Story ID: 430
Qatar Executive Expanding Worldwide
By: Peter Shaw-Smith
Caption: Qatar Executive expects to complete delivery by 2022 of the 30 aircraft ordered from Gulfstream in 2015.
Word Count: 475
Qatar Executive, the private jet charter arm of Qatar Airways Group, expects to complete delivery by 2022 of the 30 aircraft it ordered from Gulfstream in 2015, as growth in revenue and activity remain little affected by an Arab boycott of the Gulf nation, according to company executive v-p Ettore Rodaro.

“One of the most important [objectives] for us this year is… putting Qatar Executive on the world map,” said Rodaro, who took over daily management of Qatar Executive in 2016. “We are perceived as a local Middle East operator, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect the reality. We are truly flying internationally; we are an international company, ambitious to penetrate target markets.”

During a blockade imposed in 2017 by Arab neighbors Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, Qatar Executive’s focus has been on the market outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “We have such an international clientele that the impact has been minimal,” he said. “It has also presented opportunities for growth and we will be opening three new offices [this year] in Shanghai, Moscow, and London.”

Qatar Executive (Booth W33, Static SD106) will see another five Gulfstreams join its fleet this year. “We are taking delivery of two aircraft in the next two months: one more Gulfstream G500 in May, and one G650ER in June,” Rodaro said. “A G500 also joined the fleet in January this year and five additional aircraft will have joined the fleet by the end of March 2020, the end of Qatar Executive’s financial year.”Delivery of all 30 Gulfstreams is expected by 2022; 17 are due to arrive between the end of the current financial year in March 2020 and 2022. The first two G500s have already arrived.

Rodaro was noncommittal on whether he would order Bombardier's Global 7500. "We do not have a Global 7500; however, we are managing a Global 6000 on behalf of an owner. Qatar Executive has made a strategic decision to move forward with Gulfstream but this does not permanently exclude Bombardier. We are open to anything and if there is a game-changer coming up, we may think differently.”

Qatar Executive also has a strong aircraft management division. “We manage approximately 10 aircraft on behalf of third parties, not only for Qatari Royals, but for businessmen,” Rodaro said. “Owners are well set up with their own aircraft, and we take care of the MRO. It depends on the aircraft, which include the Airbus A320 family and A330s, {Bombardier] Globals, [Embraer] Legacys, and a Boeing 747-8.”

He concluded by saying that Qatar Executive customers were mostly businessmen rather than government delegations. “I would call them high-net-worth individuals, and a significant amount of corporate clients,” Rodaro said. “Additionally, we have royal clientele who are attracted to Qatar Executive due to our high standards and our reputation for excellence and discretion.”