Qatar Airways to take delivery of 13 Airbus in 2004

Qatar Airways will take delivery of 13 new Airbus aircraft in 2004, boosting its fleet to 38 by year-end, as it continues in its plans to build a fleet of 52 aircraft over the next five years.

Qatar Airways' Chief Executive Officer Mr. Akbar Al Baker, addressing a press conference in the Jordanian capital of Amman, confirmed that this year's delivery of aircraft represented the airline's largest delivery of aircraft.

"This year's delivery reflects the considerable investment that Qatar Airways is making in our fleet, and forms part of the US$5.1 billion deal that we signed with Airbus last year for an additional 34 aircraft," said Mr Al Baker.

"This sort of growth is virtually unheard of in the airline industry, and proves once again that we are one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.

"The delivery not only represents another historical milestone for Qatar Airways, but will also give us the flexibility to add new destinations and increase frequencies to our most popular destinations.

"All this year's deliveries will be Airbus aircraft, consistent with the current fleet. We will be receiving four new A330s, two A320s, and two A321s. In addition, we will be taking delivery of four leased A330s, bringing our fleet of A330s up to a total of thirteen Airbus A330s by the end of 2004. We are also taking delivery of an additional aircraft for our Amiri VIP fleet.

"All our newly delivered A330s will be equipped with Audio Video On Demand (AVOD), enabling passengers to decide when to watch which video on their individual screens, and compile their own listening choice from a range of 50 CDs.

"In addition the A330s will offer a choice of 12 video games and the new iExplore, a system which allows passengers to zoom in and have a close-up view of the cities they fly over, using satellite images.

"Despite our aggressive growth, we continuously focus on the service we are providing to our passengers. We intend to be the best airline in the world from a quality service point of view.

"At Qatar Airways our aim is to be the best, provide the best service and take passengers to more destinations, more frequently - these new aircraft will help us with that aim," Mr Al Baker stated.