Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has announced that he is stepping down from the role he has held since 1997. He’s doing it with two weeks’ notice, and no successor named was named in his announcement – only later by the airline. Al Baker is the current chairman of the oneworld alliance.
When he started at the airline it had 5 planes. Now they have 248. And they’ve built a reputation for quality that he was intimately involved in, getting deeply into the details of inflight product and lounges as well. He was anathema to airframe manufacturers with his demands, but always to the perceived benefit of his airline.
And he did not shy away from controversy, for instance:
- Calling U.S. airlines “crap” and specifically referring as well to Delta Air Lines aging jets, and describing cabin crew of U.S. carriers as “grandmothers.”
- He’s said his job is too demanding for a woman.
- Far less politically significant, he says that Qatar Airways doesn’t offer premium economy because their coach product already is a premium economy (it’s not).
I’ve described him as aviation’s greatest troll. Has absolutely no filter, says offensive things, and not all of those things are true. He exaggerates and states untruths when it’s to his benefit. He rose to prominence in one of the most conservative countries in the Mideast.
At the same time perhaps only Tim Clark of Emirates is as responsible for the development of the airline he oversees as Akbar Al Baker. He saw his carrier through the years-long blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Covid, and successfully navigated intense lobbying that his airline shouldn’t be permitted to grow in the U.S. by Delta, United, and American – to come out the other side with an even closer partnership with American. Today Qatar Airways offers one of the world’s best business classes, and the in my view one of the two most architecturally interesting airport lounges (al Safwa) in the world.
No explanation for his departure is given – whether health, local scandal, or political expediency. Subsequent to Al Baker’s resignation, Qatar Airways announced that Doha’s Hamad International Airport COO Badr Mohammed Al Meer would take over the airline.
“Aviation’s greatest troll” is O”Leary at Ryanair.
His departure from Qatar Airlines may have come because of the relationship Qatar has with Hamas. The leader of Hamas lives in Qatar, millions of dollars is flowing to Gaza from Qatar and Qatar. Will be interesting to see why he is leaving the airline, if we will ever know.
Many of my friends are avoiding flying Qatar moving to Turkish Airlines or the UAE.
You’re gonna miss him Gary.
He had been replaced by his subordinate/junior at Qatar Tourism the day before the QR news hit on this.
I just hope it’s not a serious health issue for him. At his age and given his crazy energy level and some of his relatives’ own health issues, I hope he recovers and isn’t in serious trouble. I guess the best thing could be he threw a tantrum about something and wanted out.
Would he perhaps go to work in India instead?
Graydon,
Maybe we will get more coverage of Ryanair on here. Just waiting for Ryanair’s boss to put in contactless payment collection devices for unlocking and activating the in-flight lavatory door.
all totally correct.
“I’ve described him as aviation’s greatest troll. Has absolutely no filter, says offensive things, and not all of those things are true. He exaggerates and states untruths when it’s to his benefit. He rose to prominence in one of the most conservative countries in the Mideast.”
Airbus wanted him out as a condition of the A350 paint settlement.
Sexism isn’t “political”.
Hmm…Delta files crap airplanes…Was he prescient Gary??? LOL
We are pretty much stuck flying Qatar to Asia and much of Africa because we have all our miles/status on OneWorld. It really angers me that the Qatar seat-back maps do not show the State of Israel. The entire area is labeled “Palestinian Territory.” Now that I know that Qatar is supporting Hamas, we’re going to have to explore other alliances. I don’t want to fly Qatar ever again.
We were going to take Qatar to the Asian Pacific next year. Saw the Hamas remarks and won’t darken their door
I once flew next to Al Bakar in F on the A380 from CDG-DOH. What stood out to me was that he does not use technology. He uses a regular (not smart) cell phone and has all of his emails printed. He makes notes on them and returns them to an assistant who presumably has to reply to emails based on his hand written notes. It was interesting to see the CEO of a major airline doing business in such a low-tech way. He was very friendly to me and we chatted for a while, but he was harsh and dismissive to his entourage and the crew.
That screen grab looks like an expression of a man who is having an involuntary bowel movement
With Al Baker officially out, Qatar seat-back and in-flight maps will someday show the State of Israel, at least if they want to remain in OneWorld.
Under Al Baker, employees have been treated poorly and are performing their duties under extreme duress. With the current situation, bookings to/from Doha have dropped to nothing with zero chance of getting corporate travel/Fortune 500 customers (direct or AA/BA code share) to fly Qatar from North America in the near future.
