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Qatar Airways has announced the appointment of Thomas Scruby as the new Vice President Pacific. The position will see him lead the airline’s operations across Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea.  

In the new role, Scruby will be responsible for steering the strategic and commercial aspects of Qatar Airways’ business from its regional office based in Melbourne. He brings with him over 20 years of experience in commercial aviation management, along with extensive global industry knowledge.

His previous roles have seen him working across London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Japan, at major brands including British Airways, LATAM Airlines and Helloworld Travel. Prior to joining Qatar Airways, Thomas was with American Airlines, where he was responsible for the company’s commercial business in Hong Kong, South East Asia, and most recently Japan and Korea.

Qatar Airways Group Senior Vice President for APAC, Mr. Marwan Koleilat, said: “We are pleased to welcome Thomas Scruby to the Qatar Airways team, and excited about the wealth of knowledge he brings from many years in the travel and aviation sector. Thomas joins the company at a particularly significant period, as we start to rebuild from the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. His extensive experience in driving the expansion of globally recognised brands will contribute to the recovery process, and the continued growth of our airline across the Asia Pacific region.”

Qatar Airways Vice President Pacific, Mr Thomas Scruby added: “I am thrilled to join the team in Melbourne and proud to be a part of a world-class and award-winning brand like Qatar Airways.  This is a challenging time for all airlines, but Qatar Airways has proven its resilience in continuing to fly and take passengers home where possible. The feedback I have had from our trade partners since joining the airline has been overwhelmingly positive. Unlike other carriers who were highly likely to cancel their services throughout the pandemic, Qatar Airways continued to operate with an honest network, proving our reliability. As the travel market recovers, our trade partners know we are a brand they can trust and work with.

“While I am joining at a time the aviation industry is facing such an unprecedented challenge, I look forward to working with the strong team we have in place to continue to grow our presence in the Pacific region.”

Amid COVID-19, Qatar Airways has maintained a robust and agile network helping to take over 1.8 million passengers home including flying over 100,000 passengers home to Australia. The airline has also worked closely with governments, and companies around the world to operate over 220 charters helping reunite over 60,000 people with their loved ones including over 2,500 Australians.

While many airlines operating to Australia suspended operations, leaving people stranded, Qatar Airways added an additional 28 weekly flights (approximately 48,000 extra seats) on top of its regular 21 weekly flights during April to help take people home. During this period, the airline also launched its first flights to Brisbane bringing the first A350-1000 to the river city’s airport.

In addition, Qatar Airways Cargo, which joined the Australian Government’s Freight Assistance Mechanism in March this year to support Australian agriculture exporters also introduced twice-weekly freighters to Melbourne and Perth. The carrier’s cargo division operates two Boeing 777 freighters in addition to belly-hold cargo on the 21 passenger flights to various destinations in Australia, offering more than 650 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity each way.

As the global recovery from COVID-19 begins, the airline recently announced plans to gradually rebuild its network in line with passenger demand evolution and the expected relaxation of entry restrictions around the world. By the end of June, the airline plans to expand its network to 80* destinations with more to be added by the end of the Summer Season.

Qatar Airways has also enhanced onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew. The airline is implementing several changes, including the introduction of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits for cabin crew while onboard, as well as a modified service that reduces interactions between the passengers and the crew inflight. Cabin crew have already been wearing PPE during flights for a number of weeks, including gloves and face masks. Passengers will also be required to wear face coverings inflight, with the carrier recommending travellers bring their own for fit and comfort purposes.

Passengers flying Business Class to Australia can be assured their Qsuite equipped aircraft can avail of the enhanced privacy this award-winning suite provides, including sliding privacy partitions and fully closing doors that create a private sanctuary. Passengers can also opt to use the ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator in their private suite, if they wish to limit their interactions with the cabin crew. Qsuite continues to be available on flights to more than 30 destinations including Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

The airline’s home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) has also continued to lead the industry being recently voted the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the sixth year in a row and ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ for the fifth year in a row. It was also ranked “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. Rising from fourth position in 2019 to third in 2020, HIA has been steadily rising in the ‘World’s Best Airports’ rankings since the start of its operations in 2014.

To ensure travellers can plan their travel with peace of mind, the airline has extended its booking policies to offer even more choice to its passengers. The airline will allow unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original destination. The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply. All tickets booked for travel up to 31 December 2020 will be valid for two years from the date of issuance. For full terms and conditions visit www.qatarairways.com/RelyOnUs.