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Tag: Qatar

  • British Airways will use Qatar planes during cabin crew strike

    British Airways will use Qatar planes during cabin crew strike

    British Airways will use Qatar Airways planes and crew to fly all its passengers to their destinations during a planned two-week strike by some cabin crew, Willie Walsh, head of BA’s parent company, said on Thursday.

    The strike by BA’s mixed fleet cabin crew – those who work on both long and short-haul flights – is due to begin on Saturday. BA had already applied to Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to use nine Qatar-registered Airbus A320 or A321s betweenJuly 1 and July 16 and Walsh, CEO of International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), said the plan would go ahead.

    “I’ll be pleased to say that those airplanes will fly and all of the British Airways passengers who are booked to fly with us over the next couple of weeks will be flying,” Walsh told reporters in Brussels on Thursday when asked if the application to use the planes had been successful.

    Members of the mixed fleet crew are engaged in a long-running dispute with BA about pay. The forthcoming strike is over sanctions on union members involved in previous industrial action.British Airways had previously guaranteed that all customers would reach their destinations, although some flights will be merged.

    The CAA would not confirm that BAs application had been approved and said it was still processing it.

    “Under European regulations specific approval is required for an EU airline, such as British Airways, to wet lease aircraft from an airline based outside of Europe,” a spokesman for the CAA said in a statement.

    “The UK Department for Transport will approve or reject the application taking into account advice from the Civil Aviation Authority.”

    A “wet-leasing” deal would mean that BA pays Qatar to use its aircraft and crew for the two-week period.

    The deal could help Qatar make more use of its planes after its operations were disrupted by a boycott from four Arab nations, forcing it to seek out other destinations on which to use its planes.

    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5 in the worst diplomatic crisis in the region in years.

    BA and Qatar Airways have close ties. Both are partners in the OneWorld alliance and code share on certain flights, while the Doha-based carrier owns a 20 percent stake in BA parent
    International Airlines Group.

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  • Indonesian supermarket opened in Qatar

    Indonesian supermarket opened in Qatar

    A supermarket selling Indonesian products was opened in the Messaieed City, located around 40 kilometers from Doha, Qatar. The Indonesian supermarket, called KWIQ Supermarket, was officially opened to the public on June 17 by Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Muhammad Basri Sidehabi, as quoted from the official website of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

    “This Indonesian supermarket serves as a concrete manifestation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A.M. Fachirs instruction during a coordination meeting last month,” Sidehabi noted.

    The deputy minister had instructed the Indonesian representative to focus on feasible and concrete efforts and to dare to innovate for the benefit of the people, he said.

    The supermarket is expected to encourage the Indonesian diaspora to develop businesses in Qatar as well as to serve as a platform for Indonesian businessmen keen to expand their business in Qatar.

    The plan to set up an Indonesian supermarket was initiated by the KWIQ cooperative group.

    Head of the KWIQ cooperative group Kartini Sarsilaningsih said Indonesian citizens living in Messaieed and Wakrah are keen to support the plan to set up an Indonesian supermarket in Qatar.

    Sasilaningsih said the business holds high potential, adding that the Government of Qatar is currently conducting diversification of products following the diplomatic rift with several gulf countries.

    She hoped that in future, the Indonesian supermarket would gain greater support from Indonesian business entities and producers that are looking to expand their business in Qatar.

    “For now, the supermarket has set a target to function as a distributor for Indonesian products since it has a business network,” she revealed.

    The supermarket has been supported by the Indonesian Business Association in Qatar and is selling Indonesian products, such as food and beverages and household appliances.

  • Indonesia may lose 50,000 tourists because of Qatar crisis

    Indonesia may lose 50,000 tourists because of Qatar crisis

    The Indonesian government is predicting that the recent severing of ties between several Arab countries and Qatar would deal a blow to the archipelago’s tourism industry, with 50,000 expected tourists not showing up because of the crisis, a senior official said on Tuesday.

    That is the number of visitors Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said Qatar Airways, for the most part, would have brought to Indonesia this year.

    “Given that seven months are left in the year 2017, we estimate we will lose about 50,000 foreign tourists as a result of the boycott of Qatar,” Arief told reporters at the State Palace on Tuesday.

