Qatar Airways Wins Hermes Platinum Award For Washington DC Airplane Dinner

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that the "Washington DC Airplane Dinner," a media event designed to showcase the "World's Best Business Class," has been honored by the Hermes Creative Awards as a Platinum Award Winner.

Held on the evening of September 25^th, 2013, the Airplane Dinner brought Washington, DC food, travel and local journalists on board a stationary Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER at Washington Dulles International Airport. Guests experienced the airline's award-winning business class cabin and Culinary World Menu—designed by Chefs Nobu Matsuhisa, Tom Aikens, Vineet Bhatia, and Ramzi Choueiri—all while parked at the gate. In addition, James Cluer, the Qatar Airways Master of Wine, showcased the airline's unique champagne and wine selections and discussed how palates change at high altitude.

"We designed the World's Best Business Class to be as exquisite at 30,000 feet, as the finest restaurants are on earth," said Qatar Airways SVP Americas, Mr. Bart Vos. "We have such faith in our Culinary World Menu that we didn't think twice about inviting Washington's top critics to dine with us. Their response was overwhelming, and we hope to perform similar Airplane Dinners as we continue to expand in North America and around the world."

Conceived of and executed along with PUBLIC, NYC, the airline's North American public relations firm, the Airplane Dinner was a great success and was even heralded as the "Most Memorable Event of 2013" by New York Social Diary (DC edition).

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals, adjudicated by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. From over 5,500 total entrants submitted from around the world, the Airplane Dinner was selected as a Platinum Winner, the highest available honor, along with only 8 other Special Events.

"We are honored to receive this coveted award and to be recognized among so many distinguished brands," continued Mr. Vos. "We are always searching for new creative ways to showcase our 5-star airline to the world. The Airplane Dinner allowed our service to speak for itself and we invite passengers from around the world to experience the World's Best Business Class for themselves."

Additionally, the Airplane Dinner was nominated for Best Travel and Tourism Campaign at the annual SABRE (Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation) Awards, a recognized industry-leading event, hosted by the Holmes Report.

Qatar Airways' Business Class was named "World's Best" at the 2013 World Airline Awards, hosted by Skytrax, the world leader in global aviation research.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operation, to the point where today it operates a modern fleet of 134 aircraft to 138 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Over the next few months, the network will grow further with new routes to Al Hofuf, Saudi Arabia (May 15), Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Turkey (May 22, 2014), Edinburgh, Scotland (May 28, 2014), Miami, USA (June 10, 2014), Haneda, Japan (June 18, 2014), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1, 2014) and Djibouti (July 27, 2014).

Notes to Editors:
Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the State of Qatar. Currently undergoing rapid expansion, Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 17th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 134 aircraft flying to 138 key business and leisure destinations across six continents.

On October 30, 2013, Qatar Airways joined the oneworld Alliance, becoming the first Gulf carrier to join a global airline alliance, enabling its customers to benefit from almost 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.

Award-winning carrier Qatar Airways was presented with three honors at the annual Skytrax 2013 World Airline Awards held during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, France, last June. The airline was awarded World's Best Business Class, World's Best Business Class Lounge and, for the second consecutive year, Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East.

During the 2013 Dubai Air Show the airline placed orders for more than 60 new aircraft – a mixture of Boeing 777X and Airbus A330 Freighters. In total the airline has 300 aircraft on order worth more than US $50 billion. The airline will move into its new hub and home, Hamad International Airport, in 2014. For more information, visit our homepage www.qatarairways.com or our sites on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube. For Qatar Airways corporate images, please click here: http://www.qatarairways.com/corporateimages

For further information contact:
PUBLIC, NYC LLC, Qatar Airways' North American PR Firm
Tel: (212) 431-1470
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.qatarairways.com

SOURCE Qatar Airways