News

Qatar Airways flies into Australia
December 2009

On Sunday 6 December, Sefiani client Qatar Airways celebrated its launch of scheduled services to Australia, touching down at Melbourne airport for the first time.  Qatar Airways appointed Sefiani to manage its official entry into the Australian market, which involved coordinating international and local media involvement around the inaugural press conference, engaging key aviation, travel and business journalists to speak with Qatar Airways’ CEO, and promoting a star-studded gala event.  The firm leveraged its strong business, aviation and tourism relationships to help garner high profile pieces across Australian radio, television, online and print mediums.

Members of the media joined more than 400 guests, at the gala event in The Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria.  Celebrity guests included Shane Warne, Molly Meldrum, Sigrid Thornton, Glenn Robbins, Tom Gleisner and Santo Cilauro and attendees were entertained by Paris-based Australian singer Tina Arena.

The new Doha – Melbourne route signals the beginning of Qatar Airways’ operations to Australia, and adds another continent to the airline’s rapidly expanding global network. Melbourne becomes the award-winning airline’s 85th destination and fourth new route of 2009. The carrier plans to launch flights to Sydney next year.

On board the maiden flight QR030 from Doha was the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker, who led a high-profile delegation including the Australian Ambassador to the UAE and Qatar, His Excellency Doug Trappett, international media and senior company executives.

Victorian Government Minister of Tourism and Major Events, The Honourable Tim Holding provided an official welcome for Qatar Airways at the State Government Offices in Melbourne during a joint press conference while Tina Arena entertained guests and VIPs at the official gala party held at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Speaking on Qatar Airways’ arrival, Mr Al Baker said: “We have been eagerly planning our entry into the Australian market for several years – and we are delighted to finally arrive here in Melbourne.

“We have been in Australia for a number of years as an offline carrier with a sales office in the heart of the city of Melbourne, but today marks an historic moment as we extend our Five Star hospitality to yet another continent in our global network. We also look forward to starting flights to Sydney next year,” Mr Al Baker said.

Last month at the World Travel Awards in London, Qatar Airways won the World’s Best Business Class title as decided by thousands of travel professionals from over 180,000 travel agencies, transport companies and tourism organisations in over 160 countries worldwide.  The airline also scooped several accolades at the annual Skytrax passenger survey awards earlier this year, including Best Economy Class in the world, Best Cabin Crew in the Middle East for the seventh year running and Best Airline in the Middle East for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, Qatar Airways’ overall Skytrax global ranking for 2009 rose to fourth in the world – the highest placing of any Middle East carrier.

Qatar Airways offers Australians a one-stop service to numerous destinations across Europe, Middle East and Africa. The airline currently operates a young and modern fleet of 72 aircraft to 85 cities worldwide, a figure set to rise sharply over the next few years. The airline’s fleet will increase to more than 120 aircraft by 2013 and destinations served are set to rise to over 120 in the next five years.

Further information is available from www.qatarairways.com.au.