Qatar Airways has suddenly changed it’s CEO, with a new appointment made on December 7, which is posing questions into why the shift has happened so soon.
Hamad Ali Al‑Khater now becomes the new CEO, replacing Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, and is effective quickly.
A bit of information about Al-Khater highlights his role as COO of Hamad International Airport, and has led senior roles at QatarEnergy as well.
His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Group Board of Directors Chairman for Qatar Airways said the following on this sudden appointment:
“Qatar Airways Group extends its appreciation to Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer for his service.”
“As we welcome Mr. Hamad Ali Al-Khater, we look forward to building on the strong foundations and expansive global network of Qatar Airways, anchored by our exceptional team in Qatar and around the world.”
“With this leadership transition, Qatar Airways Group reaffirms its commitment to delivering world-class experiences, reliability, and innovation to travellers around the globe.”
What About Al Meer?
Eng. Badr Mohammed Al Meer was appointed as CEO of Qatar Airways back in November 2023, replacing long-time CEO Akbar Al Baker, who did a 27-year stint at the company.
Obviously, this is a bit of a contrast compared to Al Meer’s tenure, who has only lasted just over two years in the CEO role.
The statement from Al-Khater doesn’t really indicate the reasoning for Al Meer’s departure, which of course does open the move up to some speculation.
Could it be that Al Meer simply didn’t meet the prerequisites expected of the Qatar Airways board? Or is something else at play here?
Whatever has happened, it does indicate a significant change in approach from the airline, and they obviously see Al-Khater delivering on that.
New CEO, New Vision for Qatar Airways?
In the press release put out by Qatar Airways, they stated Al-Khater’s leading of Hamad Airport’s “strategic direction, operational excellence, infrastructure expansion, and the continuous enhancement of passenger experience”.
That term of phrase released by the airline could potentially indicate how Al-Khater’s leadership of the airline is going to look like.
In terms of strategic direction, it could be argued that Qatar Airways are looking for something more definitive, but also separates them from the rest of the competition in the Middle East.
Infrastructure expansion is always something that the airline but also it’s competitors in the Middle East look at all the time, particularly with the amount of tourism expansion taking place in the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
There could very well be a new visionary strategy on the way that may have wowed the board at the airline, and are willing to put the backing behind Al-Khater to deliver this too.
Continuous enhancement of passenger experience is also interesting. What more could the airline do on top of their QSuite Business offerings, and anything non-aircraft related in terms of infrastructure outside of Hamad International Airport? That is one question that definitely needs answering, that’s for sure.
It is clear in this case that Qatar Airways has clearly identified something in Al-Khater that Al Meer may lack, and it will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out internally as well.
What Next for the Airline?
At this stage, it is quite difficult to ascertain what comes next for Qatar Airways following this CEO changeup.
Why?: Well because the airline is doing quite well already.
Winter travel services have increased with 3,000 additional flights, the roll-out of Starlink has been very successful so far, new routes are being announced every month, and even in their last annual report, reported a QAR 14.6bn profit, with EBITDA margins proving stronger than in the previous fiscal year.
You can even see that over the last five years, the metrics have been climbing in the right way, although it could be argued that it is starting to stagnate a little bit.
So, that could ultimately be the reason why Al Meer is out of the door after two years: Qatar Airways is simply wanting more out of their leadership.
But again, there could be other reasons into why this departure has taken place so suddenly.
It is very clear that something has happened at the airline internally, but whether it’s for the right or the wrong reasons, will clearly be shown in the months and years ahead under the tenure of Al-Khater.
As soon as we have more information into the sudden departure of Al Meer, then we will update you here at The Aviation Hub.
Leave a Reply