DOHA, Qatar – Qatar Airways proudly accepted the ‘Airline of the Year’ award on Saturday 25 March at the 2017 Air Transport Awards, as the airline was recognised for its innovation, service, hospitality and leading product design. The awards ceremony, held at an exclusive and prestigious ceremony at the Iatrou Residence in Ekali, Greece, recognised Qatar Airways as the world’s leading airline, bestowing it with the highest honour of the evening, at an event attended by the world’s leading airline executives.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are deeply honoured to have been recognised by the readers of Air Transport News as the 2017 Airline of the Year. We take immense pride in driving our airline to be the best in the industry and to deliver our passengers an unprecedented on-board experience. To receive acknowledgement from the loyal passengers who choose to fly with Qatar Airways is the highest honour for us to achieve and pushes us to work even harder to provide them with the level of commitment, service and attention to detail that they deserve every time they travel.”

The Airline of the Year award was bestowed upon Qatar Airways for its continued ambition to ensure the airline’s passenger experience is the absolute best in the industry with regards both product and service, an ambition witnessed just earlier this month at an exclusive reveal ceremony at the ITB exhibition in Berlin, at which the airline launched its new Qsuite for Business Class.

QSuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room. Adjustable panels and movable TV monitors on the centre four seats allow colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite, allowing them to work, dine and socialise together.

These new features provide the ultimate customisable travel experience that enables passengers to create an environment that suits their own unique needs and ensures that Qatar Airways continues to lead the airline industry in terms of passenger experience in the skies.

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fast growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017, including Chiang Mai, Dublin, Nice, Skopje and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of 195 aircraft.