The spending sprees don't surprise me much (after all, Qatari money is only pumped out of the ground and sent on the conveyor belt to the airport), however, the following article sure grabbed my attention:
LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways plans to become the first airline in the world to fuel its aircraft with natural gas, the company's chief executive said in an interview on Wednesday.
Akbar al-Baker told Reuters the state-owned airline was talking to oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc and engine manufacturers about using a form of diesel made from natural gas, known as GTL, or Gas-to-Liquids fuel, in its planes.
"We are talking to Shell and as soon as the engine manufacturers have certified their engines to be used with GTL, Qatar Airways will be the first airline to fuel its airplanes with GTL," al-Baker said.
"I was told they would get certification by the end of the year," he added.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...-CORRECTED.XML