13 Apr 2018 – 0:01
The Peninsula
DOHA: Qatar Airways was awarded the PAX International Readership Award for ‘Best In-Flight Duty Free Program’ for the Middle East and Africa at an awards ceremony that took place at the Radisson Blu hotel in Hamburg on April 11. This is the second time that Qatar Airways has been given this distinguished award, and has been acknowledged as an industry leader for its outstanding in-flight duty free service, which is operated by Qatar Duty Free (QDF).
The award win recognises the wide selection of both luxury and affordable products available on board Qatar Airways flights, as part of the airline’s in-flight duty free program, as well as its competitive prices and outstanding customer service.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways prides itself on being attentive to its customers by offering five-star services throughout the entire shopping experience – from on the ground at our award-winning home and hub, Hamad International Airport, to the skies onboard Qatar Airways’ award-winning aircraft. Our in-flight duty free programme continues to be recognised by our passengers as one of the finest in quality and product range, and this award showcases not only our customers’ satisfaction, but QDF’s dedication in providing an exception-al shopping experience to all passengers flying with us”.
Head of Qatar Duty Free, Thabet Musleh, said: “At Qatar Duty Free, we hand-pick an exclusive col-lection of market-leading duty free products for Qatar Airways’ in-flight duty free programme, for pas-sengers travelling on Qatar Airways’ global network of more than 150 destinations across six conti-nents. We greatly value the opinion of all our customers, and will continue to set new standards for the industry and ensure that QDF is an experience worth travelling for”.
Qatar Airways’ in-flight offering includes an exclusive selection of affordable and luxury brands as well as its in-flight duty free magazine, Extravaganza, introducing passengers to a collection of more than 170 in-flight products including fragrances, cosmetics, skincare, watches, jewellery, fashion accessories, toys and Qatar Airways memorabilia.
With the continued expansion of Qatar Airways into new markets, the airline’s in-flight duty free business is also expanding, and innovating passengers’ shopping experience to meet this increased demand is a top priority. As part of this innovation, since January 2018,
Qatar Airways’ passengers have been able to utilise QDF’s preorder service online, available through the QDF website, and can order items in advance and have them delivered to their seat on board.
One of the largest duty free retailers in the world, QDF boasts more than 90 elegant boutiques and luxury, high-end stores, as well as more than 30 restaurants and cafés covering an area of 40,000 square metre at
Hamad International Airport, providing travellers with a world-class shopping experi-ence under one roof. Luxury brands available at the five-star airport include Gucci, Bulgari, Hermès, Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss, Moncler, Rolex and Harrods.
The PAX International Readership Award is the second award win this week for Qatar Airways, as the airline also won a prestigious Crystal Cabin Award for “Best Cabin Concept”, in recognition of its innovative new Business Class seat, Qsuite, on Tuesday evening.
Hamad International Airport, the home of QDF, has already met a number of significant mile-stones in 2018, including being ranked fifth ‘Best Airport in the World’ at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2018. HIA was also honoured with the title of the fourth ‘Best Airport for Shopping’ and the fifth ‘Best Airport for Dining’ in the world, and is the only airport in the Middle East in the world’s top 10 airports of 2018. At the annual awards ceremony, HIA also took home the title of ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the fourth year in a row, and ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ for the third year in a row.
