As airlines explore many strategies to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 new reality, Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker believes it is inside the cabin that ultimately makes the difference in boosting passenger confidence to fly again.

Speaking on ATW’s webinar on July 21, Al Baker said Qatar Airways is focused on keeping passengers safe, satisfied and comfortable.

The Doha-based airline has enhanced its health and safety measures onboard by introducing new personal protective equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and face shields for customers.

“We are providing PPE kits to our passengers,” he told ATW editor and chief Karen Walker. “Every passenger has to wear masks, put on gloves and use hand sanitizers.” In addition, he said the carrier is “one of the first and only airlines to introduce a face shield for every passenger who travels on our aircraft. Our crew is highly trained in hygiene; they are one of the first to use full PPE to serve customers on our airplanes.”

Al Baker said face shields give passengers extra comfort. “The face is the most critical part where you may transmit COVID to somebody else,” he said. “So, they have full protection and we are very glad to see that after we have provided them a face shield, they [passengers] are roaming around the airport with their face shield still on, displaying our logo.”

When it comes to aircraft hygiene, he said the airline is using UV to disinfect the aircraft. “Needless to say, all modern aircraft are now coming with HEPA [high-efficiency particulate air] filters, so this automatically cleans the air quality in the airplane.”

The airline is addressing social distancing concerns with its business-class product such as Qsuite, Al Baker said. “In the premium cabin of Qatar Airways’ aircraft, you don’t have to worry about social distancing at all because you are completely isolated in your seat that offers full privacy,” he said. “And in the economy-class cabin, if flights are not full, we encourage social distancing.”

Qsuite, which was rolled out in 2017, is now flying on most of the airline’s widebody aircraft. “We are constantly evolving our product,” Al Baker said.

“We are now launching a new seat that will be on our narrowbody fleet that will give privacy and full-flat comfort in the premium cabin. And on the [Boeing] 777X and the 787-9, we will have product that will also give passengers full privacy. What is important for passengers is not necessarily to have Qsuite—what they want is to have 100% privacy, which will be the future of all the cabins that will go in Qatar Airways’ future fleet,” he said.

How will Qatar Airways compensate for the shrinking business travel market in light of the pandemic?

Al Baker believes there are a lot of “rich, high-network people who will travel business class. We don’t have to just focus on people who are businessmen. Business travel will come back eventually. It will not happen soon. But then, when we will not have enough business-class passengers, we will give the opportunity to our frequent flyers to travel in our premium cabin by using their frequent flyer miles. And, if necessary, we will shrink our business-class section of the airplane. Qatar Airways is very flexible in how we do business.”

However, he was adamant that he will not introduce a premium-economy cabin “because Qatar Airways’ economy class is already premium-economy. The comfort we provide, the economics of our seat, the amenities we provide around the seat, is conducive to premium economy. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, premium economy is the most uncomfortable seat in an airplane, because it gives you that leg rest. And after some time, your leg really starts hurting,” he quipped.

Al Baker said he is “fully confident the airline industry will bounce back from this very sad time in the history of aviation. I am also confident that people will get more and more comfortable, and have confidence in the strides these scientific communities are making in combating this terrible disease.”