Bennet Stephens – the Vice President of Sales for Gulf, Middle East, Levant, and Caucasus region at Qatar Airways – talks to Business Live Middle East on how the airline is braving the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and shares the brand’s outlook as they expand to newer markets.

Below are excerpts from the interview:

Bennet Stephens, Vice President of Sales for Gulf, Middle East, Levant, and Caucasus region, Qatar Airways

Business Live Middle East: In light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, what are some of the steps taken by Qatar Airways in its flights – both long- and short-haul – to keep their passengers and staff safe?

Bennet Stephens: As one of the largest and most experienced global airlines throughout the COVID-19 crisis, travelers can rely on Qatar Airways to take them on your next journey safely. We continue to ensure that our safety and hygiene measures are of the highest standard, with new health and safety compliant procedures implemented throughout the customers’ journey, from check in to arrival at their destination.

Qatar Airways became the first global carrier to operate Honeywell’s Ultraviolet (UV) Cabin System, further advancing its hygiene measures onboard. In clinical tests, UV light has been shown to be capable of inactivating various viruses and bacteria when properly applied.

Qatar Airways further increased its health and safety measures onboard by introducing new personal protective equipment (PPE) for customers and cabin crew. The cabin crew wear a disposable protective gown which is worn over their uniforms, in addition to safety glasses, gloves and a mask.

Face shields are distributed to the passengers at the airport to be worn when boarding and disembarking. Economy Class passengers are required to wear them on board, except when eating or drinking. Business Class passengers are asked to wear them at their own discretion. For aircraft equipped with Qsuite, Qatar Airways’ award-winning business seat, Business Class customers are offered even greater privacy with sliding partitions and fully closing doors, and an option to display a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator, if they wish to limit their interactions with cabin crew.

Onboard, all Qatar Airways passengers are provided with a complimentary protective kit. Inside a ziplock pouch, a single-use face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel.

Parents flying with children over two years of age are requested to advise them to keep wearing their PPE throughout the journey.

Business Class meals are served covered on a tray instead of a table set up, and a cutlery wrap is offered to passengers as an alternative to individual cutlery service, in an effort to minimise contact between crew and passengers. Qatar Airways has also introduced single-use menu cards and sealed refreshing wipes. Economy Class meals and cutlery are served sealed as usual, and menu cards have been temporarily discontinued. All social areas onboard the aircraft have been closed adhering to social distancing measures.

Qatar Airways’ aircraft are regularly disinfected using cleaning products recommended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Its aircrafts feature the most advanced air filtration systems, equipped with industrial-size HEPA filters that remove 99.97% of viral and bacterial contaminants from re-circulated air, providing the most effective protection against infection.

The linen and blankets offered onboard continue to be washed, dried and pressed at microbial lethal temperatures, while its headsets are rigorously sanitised after each flight. These items are then sealed into individual packaging by staff wearing hygienic disposable gloves.

Cabin crew have received training on how to minimise their chances of contracting or spreading the infection, [and] are thermally screened before the departure of flights and after their arrival, and are quarantined and tested if any colleagues or passengers on a flight shows any symptoms of infection or test positive for the virus.

BLME: The move for Qatar Airways to continue operating flights during the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as a brave move. It was earlier said that QR operated flights to no less than 30 destinations – how were you able to keep your flights operational during these turbulent times? And can you elaborate more on the ‘Travel With Confidence’ initiative?

Bennet: Since the onset of the pandemic, while many airlines suspended their operations, Qatar Airways stepped in fulfilling its mission of bringing people home to their loved ones during this global crisis. In doing so, our network has never fallen below 30 destinations with continuous services to five continents.

Qatar Airways’ operations are not dependent on any specific aircraft type. Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, the airline has grounded its fleet of Airbus A380s as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft. The airline’s fleet of 52 Airbus A350s and 30 Boeing 787s are the ideal choices for the most strategically important long-haul routes to Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.

