Doha – 21 April 2004. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Mr. Akbar Al Baker gave a presentation to the American Business Council Luncheon at the Marriott Hotel, Doha, today.

On the occasion of the monthly meeting of the American Business Council, Mr. Al Baker gave a presentation to some 70 members of the council on Qatar Airways’ extensive expansion programme for this year and the plans for the new Doha International Airport.

“The new Doha International Airport will be designed to be one of the best airports in the world. Our new airport will set the benchmark for all future airports.

“We have designed the airport in such a way that it will make best-ever facilities available to first-time and returning visitors to Doha. Transfer passengers, which make up nearly 70 per cent of travellers going through Doha, be able to transfer from one flight to the next within in 30-minutes.

“Looking ahead, the airport will be the first Greenfield airport to be designed with the super jumbo, the A380-600 in mind. We will have the facilities to accommodate two super jumbos at any one time when phase one of the airport opens in 2008.

“The airport will be pivotal to the continued significant growth of Qatar Airways as an international airline. The new airport will allow us to offer our passengers fast and efficient connections as we build a route network of at least 60 destinations by the beginning of 2005.

“Qatar Airways has been dubbed the ‘one of the world’s fastest growing airline’, and this year we are once again proving this to be true.

“In a nutshell, this year Qatar Airways will be taking delivery of thirteen aircraft, bringing its fleet up to 38 by the end of the year, and inaugurating enough destinations to bring the number of destinations up to an expected 60 destinations by early 2005.

“Earlier this year I announced that in June, we will begin flights to Luxor in Egypt and to Istanbul in Turkey. The following month, in July, we will begin a new service to Zurich in Switzerland. In November we will begin flights to Kabul in Afghanistan.

“Since that announcement we have inaugurated a regular service to Islamabad in Pakistan, and have met with the Premier of Victoria, to discuss a thrice-weekly service to Melbourne in Australia.

“At the ATM in Dubai I will be making a further announcement about additional destinations, that will allow us to serve our passengers better,” Mr. Al Baker said.