Qatar Airways, which operates 43 flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has won an international award for its in-fight magazine Oryx. The 'Best In-flight Magazine' award from Pakistan's National Council of Culture and Arts (NCCA) saw the Qatari flag carrier beat off competition from 18 leading international airlines.
The award was made at the NCCA's 34th Annual International Graphic Print Material Exhibition held recently at the Karachi's Sadequain Art Gallery. "Qatar Airways is constantly upgrading the standards of its in-flight services and this award proves that attention to detail and product quality is being appreciated," said Akbar Al-Baker, Qatar Airways CEO.
"We have starved to produce a magazine for our passengers that is readable, informative, entertaining and encapsulates contemporary publishing styles. The fact that we won the award ahead of long-established international airlines adds to its significance."
Airlines judged in the NCCA awards include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Cathay-Pacific, Swiss International, Qantas, KLM, Thai Airways and Royal Jordanian among others.
Oryx is a bi-monthly magazine in English and Arabic produced Qatar Airways for its passengers who fly to 40 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and the Far East. It won the award for the quality of its design and printing.
Qatar Airways has proved itself to be one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. In the last year alone, it recorded sales revenue 12 percent higher than forecasts, despite the downtrend in the international aviation industry.
Building on a reputation for premium service, Qatar Airways has launched an aggressive growth plan to ensure it can offer people a greater choice of destinations, more flights, and the latest in-flight products and services.
As part of this growth plan, Qatar Airways will extend its route network to 50 destinations by the end of 2003. It has recently added Manchester, Rome and Kochi to its increasing route network. It will begin flights to Moscow in August.
Qatar Airways is also increasing its fleet. It presently has 23 new Airbus aircraft, which will increase to 28 by the end of this year. Qatar Airways recently announced that it would take delivery of a long range A319 corporate jetliner. It is also one of the launch customers for the A380 'super jumbo' in 2007.
Qatar Airways also operates a number of subsidiary companies, including: Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Aviation Catering Company, Qatar Airways Holidays, Doha International Airport and Qatar Duty Free.
NCCA has been organizing Karachi's Graphic Art Fair for the last 34 years, to promote and showcase international art and culture through its annual calendars, diaries, posters and magazines. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
