Doha: Qatar Airways, the Official Airline Partner of FIFA, concluded its FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 journey in style, presenting the medals and individual awards to Argentina after their historic 4-2 victory on penalties over 2018 champions, France.
Following a thrilling month of non-stop action and entertainment, the airline operated nearly 14,000 flights, uniting the world in Qatar for the greatest sporting show on Earth.
As the Official Airline Partner of FIFA and the Official Airline of the Journey, Qatar Airways celebrated the historic FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with its global passengers through countless international, local, and onboard football-themed activations and entertainment experiences.
The tournament was a resounding success, with impressive attendance figures of over 3.4 million fans throughout the 64 matches.
Throughout the duration of the tournament, the Qatar Airways Sky House, located at the FIFA Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park, welcomed more than 1.8 million fans. The iconic pavilion provided a range of interactive activities, including a Neymar challenge, Qverse experience, Swing the World, foosball, and face painting.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “What started off as a dream has finally turned into reality. The State of Qatar succeeded in bringing the world together in a celebration of football and unity, and now history will remember this FIFA World Cup - the first in the Middle East, and the best edition ever. On behalf of the Qatar Airways Group, I would like to congratulate the Argentinian team for their victorious performance and also commend the French team for their inspiring journey throughout the tournament.
“We are grateful to have been a part of this long and rewarding experience as the Official Airline of the Journey. For every step and every mile travelled with us, we have aimed to deliver a flying experience like no other.”
Qatar Airways concluded the tournament festivities with a partnership with the international artist, Lili Cantero. During the Final, Cantero live painted a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 aircraft model at the FIFA Fan Festival.
Cantero depicted key moments and highlights of the thrilling face-off between Argentina and France. At the intersection of arts and sports, her work portrays the story of the successfully delivered FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
To celebrate the beginning of the tournament, Qatar Airways launched its official FIFA World Cup campaign song, 'C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.S', featuring the internationally renowned artists DJ Rodge and Cheb Khaled. In the span of a month, the highly-popular song reached an astonishing 23 million views.
Privilege Club, the Official Frequent Flyer Programme of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 welcomed over 67,000 new valued members across the tournament period, having successfully completed five different offer campaigns.
Qatar Airways offered all passengers flying through Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Doha International Airport (DIA) a complimentary experience at the Passenger Overflow Areas (POAs) - pre-departure waiting spaces, setting a new standard of excellence for international travel at sporting events. The POAs were built to provide fans with dedicated facilities, to complete their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 journey.
During the tournament, Qatar Duty Free (QDF), the Official Retail Store for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, exclusively sold FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 merchandise in the fan zones and at all of the eight spectacular stadiums. QDF also inaugurated the first FIFA store at HIA, showcasing an impressive collection of merchandise, souvenirs, collectibles and team jerseys.
Throughout the World Cup period, Qatar Airways and Qatar Executive also sponsored the Diego Armando Maradona Give&Get Fanfest to honour the late, great Diego Maradona, using state-of-the-art technology, public exhibits, events, auctions and more.
Besides the football, the airline also hosted seven Qatar Live concerts to engage audiences with performances from Jason Derulo, Enrique Iglesias, Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin, Robbie Williams, Tamer Hosny, and Akon. Alongside these world-renowned artists, Qatar Live also brought back the Daydream festival with a new stage - the Magic Lantern.
Hamad International Airport, ranked “Best Airport in the World” for the second year in a row by SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2022, unveiled a state-of-the-art 10,000-sqm, lush, tropical indoor garden named “The Orchard.” Drenched in natural light and featuring sustainably sourced plants and shrubs, it offered a show-stopping, luxury shopping experience to fans with many first-of-a-kind retail outlets.
In 2017, Qatar Airways announced its partnership with FIFA as the Official Airline. The alliance has gone on to connect and unite fans globally, with The World’s Best Airline also sponsoring numerous football tournaments such as the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the FIFA Women's World Cup.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ at the 2022 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax.
The airline continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having won the main prize for an unprecedented seventh time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022), while also being named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining’ and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’.
Qatar Airways currently flies to more than 150 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, voted by Skytrax as the ‘World’s Best Airport’.