    In order to reduce the expected loss, Arief said his ministry would coordinate with the Transportation Ministry to transfer the license given to the Qatari airline to other airlines, such as Emirates and Etihad.

    “First of all, I will ask the Transportation Ministry to transfer the aircraft license given to Qatar Airways to other airlines. We have no option as they Qatar Airways could not fly their aircraft anyway,” Arief said.

    Qatar Airways said on its official website it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.

    Saudi Arabia and several of its allies on Monday cut relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism.

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  • Qatar Airways taps Inmarsat for in-flight broadband

    Qatar Airways taps Inmarsat for in-flight broadband

    Qatar Airways has become the first major Middle East airline to select Inmarsat’s new GX Aviation in-flight broadband solution for in-flight broadband.

    The Inmarsat solution will initially be available to Qatar Airways passengers on board more than 130 aircraft, consisting of Airbus A350s and Boeing 777s.

    GX Aviation technology has already been equipped on Qatar Airways’ latest Airbus A350s. Installations on the airline’s remaining Airbus A350s, together with the Boeing 777s, will start on a retrofit basis from this summer.

    GX Aviation is touted as the world’s first in-flight connectivity solution with reliable, seamless high-speed global coverage provided through a single operator. Inmarsat says the service allows airline passengers to browse the internet, stream videos, check social media and more during flights, with an on-board connectivity experience “on par with broadband services available on the ground.”

    “Broadband transformation on the ground is already well advanced and we are able to transfer that into the very challenging in-flight environment, working with Qatar Airways to make connectivity a success,” said Leo Mondale, president of Inmarsat Aviation.

    “Our networks are engineered with multiple layers for redundancy and global coverage. Our design philosophy is to scale up capacity over time to fit the route systems of our airline customers and reflect the industry’s real needs.”

    The service will integrate with Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system and ensure that connectivity initiatives, such as its passenger app and aircraft technology, will be strengthened using dependable in-flight broadband. GX Aviation also complements the airline’s latest passenger experience innovations.

    Qatar Airways will connect to the GX network using exclusive JetWave terminals produced by Inmarsat partner Honeywell Aerospace. The terminals are designed for ease of installation and maintenance to assure the lowest downtime for any cabin connectivity solution in the market.

    The selection of GX Aviation follows a separate announcement that Qatar Airways has activated an advanced new space-based system, supplied by Inmarsat, to track all of its flights across the world.

    Inmarsat worked exclusively with Qatar Airways to develop this solution, which uses Inmarsat’s satellite technology to provide the exact real-time location of the airline’s aircraft in latitude and longitude.

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  • Cebu Pacific to end flights to Qatar from July 1

    Cebu Pacific to end flights to Qatar from July 1

    The low-cost Philippines carrier Cebu Pacific Air will stop flying to Doha at the beginning of July because the route is no longer financially viable, it said.

    The airline has been flying direct to Qatar for just over two years, and announced that its last return flight from Manila to Doha will be on July 1.

    It will also cease flying to Kuwait from mid-June and the Saudi city of Riyadh in early July.

    Passengers who are already booked on flights after these dates can transfer to another airline offering the same routes (subject to availability), book for an earlier flight with Cebu Pacific (also depending on availability) or get a full refund.

    The airline “strongly advised” all such passengers to contact their travel agents or its hotline to discuss their options.

    Too much competition

    Cebu Pacific is essentially halting the routes due to too much competition, according to Atty JR Mantaring, vice president for Corporate Affairs of Cebu Pacific.

    In a statement this week, Mantaring said:

    “Of late, other carriers have aggressively added more flights, which has resulted in substantial oversupply of seats and fares that are so low, hence making the routes unsustainable…

    At this point, it makes more sense for us to re-deploy the aircraft used for our Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait service to routes where we can further stimulate demand and sustain our low fare offers.”

    Cebu Pacific will continue to fly to Dubai and Sydney and may increase capacity to these cities, the statement added.

    Crowded market

    The airline began direct flights between Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Hamad International Airport in Doha in June 2015.

