Qatar Airways Up Against A380
Qatar Airways took part in the Paris Air Show last week showcasing its Five Star hospitality and taking centre stage with Airbus’s new A380 superjumbo aircraft. As the only airline exhibiting among a host of aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, Doha-based Qatar Airways stole the limelight with a superb chalet overlooking the airport.
The show, which attracted hundreds of thousands of trade and public visitors over a seven-day period, also saw Airbus’s new A380 double deck ‘superjumbo’ take to the skies for demonstration flights.
Visitors to the Qatar Airways chalet were given an additional treat with the A380 parked outside the hospitality suite to provide excellent views of this engineering feat, which is set to make its inaugural flight next year.
Qatar Airways is a launch customer of the A380 with four aircraft on order, and deliveries taking place from 2009, to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker led a delegation of airline officials to the show, at which he announced plans by the airline to place the biggest aircraft orders in its history for up to 80 aircraft worth US$15.2 billion.
The orders would comprise at least 60 of the new generation Airbus A350s and up to 20 Boeing 777s for deliveries over an eight-year period between 2007 and 2015.
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