Qatar Airways to host travel agents workshop

Qatar Airways' Regional Manager for Qatar and Africa Mr. Fathi Al Shehab said: "The theme of the workshop was "Together we Excel".

"Travel agents are a vital part of the service Qatar Airways is offering. Travel starts with the agent who advises on the routes, destinations and books the tickets. The service that our airline has become famous for needs to be efficient and top class from the very beginning to the end.

"We invited every travel agent in Qatar to join the workshop, and the response has been excellent. Smaller agencies sent at least one representative, whereas the larger travel agencies had three or more representatives taking part.

"The workshop participants were addressed by top management on issues such as tariff and fares, yield management, the Qatar Airways route network and the new destinations. They also gave an update on our new services such as early check-in and advance check-in, the Al Maha service and Qatar Airways' Privilege Club, " Mr. Fathi Al Shehab advised.

"Our special guest, H.E. Mr. Zhao Huimin, the People's Republic of China's Ambassador to Qatar, conducted a presentation about China and in particular Shanghai, our new destination to be inaugurated later this month, during the workshop.

"Following the presentations, the agents participated in roundtable discussions organised by the senior staff of our reservations, ticketing, revenue, and sales and marketing departments.

"These discussions targeted the agents' daily operations to ensure top quality in services, reservations, ticketing, pricing and sales.

"Qatar Airways cabin crew has this year been voted best in the region and fifth in the world by Skytrax.

"To achieve our vision of becoming the best airline in the world, we need to continuously build on these achievements.

"Qatar Airways held this workshop to ensure that everybody who touches an area of the overall travel-experience with Qatar Airways, excels in what they are doing. We are making sure that our passengers are pleased with every aspect related to their travel with our airline," said Mr. Al Shehab.

Qatar Airways has established itself as one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. Building on a reputation of premium customer care, the airline has launched an aggressive growth plan to ensure that it can offer passengers a greater choice of destination, a wider variety of flight times and the latest onboard products and services.

Qatar Airways made history in September when it became the first airline in the world to pass the International Air Transport Associations (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), with 100 per cent compliance.

Qatar Airways currently serves 42 destinations throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and is hoping to extend its route network to 50 destinations by the end of 2003. It recently announced Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, Vienna, Tripoli and Cebu in the Southern Philippines as new destinations to be inaugurated before the end of the year.

As part of Qatar Airways' growth strategy and expansion programme, the airline recently signed an agreement with Airbus for an order of 34 aircraft in a US$5.1 billion deal, part of a plan to increase its fleet to 52 by 2008.

Qatar Airways operates a number of subsidiary companies including: Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Aviation Catering Company, United Media International, Qatar Airways Holidays, Doha International Airport, and Qatar Duty Free.