Qatar Airways to wetlease B747 from Air Atlanta?

[emir]

Anyone know if it's true that QR are wetleasing a B747 from Air Atlanta?

[A300Man]

Never heard this mentioned. And hope it's not true. This leads to indifferent and inconsistent service onboard, and this would go against the grain of what the Airline (QR) is trying to achieve.

No disrespect whatsoever to Air Atlanta, who are a fantastic outfit and have a proven track record with the likes of Virgin and Iberia amongst others, whom shall continue to utilise them on an ongoing basis.

However, as QR are growing and changing, now is the wrong time to bring in supplementary capacity in this fashion.

I suspect that this is not true.

[MTQatar]

I have to agree with A300Man on this one. Besides if QR really want additional capacity a smaller widebody such as the A300/A330 would do, the B747 is too large.

If someone has booked a ticket on QR and would be flying them for the first time, but ends up on an Air Atlanta flight they might have a bad impression about QR. Air Atlanta are great and are reputable for what they do (ACMI Leases) none the less the on board product would be of lower quality and the onboard service won't be consistent to QR's standards. At the end this will deter away passenger from ever flying QR again.

[leemo]

What makes you say the service wouldn't be consistent?

QF are leasing aircraft from Air Pacific and AWOPS, using QF crew and the service is exactly the same.

Can't see why leasing an Air Atlanta would be any different.

Leemo

[MTQatar]

The reason why I say service would be inconsistent is because if QR were to take in a B747 from Air Atlanta Icelandic they will use Flight Deck and Cabin Crew from Air Atlanta for two reasons:

- QR barely has enough Cabin Crew for there own aircraft
- QR don't have any Cabin Crew trained for the B747s and it will not be worth it to train them for a short lease term.

In the Qantas case the aircraft leased from AWOPS and Air Pacific are not new types for Qantas and Qantas have crews readily available and trained on those types.

Another concern would be the inflight product. Obviously if the B747 is leased it would most likely fly Medium/Long haul flights. If it is a short haul flight then there is no need to lease in equipment since the A320 have a few more hours of daily utilisation on them. A big marketing point for QR is the inflight product which in many cases is superiour to QR's competitors. QR would lose all credibility in there marketing if they market excellent inflight products but fly with standard charter seats.

[Riscy]

Qatar Airways WILL NOT wet-lease any 7474 (Period).
The Airline has many other better options for increasing capacity to the far-east.

pls stop this

[A300Man]

Although loads on Asian sectors could probably handle a B747 on certain routes, I agree with MTQ. There is no way that the company will ever compromise an erratic and inconsistent inflight product, which would confuse the customer.

[mutt]

Wouldnt it make sense for them to lease one for the Hadj period?

They did operate B747's before and you will also find that they have FA's qualifed on them!

Mutt.

[ditzyboy]

Bourgoesie-

I would like to make a point about your comments regarding QF cabin crew and the service they offer on board.

In the past QF cabin crew along with their regional colleagues offered similar service to Ansett. The reason they do not now is because their management have chosen not to offer this level of service. Reduced catering, which led to reduced crew, provide obvious economic benefits to the company. Qantas does not have to offer as good a product as it no longer competes and generally customers are not paying as high fares. It has nothing to do with the cabin crew and their work ethic. QF is adjusting the product to the market demands for lower fares and other commercial pressures.

I remember when we at Impulse first started flying under the QantasLink banner we offered bar, a choice of hot or cold meal (at b/fast and dinner) with tea and coffee on all flights. This was the norm even on MEL-LST sectors with a flight time of 35 to 45 mins. The few flights I had flown with AN and KD between MEL and Tassie offered little in comparason, let alone choice of meals. Ansett is gone, AVIATION AS A WHOLE HAS ALSO CHANGED.

Good luck in your new position. I am glad you happy being in the air again.

P.S. I'd like to add to the 'facts' you have presented. QF roster only 4 FAs on 737-300 and -400. When was the last time AN rostered only 4FAs on the -300 (let alone a 737 with 25 more seats)? That may help explain the reduced cabin service.

P.P.S. Do not suggest I am biased. I was a Platinium Global Rewards member for years.