    A 436-seat, all-economy class Airbus A330 flies between the cities twice a week. It was initially popular when the route first started because of its competitive fares.

    While Qatar Airways also flies twice-daily direct flights on the same routes, prices were usually higher.

    The national carrier increased its service to the Philippines’ capital in July 2015. That’s the same month that Cebu started its direct Doha-Manila service.

    National flag carrier Philippine Airlines also began offering the same route earlier this year, in a bid to meet the needs of Qatar’s 260,000-strong Filipino population.

    That carrier operates four times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on A330 aircraft.

    Its daytime departure and arrivals times, and its competitive introductory prices, has attracted many travelers.

    Tickets range from QR885 to QR2,745 in economy, and include WiFi and meal service. Passengers can also check in two pieces of luggage, weighing up to 23kg each.

    A business class option could be rolled out this summer.

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  • Eros inks mobile billing integration deal with ME telcos

    Eros inks mobile billing integration deal with ME telcos

    Eros Now, the digital OTT platform of Eros International, now has mobile billing integration capabilities with major telecom operators in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

    Mobile billing integration is at the heart of Eros Now’s penetration strategy to enable consumers to experience Indian entertainment, which includes Bollywood and regional content across major networks and devices, and will further enhance the platforms ability to monetize its user base.

    The tie-ups in the Middle East are with the leading local telecom operators including Ooredoo in Kuwait and Qatar, and Du in the UAE. Additional telecom partnerships throughout the region are currently being negotiated.

    Consumption of Bollywood content, including Hindi movies, music and TV series in the Middle East has been on the rise along with it also becoming one of the leading regions in the world in terms of smart device adoption.

    With an increasing number of handheld device users, the trend of online content consumption has markedly increased in the region. The South Asian diaspora in both of these markets is estimated to be over half of the population, which represents over five million people.

    Also, Bollywood content continues to be popular with the local Middle Eastern population in dubbed and subtitled formats – both of which are offered on Eros Now.

    “Eros Now’s philosophy is to be platform agnostic and embrace the very best in technology as we continuously enhance our content offering,” said Rishika Lulla-Singh, CEO of Eros Digital. “Recognizing the growing demand among Middle Eastern viewers for online video content, especially Bollywood entertainment, these mobile partnerships will give consumers entertainment and easy pay access, whenever and wherever they want it.”

  • Wonderful Indonesia promoted in Qatar

    Wonderful Indonesia promoted in Qatar

    The Indonesian Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has promoted the countrys tourism brand “Wonderful Indonesia” by introducing its culinary richness to mark the 40th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic ties.

    The event to promote Indonesias traditional snacks featuring the culinary richness of different ethnic groups was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps in Doha, the embassys spokesperson Boy Dharmawan informed ANTARA News here Friday.

    Several snacks served to the guests were Ketan Srikaya, sweet custard with sticky rice; gethuk cake, traditional snack made from cassava; onde-onde, glutinous rice flour balls; wajik sticky rice; jalangkote, fried pie filled with chicken; Lemper, steamed sticky rice cake with beef or chicken; and apem, rice flour cakes, he remarked.

    “The cakes served are delicious,” Thai Ambassadors wife Benj Chaiyindeepum said when asked to comment on the taste of the served snacks.

    Benj was one of the 16 spouses of ambassadors of different countries in Qatars capital city who attended the event, he added.

  • QNB chosen ‘Best Retail Bank in Qatar’

    QNB chosen ‘Best Retail Bank in Qatar’

    QNB has been recognised as the “Best Retail Bank in Qatar” by the Asian Banker Magazine.
    The prestigious award was received during The Asian Banker’s International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2016 ceremony held recently in Hong Kong.

    The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with The 15th Annual Excellence in Retail Financial Services Convention. It is considered an important financial event in the global retail banking agenda, where regional and global elite retail bankers can come together and enjoy unprecedented networking opportunities.

    According to The Asian Banker, QNB, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, received the “highly competitive award after successfully undergoing all the stringent valuation” for the international excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme.

