Relations with Qatar, Qatar Airways solid and valuable: Boeing Middle East President

Kuljit Ghata-Aura

President of Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) Kuljit Ghata-Aura affirmed that the company is proud to continue its solid partnership with the State of Qatar, which it began nearly two decades ago. Ghata-Aura said that participating in the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2022), hosted recently by Doha, provided an important platform for the company to emphasize this goal, by highlighting the latest technological solutions, especially in the fields of defence and security. In a statement to Al-Arab news agency published Wednesday, he described the relations with the State of Qatar and Qatar Airways as solid and valuable, stressing keenness to develop these relations for the benefit of all parties. He pointed out that the contracts between the two sides, which are based on the 25-year partnership with Qatar Airways, are extremely important to Boeing, adding that Qatar Airways' selection of the 777-8 freighter is testament to the company's commitment to building cargo aircraft with large capacity, high reliability and outstanding fuel efficiency. He explained that the aviation sector has made significant and remarkable progress in the process of recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic, and Boeing's expectations reflect the great confidence in the market's flexibility and resilience, without drifting away from realism in dealing with existing challenges. President of Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa said that demand for domestic air travel are the main engine of the global recovery process, and it is expected that regional markets will follow this direction with the easing of travel restrictions, followed by the return of international long-haul flights to the pre-pandemic levels by 2023 or 2024. The Middle East region continues to play its role as a global hub, especially for the developing markets in Southeast Asia, China and Africa, and has played a major role in restoring travelers' confidence in travel through multiple initiatives that contributed to the recovery of travel at the international level, he said, adding that shipping operations continue to grow. He also expected that the size of the air fleet will double, as the number of cargo aircraft in the Middle East reached 80 aircraft in 2019, and that expectations indicate that this number will increase to 150 aircraft by 2040. There are also expectations that the number of airliners in the region will reach 3,530 jet aircraft, with the increasing demand for travel and air freight services, and consequently the continued increase in the need for maintenance and repair services and spare parts to meet the needs of fleets renewal, he said. Accordingly, the region needs 223,000 new aviation employees, including 54,000 pilots, 51,000 technicians, and 91,000 cabin crew members, he added. HE underlined that the company's focus is on achieving the principles of sustainability, by supporting and implementing the goals of the aviation sector with regard to achieving carbon-neutral growth starting from 2020 and committing to achieving total carbon neutrality by 2050. Boeing has a multi-pronged strategy that minimizes industry carbon emissions while preserving the connectivity and economic and social benefits that air travel provides to people around the world through fleet renewal, network efficiency (including air traffic management) and sustainable aviation fuel, he pointed out. Kuljit Ghata-Aura concluded by emphasizing that safety is a priority and an essential factor for the success of the aviation sector, so the sector takes new steps after each incident to improve the safety situation for all passengers, noting that these continuous improvements over the past 50 years have transformed the aviation industry into the safest form of travel ever.