More people rely on Qatar Airways for international travel as we continue to ensure the safest and most reliable experience for our passengers and resume flights to more destinations over the coming period.

To provide peace of mind when booking travel, Qatar Airways has extended its commitment by offering passengers flexible booking options, now available for all tickets issued before 31 December. If passengers need to change their travel plans, they can hold their ticket value for two years, benefit from unlimited date changes, or exchange their ticket for a future travel voucher with 10% extra value. If passengers have had their travel plans impacted by factors outside their control, they can change their destination – within the same continental region for Qatar Airways Privilege Club members or within the same country or a 500-mile radius for non-members, swap their ticket for Qmiles, or refund their ticket with no fees applied.

BLME: As Qatar Airways achieved these milestones and more, how has all this impacted the promotion of the carrier’s hub – the Hamad International Airport?

Bennet: Hamad International Airport (HIA) continues to retain its five-star airport classification since 2017. These achievements are a result of the hard work and determination demonstrated by the airport staff, to make HIA the “world’s fastest-growing airport.”

HIA has been ranked the “Third Best Airport in the World,” among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. Rising from the fourth position in 2019 to third in 2020, HIA has been steadily rising in the “World’s Best Airports” rankings since the start of its operations in 2014. In addition, HIA has been voted the “Best Airport in the Middle East” for the sixth year in a row and “Best Staff Service in the Middle East” for the fifth year in a row.

Sparing no effort in safeguarding its passengers, HIA continues applying the stringiest safety measures. HIA maintains a 1.5-meter physical distancing across all passenger touchpoints around the airport, through floor markings, signage and distanced seating. All passenger touchpoints are sanitized every 10-15 minutes and every boarding gate and bus gate counter is cleaned after each flight. HIA has also introduced UV-C disinfectant robots which are fully autonomous mobile devices emitting concentrated UV-C light, and are deployed in high passenger flow areas to reduce the spread of pathogens. Furthermore, HIA’s retail and food and beverage outlets encourage contactless and cashless transactions through cards and are considering introducing online or in-app purchases in the future. The airport also conducts regular disinfection of all baggage trolleys and tubs. All arrivals and departures passengers will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. Advanced thermal screening helmets are also used, equipped with infrared thermal imaging and artificial intelligence.

BLME: The carrier was heralded as a leader in repatriation flights. Can you elaborate on a few stories – across different sectors – where the airline was able to make a difference?

Bennet: According to the latest IATA data, Qatar Airways has become the largest international carrier between April to July by fulfilling its mission of taking people home. This enabled the airline to accumulate unmatched experience in carrying passengers safely and reliably and uniquely positioned the airline to effectively rebuild its network.

Qatar Airways flew over 33 billion revenue passenger kilometers taking home over 2.3 million passengers on over 37,000 flights. The airline has also operated more than 400 charter flights across the world, enabling it to take people home to their loved ones and from an operational perspective stay up-to-date with the latest airport and national health procedures. It allowed us to maintain a finger on the pulse of global passenger flows, in particular in markets where it does not operate regularly scheduled flights.

BLME: In a media statement in 2019, His Excellency Mr. Akbar al Baker was quoted as saying that Oman was a key market for Qatar Airways. How does the Sultanate of Oman fit into Qatar Airways’ growth plans?

Bennet: The national carrier of Qatar has been flying to Oman since 2000, when it first began direct services to the Omani capital, Muscat, and then increased operations in Oman by operating to Salalah and Sohar. Before the pandemic, in 2019, Qatar Airways operated 10 daily flights from the 3 cities in Oman.

Post the easing of restrictions, Qatar Airways has now resumed its services to Oman with two weekly flights from Muscat and another two weekly flights in codeshare with Oman Air, providing a seamless connection from Oman to the US, Europe, Africa, and Levant regions. The first service touched down at Muscat International Airport on 1 October, 2020.

Passengers travelling from Muscat can now enjoy enhanced connectivity to many key global destinations across the Airline’s expanding network including London, New York, Houston and Montreal via our award-winning hub, Hamad International Airport.