    “The award is a true testament to the excellence of QNB’s retail services, given that the programme is considered the most prestigious, comprehensive and anticipated awards programme that recognises excellence amongst the world’s leading retail financial institutions as well as the undisputed performance benchmark of the best retail banks in an increasingly fierce marketplace,” QNB said.

    As a leading provider of strategic intelligence on the financial services industry, The Asian Banker facilitates awards programmes known for their rigor, impartiality and transparency.

    QNB is a previous recipient of these distinguished awards, gaining such recognitions as “Best Transaction Bank in the Middle East & Africa”, “Best Direct Bank”, “Best Cash Management Bank in Qatar”, and “Best Trade Finance Bank in Qatar”.

    QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies extends to some 27 countries across three continents providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services.
    The total number of employees is more than 15,200 operating through more than 635 locations, with an ATM network of 1,390 machines.

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  • China’s Ambassador to Qatar takes HIA tour

    China’s Ambassador to Qatar takes HIA tour

    China’s Ambassador to Qatar, His Excellency Li Chen, and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, commemorated  Chinese New Year, with a visit to Qatar Duty Free’s traditional Chinese pavilion on 10 February 2016.

    Hany Al Deeb, UnionPay Regional Country Manager, joined H.E. Mr. Li Chen and H.E. Mr. Al Baker on a tour of a Chinese pagoda located in Hamad International Airport (HIA).

    As reported, the pavilion is offering passengers discounts of up to 20%, spending rewards and an array of enticing promotions to mark China’s Year of the Monkey.

    UnionPay and Qatar Duty Free have also collaborated to offer passengers traditional red envelope retail vouchers worth QR100 for customers who purchase items valued at QR1000 (US $274) and above using a UnionPay payment card.

    H.E. Mr. Al Baker, said: “I am honoured to visit Qatar Duty Free’s Chinese Pavilion with His Excellency Mr. Li Chen. Chinese New Year is an important time for families to gather together and enjoy each other’s company.

    “For many families, this means travelling to see their loved ones, to enjoy the traditional New Year’s feasts and special holiday markets. For those travelling, we wanted to bring a taste of this tradition to their actual travel experience, by again building our version of the holiday market, with special products and promotions.”

    The traditional red and gold pavilion is positioned directly behind the famed Lamp Bear at HIA, serving as a ‘festive attraction’ as well as a ‘starting point for bespoke shopping tours’ designed specifically for Chinese passengers. Chinese language-dedicated Qatar Duty Free staff, fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and other Chinese dialects, are available upon request to lead passengers around HIA showcasing their favourite brands and products, says QDF>

    Passengers will discover an array of specially curated products inside the elaborate Chinese pagoda, which will remain in HIA until mid-March in recognition of the Qatar-China 2016 Year of Culture.

    Savings of up to 20% are being offered on Qatar Duty Free fragrances, cosmetics, skincare, confectionery, luxury watches, fine jewellery, and other gift items in the Chinese pavilion.

    Additional Chinese New Year discounts of up to 10% are also available on brands in selected boutiques in HIA. Passengers can choose from a wide variety of duty free products at amazing prices, including promotions from Tiffany, TAG Heuer, Chopard, and Bulgari. Popular products available within the Chinese pavilion include Godiva chocolates, Prada perfume, La Prairie skin care, Swarovski jewellery, Harrods bags and Marmalade Market gift items.

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  • Max’s Group takes Yellow Cab Pizza to UAE

    Max’s Group takes Yellow Cab Pizza to UAE

    Philippines-based Max’s Group is to launch its Yellow Cab Pizza chain in the UAE after signing a partnership with Cartoon Fashion Group.

    Cartoon will open 10 Yellow Cab outlets in the UAE over the next five years. IT’s the second overseas market for the Filipino brand, following six stores in Qatar.

    Yellow Cab specialises in New York style pizzas and has 112 branches in the Philippines.

    President and CEO of Max’s Group, Robert Trota, said the Cartoon Fashion Group had a proven track record and solid reputation in the UAE. “We knew they were the best partner for this endeavor.”

    Dubai-based Cartoon Fashion is one of UAE’s largest retail and hospitality consortiums, operating local franchises for brands including Adidas, Ed Hardy and French Connection.

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