Qatar Airways

Origin

From 1974 until May 2002, the State of Qatar was a joint-owner member of Gulf Air along with Oman, the UAE state of Abu Dhabi, and the Kingdom of Bahrain. It became the first among the three countries to withdraw from the airline, although it remained a member of Gulf Air for six months after the government announced its complete termination.

Foundation

Qatar Airways was established by the government of Qatar on November 22, 1993; operations began on January 20, 1994. Amman was the airline's first destination in May 1994. In April 1995, CEO Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jabor Al Thani had employed a staff of 75. By this time the fleet consisted of two Airbus A310s that served a route network including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Cairo, Dubai, Khartoum, Kuwait, Madras, Manila, Muscat, Sharjah, Taipei, Tokyo and Trivandrum. During 1995, two ex-All Nippon Airways Boeing 747s were purchased from Boeing. The airline acquired a second-hand Boeing 747SP from Air Mauritius in 1996.

Services to Athens, Istanbul, Madras and Tunis were discontinued in late 1996, whereas Calcutta and Muscat were removed from the route network in January and September 1997, respectively. Flights to London were launched during 1997. The airline also took delivery of two second-hand 231-seater Airbus A300-600R aircraft on lease from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) during the year. A new logo was also revealed with the introduction of the new aircraft. A third A300-600R joined the fleet shortly afterwards, also on lease from AWAS. In July 1998 the carrier placed a firm order with Airbus for six Airbus A320s, slated for delivery between 2001 and 2005; it also took options for five more aircraft of the type. Also in 1998, the carrier struck a deal with Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) for the lease of four Airbus A320s, with deliveries scheduled between February and April 1999; these latter four aircraft were aimed at replacing the Boeing 727-200 Advanced fleet. The airline took delivery of the first A320 powered by Aero Engines V2500 on lease from SALE in February 1999.

2000s

A fourth A300-600R on lease from AWAS joined the fleet in April 2000. In October 2000, Qatar Airways ordered an International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A319CJ and took an option for another aircraft of the type. The airline became the Airbus A380's ninth customer in 2001 when two aircraft of the type were ordered, plus two options. Also that year, the airline resumed services to Jakarta. A year later, in May, Qatar withdrew from Gulf Air to ensure the development of its national airline.

In June 2003, Qatar Airways was the first airline that resumed international services to Iraq when it flew the Doha–Basra route. Also that month, the airline incorporated its first dedicated cargo aircraft into the fleet. It was an Airbus A300-600R that was converted to freighter in Germany for US$10 million. Also in June 2003 at the Paris Air Show, the carrier placed an order with Airbus valued at US$5.1 billion for two Airbus A321s, 14 Airbus A330s and two Airbus A340-600s. The deal included eight A330-200s and six -300s; it also included options for further six A330-300s and eight A340-600s. The first aircraft were scheduled to enter the fleet in 2004, with the A340-600 slated for delivery in 2006. During the year the airline started serving the Chinese market with the introduction of flights to Shanghai. Also in 2003, the carrier expanded its portfolio of destinations with the commencement of services to Manchester in April, Tripoli in November, and Cebu and Singapore in December. During the 2003 Dubai Air Show the airline firmed up an earlier commitment for two Airbus A380s and took options for another two of these aircraft. The value of the transaction was US$1.2 billion. It was also in 2003 that Qatar Airways became the first airline to be audited under the new IATA operational audit programme, IOSA.

The Qatar Airways Group —which included Qatar Airways, Doha International Airport and corporate business air services, ground handling and in-flight catering companies— reported its first profit ever for the fiscal year (FY) that ended in March 2004. The FY2004 saw the airline transporting 3.35 million passengers. Zürich became the carrier's 53rd destination worldwide in July 2004; Yangon was added to the list of destinations in December the same year. A new service to Osaka was launched in March 2005. Its first A340 was delivered on September 8, 2006.

In May 2007, Qatar Airways and Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the acquisition of 80 Airbus A350 XWBs, including 20 Airbus A350-800s and 20 aircraft of the –900 and –1000 variant, respectively, with the first aircraft initially slated for delivery in 2013. The agreement was firmed up in June during the 2007 Paris Air Show; three more Airbus A380s were also made part of the order. In July of the same year, during the unveiling ceremony of the Boeing 787 in Everett, Qatar Airways was recognised as a future customer for the type when its logo appeared on one side of the brand new aircraft.