practices.

The Advisory Board, assembled from the airline’s major corporate partners, includes representatives from Deloitte, McKinsey, Novartis, JP Morgan Chase, L-3 Communications and the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

“Our corporate partners are the core of our business,” said Qatar Airways Vice President of the Americas, Mr. Gunter Saurwein. “We aspire to be much more than a vendor and have come together, today, to listen our partners, better understand their needs and hone our services.”

The Advisory Board met with representatives from Qatar Airways Northeast Sales Region to discuss existing corporate travel relationships and emerging sales opportunities at the airlines’ 150+ destinations around the world. Specific topics of discussion included Qatar Airways’ recent growth, the airline’s approach to service excellence and operation in the air, pricing and inventory control, and tracking success through the PRISMreporting platform.

“Qatar Airways is a five-star airline of excellence,” said Houry Tcheroyan, Operations and Administration Manager for Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and a Qatar Airways Board Member. “As a Board Member, I welcome the quarterly board meetings where its members are encouraged to speak freely, and highlight all potential areas of improvement. The above process undoubtedly promotes the strengthening of the future relationship between the airline and the Corporate world.”

2016 will be a defining year for Qatar Airways with the addition of Los Angeles, Atlanta, and the introduction of the state-of-the-art Airbus A350 aircraft to Boston, Philadelphia and New York.

Douglas A. Schneider A.V.P. of Global Travel at L-3 Communications added: “It is excellent to get the overview from key USA based management on Qatar’s ongoing investment in its aircraft, infrastructure and overall vision for the future.”

Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. As the global launch customer of the Airbus A350, travelers can benefit from a new on-board experience achieved by the unique dome-design entrance and wide seats with generous room in all classes of service.

This state-of-the-art aircraft comprises a two-class configuration with 36 seats in Business Class in a 1-2-1 configuration, featuring 80" fully flat beds and 17" HD in-flight entertainment screens, and 247 seats in Economy Class, each 18-inches wide in a 3-3-3 configuration, with up to a 32-inch pitch. Each individual Economy seat features a 10.6" in-flight entertainment screen, and more space at shoulder level for passengers in window seats, thanks to a vertical side wall panel design. From 2016 the A350 will additionally operate to Philadelphia, Boston, and New York from the airline’s international hub, Hamad International Airport, Doha.

“We’ve seen rapid growth in the United States over the past few years and 2016 promises to be our largest US expansion to date. As we open new gateways in Los Angeles, Boston, and Atlanta it is now more important than ever to sit down with our corporate partners and learn from their guidance. We appreciate their help in creating the best possible services,” added Qatar Airways Vice President of the Americas, Mr. Gunter Saurwein.