Qatar Airways wraps up momentous week at farnborough

Qatar Airways wrapped-up a very successful week at the world’s largest aviation event – Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, UK gaining social media attention around the globe on an unprecedented scale.

Qatar Airways’ popular Facebook page had a dedicated link which enabled easy access for viewers to watch live broadcast of the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight display on the first three days of the show. Tens of thousands of viewers watched the broadcast and engaged in live-chat, all appreciating the incredible appeal of the new generation aircraft.

It is the first time in Boeing’s 28 year history that an aircraft by the manufacturer has participated in a flying display, enthralling more than 120,000 visitors at the show, comprising of guests from the travel trade, media and global aviation enthusiasts.

Qatar Airways remained hugely popular all through the event as it is the Middle East launch customer of the Dreamliner aircraft. The video of the official unveiling was an instant hit among fans of the Airline’s Facebook page, receiving the highest number of shares & likes than ever before.

Qatar Airways also introduced a special Twitter hash-tag (#Qatar787), which took off during the show by thousands of Twitter users around the globe.

The airline’s commemorative Facebook cover also made a splash, depicting the Dreamliner flying over a beautifully-lit London skyline.

For links to videos on Qatar Airways’ official unveiling of its Boeing 787 aircraft and the airline’s validation flight, please visit www.youtube.com/qatarairways. You may also find Qatar Airways on www.twitter.com/qatarairways and www.facebook.com/qatarairways.

Qatar Airways once again proved that it is a favourite among today's global travellers by also winning key important awards at the event - the most coveted Skytrax Airline of the Year award for the second year running, Best Airline in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year and the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Middle East.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker who has been instrumental in shaping the airline into what it is today was also honoured with an Airline Business accolade for leadership.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 15 years of operation, currently operating a modern fleet of 109 aircraft to 117 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Since the beginning of the year, Qatar Airways has launched flights to Baku Azerbaijan; Tbilisi Georgia; Kigali Rwanda; Zagreb Croatia, Erbil Iraq, Baghdad, and most recently, Perth Australia with many more destinations planned during 2012.

Over the next few months, Qatar Airways launches services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Kilimanjaro, Tanzania July 25; Mombasa, Kenya August 15; Yangon, Myanmar October 3; Maputo, Mozambique October 31 and a date yet-to-be-announced to the Serbian capital Belgrade.