Qatar Airways has announced the appointment of Cassandra Kerr as the new Regional Manager – Australasia. The position will see her lead the airline’s commercial operations across Australia and New Zealand.
Kerr has been with Qatar Airways since 2017, most recently as Commercial Manager for Australia, prior to which she was based at the airline’s head office in Doha in the role of Manager – Global Corporate Key Accounts. As Regional Manager – Australasia, Kerr will be responsible for steering the strategic and commercial aspects of Qatar Airways’ business from its regional office based in Melbourne.
A veteran of the travel sector, she has 20 years of experience in the industry, with 15 years spent in commercial aviation management. Her previous roles have seen her working across London, America, Hong Kong and Middle East, at major brands including Virgin Atlantic Airways, IHG and Hilton. Prior to joining Qatar Airways, Kerr was with Virgin Atlantic Airways, where she was responsible for the company’s global commercial corporate business.
Qatar Airways Vice President Pacific, Mr. Thomas Scruby, said: “We are thrilled to have Cassandra Kerr stepping up to the role of Regional Manager for Australasia. She has been an integral member of the team over the last few years and has built a wealth of knowledge and an in-depth understanding of Qatar Airways in this time. Coupled with her many years in the travel and aviation sector, this puts her in a strong position to lead the airline’s operations across the Australia and New Zealand region. 
Cassandra moves into this new role at a particularly significant period, as we start to rebuild from the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her extensive global industry experience will contribute to the recovery process, and the continued growth of our airline.”
Qatar Airways Regional Manager – Australasia, Ms. Cassandra Kerr added: “I am thrilled to be stepping into this new role and working with the strong team we have in place across Australia and New Zealand. 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 we have received from our trade partners during this crisis has been overwhelmingly positive. I look forward to continuing this journey with a world-class and award-winning airline and ensuring that Qatar Airways’ presence grows stronger across the region as we recover.”
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.
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), was recently 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. In addition, HIA was 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.
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.
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