Netanyahu has repeatedly approved Qatar’s financing of Hamas in Gaza and did so this year too. The reason a couple of Hamas-held American hostages from Illinois were released and soon a couple of Israelis are released from captivity is because of the Netanyahu-Qatari-Hamas connection and the Netanyahu-US-Qatar connection facilitated this.
Governments aren’t holy.but they do make devilish deals. But I doubt this airline management change is related to the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
Given Doug’s description of Al Bakar, he seems about as competent as Sec’y of State HRC, who had to have a heavyset Guatemalan women send faxes and print out TS documents for her.
I have found Qatar Airways staff invariably to be as competent as staff at ANA, Air France, and Emirates. (Delta, American, and United staff tend to be hit and miss.) Hopefully, this Meer guy does not fail to uphold the competency of the staff.
@GUWonder – that’s misleading AF and you know it.
I am with @Tom on the gretaest troll.
That said it is my earnest hope that Mr. Al Baker has resigned to take over the reign at AA.
I find it VERY surprising that frequent flyers here in the comments and elsewhere are acting they just found out that 1) THE Hamas leader lives in Qatar 2) Middle Eastern nations are supportive if the Palestinian people 3) The Qatar map on the screen You spend 12+ hours on doesn’t show Israel.
I mean all of these things AND MORE have been public and obvious FOR YEARS NOW PEOPLE. Stop acting like You don’t know certain governments do things Y’all don’t agree with. China, Saudi, Russia, etcetera all have very public positions on certain things. You don’t like them, don’t spend with them. But don’t act all NEW when it goes public that they did something.
Be adults and educate Yourself.
Air India should hire him. Throw away the SCOOT airlines CEO and hire AL BAKER. He will make AIR INDIA great.
Is the Jerusalem Post misleading?
From the Jerusalem Post:
“ Netanyahu: Money to Hamas part of strategy to keep Palestinians divided
Mar 12, 2019 — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s regular allowing of Qatari funds to be transferred into Gaza, saying it is part of a broader”….
BenjaminG, indeed this isn’t new.
From February 2020, in the Times of Israel:
“ Liberman: Netanyahu sent Mossad head, general to Qatar, ‘begged’ it to pay Hamas
Yisrael Beytenu party leader says the pair were sent by PM two weeks ago to convince Doha not to end its money transfers to the Gaza-based terror group
By TOI STAFF
22 February 2020, 9:46 pm”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-chief-top-general-visited-qatar-begged-it-to-pay-hamas-liberman-says/amp/
This kind of stuff with Qatar wouldn’t all of a sudden be news to Akbar Al-Baker this month.
Here is a former Israeli defense minister:
“Liberman: Netanyahu sent Mossad head, general to Qatar, ‘begged’ it to pay Hamas
Yisrael Beytenu party leader says the pair were sent by PM two weeks ago to convince Doha not to end its money transfers to the Gaza-based terror group
By TOI STAFF
22 February 2020, 9:46 pm “
From the Times of Israel. Money is fungible and criminal gangs can’t be trusted not to misappropriate funds.
Doug,
“He uses a regular (not smart) cell phone and has all of his emails printed. He makes notes on them and returns them to an assistant who presumably has to reply to emails based on his hand written notes.”
Perhaps it was part of his security protocol to make it more difficult for snoopers to monitor his communications but he’s also of an age where his technology fluency and desire to stare at screens isn’t like that of younger generations and his eyesight may not be what it used to be.
Something was said about two week notice being given with regard to his role at QR. Could it be he gave his notice upon getting upset at something the Qatari government decided for him?
Cut the B.S. if you don’t think it’s related to current mid east situation and Baker not linvolved in nefarious deeds than you are high on jet fumes. Moving along… Gary please update us on the Canada airlines pilot that went on social media supporting what hamas did in his uniform post attack. Why in the hell was he only SUSPENDED and NOT FIRED by Air Canada! This is pure insanity, that person should never be allowed anywhere near a cockpit for any airline. Fullstop!
The AC pilot idiot is no longer with AC. He was fired pretty quickly.
@GUWonder All of those quotes have been debunked as the person claiming to have been in the meeting and hearing them, hasn’t been in the Israeli government since 2009 and has a major axe to grind. Even if true, they would provide no basis to excuse the mass murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent civilians by Hamas.
@Joan Many of us will have to consider the very clear fact that the Kingdom of Qatar aided and abetted this mass murder and is a criminal state, and weigh it against the fact that Qatar Airways is undeniably a very nice way to travel and probably has less direct guilt in Hamas’ crimes than say Bill Gates and his Private Equity Fund Cascade investments that owns the Four Seasons Hotel that Hamas seems to have used as an operational base.