We continue to monitor the situation and engage with local authorities to increase our services in line with the demand for air travel.

BLME: The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects are touted to be long-lasting. But, it has inevitably caused the enabling and fast-tracking of digital transformation across various sectors. Sticking with the latter, how is Qatar Airways moving forward digitally in the coming months?

Bennet: At Qatar Airways, we continue to raise the bar and innovate across all areas of our business as part of our five-star product offering.

Further enhancing our renowned onboard experience, we are proud to announce the recent milestone of becoming the first airline in Asia to equip 100 aircraft with high-speed internet. In recognition of this achievement, we are offering our passengers complimentary Super Wi-Fi throughout their entire flight from now until 2 January 2021.

We will continue to set a new standard of on-board connectivity, changing the way you stay connected with friends, family and colleagues at 35,000 ft. Since its launch, millions of passengers have experienced the unparalleled speed and reliability of our Super Wi-Fi.

Furthermore, Qatar Airways announced significant updates to its mobile app that allow passengers to plan their travel with greater ease, helping minimise physical contact and interactions throughout their journey. The mobile app is now available in the Arabic language, demonstrating the airline’s commitment to Arabic-speaking customers around the world.

Members of Qatar Airways Privilege Club will earn 1,000 Qmiles when they download the mobile app.

With an updated, intuitively designed look and feel, the Qatar Airways mobile app now presents a personalised home screen that provides the most relevant information to each user. For those with an upcoming flight, the mobile app’s existing ‘My Trips’ feature will now be displayed on the home screen, highlighting the most important information at each stage of their journey. For those without a current booking, special offers will be displayed, tailored to their location.

With the app’s ‘MyTrips’ feature, passengers can select their preferred seat and meals in advance, check-in online, download their boarding pass to a mobile wallet, and generate a baggage tag to print and attach to their luggage at home.

Passengers can also enable notifications through the mobile app to receive important alerts about their upcoming flight’s departure times, check-in, boarding and baggage collection. Throughout the passenger’s journey, the mobile app can be used to track baggage and book ‘Meet and Assist’ services at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

Other features of Qatar Airways’ mobile app will continue to be offered to its customers. Before travel, customers can use the mobile app to check the latest information on country and travel requirements, including visa and passport information.

Providing seamless booking options, the mobile app also includes a camera tool, allowing passengers to capture a photo of their passport or payment card without having to manually enter this information upon check out.

Meanwhile, members of Qatar Airways’ loyalty programme, Privilege Club, can use the app to seamlessly log in with fingerprint or facial recognition, book a trip using Cash + Qmiles, redeem Privilege Club awards, manage their accounts, and much more.

BLME: As a leading light in the region’s aviation sector, what are some of the new markets that Qatar Airways aims to expand to as a part of their long-term expansion process?

Bennet: Qatar Airways now operates over 700 weekly flights to more than 100 destinations, providing more flexible travel options to more global destinations than any other airline.

Looking ahead, the airline’s resilience and commitment to providing connectivity has also seen it launch several new destinations like Brisbane since the start of the pandemic in addition to the resumptions of its services to a number of destinations.

Our focus throughout the rebuild of our network is not only on restarting destinations but also operating as many frequencies as possible to provide our passengers the flexibility to travel when they want.

The airline’s strategic investment in a variety of fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft has enabled it to continue flying, perfectly positioning the carrier to lead the sustainable recovery of international travel, and giving the airline the flexibility to maintain and rebuild its network sustainably by operating the right-sized aircraft to offer reliable capacity in each market.

Furthermore, Qatar Airways has also announced its winter schedule in line with passenger and cargo demand and the continued relaxation of entry restrictions around the world. By the end of 2020, Qatar Airways plans to expand its network to more than 125 destinations including 20 in Africa, 11 in the Americas, 41 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe and 15 in the Middle East. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.