QATAR. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker has hailed the new Hamad International Airport as “undoubtedly the best [airport] facility ever built anywhere” and said that by running the commercial operations in-house a new retailing standard has been set.
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“It [the in-house retail team] has absolutely raised the bar when you compare this to any other airport in the world“ |
H.E. Akbar Al Baker Chief Executive Officer Qatar Airways |
Speaking to The Moodie Report in Doha yesterday in his first travel retail industry interview since the spectacular new airport opened fully in May, Al Baker said: “Once we have got over the teething problems of this great facility we will definitely create a benchmark for airports of the future.”
Al Baker said he was very proud that Doha could now offer an international airport that lived up to the traditional high standards of national carrier Qatar Airways.
“We used to deliver a very high-quality product inflight but we didn’t match it on the ground when people came here,” he commented. “Passengers have very high expectations, especially when there are other [highly competitive] facilities in the region.
“[As an airport] we were far behind and now we are foremost in what we provide to our passengers. The facilities that we have in this building are unprecedented in any other airport.”
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The giant teddy bear is already proving an iconic and fun centrepiece to the new airport |
“The concept that we have is really not of an airport duty free but”¦ of a shopping mall. We are very pleased with the [early consumer] response,” he commented, noting that as passengers become familiar with wayfinding and the general layout of the airport, reaction – and results – will continue to improve. “It will take us at least a year to see the full potential of what we have done.”
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Hamad International is home to Chanel’s first stand-alone watches store in an airport |
Although the commercial offer is already on a vast and impressive scale, Al Baker pointed out that it is far from complete. Several stores (including some major luxury names) and restaurants are still to be unveiled in the existing South Node and the vast North Node will be opened soon. “We are building another retail facility in the North Node which”¦ should be completed in the next four to six months,” he said.
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Marmalade is among the retail highlights of this new facility, a treasure trove of gourmet items from Qatar, the Middle East and around the world |
Al Baker said he believed the principle of running the commercial business in-house, through Qatar Duty Free, has been key to the successful delivery of a world-class retail and food & beverage business [Qatar Airways recently gave three months’ notice to its long-term retail consultant Aer Rianta International and the business will continue to be expanded by Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Keith Hunter and his team – Ed].
“We are very proud of this and, of course, we have a good manager [Hunter] here looking after it. It [the in-house team] has absolutely raised the bar when you compare this to any other airport in the world,” said Al Baker. “The spread of the shops; the food & beverage outlets; the last-minute shopping areas are all exactly strategically located where the passenger wants them – unlike where everything is bunched in one place and thrown in a congested cul-de-sac. We didn’t want to do this.
“Instead we wanted to create a concept where a passenger would feel that he is in a high-class shopping mall instead of being in an airport. And, as a matter of fact, we have still not finished. We have a lot of sculptures and art work that still have to go around the airport; so this will really make it unique.”
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The luxury business has benefited from the vast space on offer here |
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Harrods is among many big retail names taking their place in the new environment |
NO IPO… YET; QATAR DUTY FREE TO EXPAND INTERNATIONALLY?
Al Baker told The Moodie Report that the long-touted IPO for Qatar Airways was still on the table “but not until another decade”.
“We had an opportunity at the end of the last decade but due to the financial crisis we had to delay it,” he explained. Now the group is in its “second phase of growth”, he noted, saying that this would require time to develop before pursuing the next IPO opportunity.
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Qatar Airways CEO, H.E. Akbar Al Baker, tells Martin Moodie about the vision and ambition behind the new airport in Doha |
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Beauty is a critical category for the duty free operation at Hamad International |
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Intriguingly, Al Baker emphasised that Qatar Duty Free is considering offshore expansion at other international airports – a move first flagged by the company at last year’s MEADFA Conference.
“We have looked at a couple of them very recently,” he told The Moodie Report. “We will look at opportunities, but the opportunities should be a two-way street. We will not go to operate somebody else’s duty free just so that they benefit at our cost.”
*NOTE: Look out for an extended interview with Akbar Al Baker in a forthcoming edition of The Moodie Report e-Zine, plus a separate interview with Keith Hunter together with a full profile of Hamad International Airport’s commercial offer. We’ll also bring you a full pictorial gallery soon.
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Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice President Keith Hunter with Martin Moodie at Hamad International |
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Keith Hunter and Senior Manager Business Development Devesh Kuwadekar at one of the many impressive new food & beverage units in the terminal |
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Among the airport’s vast range of facilities are a swimming pool (above) and gym (below), where Qatar Duty Free’s Kevin Farrow gets to grips with the equipment |
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As the Beijing flight departs, Qatar Duty Free takes its offer to consumers |
