Qatar Airways Cargo: Giving back to the world while dominating the market
Qatar’s national freight carrier is a game-changer when it comes to global humanitarian and animal rescue efforts. Its vision is clear—continue growing its business with massive investments in technologies and aircraft, while giving back to the world in its own little way.
The world’s aviation landscape has changed phenomenally with the dominance of the three Middle East carriers, known in aviation circles as ME3 (Qatar Airways from Qatar and Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates). They continue to excel even as they compete fiercely, the end result being unmatched service for the paying customer and powering the Middle East increasingly to become ‘The Aviation Hub’.
This tag does not come easily. It has strong foundations in how the Middle Eastern airlines, particularly the ME3, have imbibed business planning, work ethic, professionalism, investment in people and technologies, and above all taken the right approach, the right mindset, leveraging their ‘right location’ on the East-West axis.
Caring Airline
In this cover story, Air Cargo Update focuses on one critical aspect of the airline business – cargo – and how Qatar Airways Cargo tops the charts, perfecting the business of moving goods, animals and everything possible that needs to be transported by air. The highlight here is the primacy that Qatar Airways Cargo gives to humanitarian relief, setting aside revenue interests, and also in moving ‘endangered’ animals, an exemplary example of a caring airline.
In May this year, Qatar Airways Cargo, in coordination with Animal Defenders International (ADI) transported six young lions from the illegal wildlife trade, taking them safely to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in Johannesburg. Transportation of live animals by air may appear a walk in the park, but it isn’t. It requires a top-notch airline’s expertise and highly-skilled cargo specialists.
Genuine Care
Qatar Airways Cargo digs deep into its reserves, not just ensuring seamless transportation, but also seeing that the animals are not stressed and have a comfortable and relaxing journey. There is extensive planning, perfect coordination between different stakeholders, there are also standard operating procedures that are followed to the ‘T’, and there are professionals who genuinely care.
Heading the team of cargo professionals is Mark Drusch, its Chief Officer Cargo. Replacing Guillaume Halleux who left the role in September 2023, Drusch has been in the hot seat since January 31, 2024, a newbie in the cargo business, but an experienced and thorough airline management professional, whose stint as Senior Vice President, Revenue Management, Alliances and Strategy at Qatar Airways for almost 4.5 years, catapulted him to a higher role – to take the cargo business to the next level.
In fact, he states he was pleasantly surprised when the top management of Qatar Airways asked, ‘Why don’t you head Cargo?’, a division which was running excellently well and during the Covid pandemic had done some exceptional work of moving medical supplies around the world.
“Though I have been in airline operations for many years, I did not have detailed understanding of the cargo market. Yet, Qatar Airways management was clear in its thinking of not bringing someone from another cargo airline and change things that were going smoothly. The management was firm on inducting someone from within, someone who knew how Qatar Airways functioned and someone who could take the cargo business to the next level,” said Drusch.
“I had worked closely with all the colleagues during the pandemic and had built partnerships across the group, but I never ever considered the position, until they brought it up. I thought the offer was cool because it was an area that I was new to and that newness, the intellectual stimulation and the need to learn something new, excited me. I have been in Qatar Airways Cargo for six months now and I am absolutely loving it.”
Complex Cargo Operations
Drusch acknowledges that the cargo operations are far more complex and intricate business than the passenger side. “It is intellectually stimulating and the problems and solutions are far more complex and even faster paced. “I have been fortunate to be in a well-run organisation and the expert cargo team has been generous in educating me and helping me to understand the business, while accepting my perspectives. It has been a great experience for me. I am enjoying the hell out of it.”
At the June 2024 Air Cargo China in Shanghai, Drusch and his team were present, showcasing the strengths of Qatar Airways Cargo.
In conversation with Israr Ahmed of Air Cargo Update, Drusch explained how Qatar Airways Cargo had carved a niche for itself in moving live animals and also how it was in the forefront of carrying humanitarian relief, working in partnership with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, since 2020 and was ‘keen on doing more for refugees.’
Commitment to return wildlife to their natural habitat
Asked about the challenges faced by Qatar Airways Cargo in transporting the young lions, Drusch explained, “It takes a lot of effort and logistics for our team to organise moving such large animals; from the logistics at the airports, loading and unloading the animals from the aircraft, to ensuring the correct cages and wellbeing of the animals are in place, but it is something we are all collectively very proud and passionate to be a part of.”
Qatar Airways Cargo’s ‘WeQare Rewild the Planet’ initiative is the airline’s commitment to returning wildlife and endangered species back to their natural habitat, free of charge.
There are many challenges and great airlines are built around those which take challenges head on. “As regards animal transportation, the number one challenge is getting all of the permits from the destination country, then comes ensuring veterinarians to travel with the wild animals which need to be handled properly. People are putting their personal time in it and I am proud of the team. We want to do more on this front. It is very close to my heart and thanks to my colleagues, we make it happen,” Drusch shared.
Under the ‘WeQare Rewild the Planet’ initiative, he adds, Qatar Airways Cargo has done Rhinoceros in the past. In 2018, it flew Eric, a 1,157 kilograms black rhino from San Diego Zoo in California to his new home in Tanzania, for the Singita Grumeti Fund, a non-profit organisation carrying out wildlife conservation and community development work in the western corridor of the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania. Tanzania’s newest resident, bred in the US was gifted to the United Republic of Tanzania by San Diego Zoo to bolster an important satellite population of critically endangered eastern black rhinos.
We are here to help
“We have not done as much as we had like to do,” Drusch states and adds, “Lot of zoos, animal parks and private owners do not know about our animal transportation. We are here to help. We want to do more of this. I am dedicated to do this.”
This kind of passion, this kind of commitment is not just from Drusch but the entire team at Qatar Airways Cargo which has the best state-of-the-art animal care facility in Doha. “I am really proud of the facility and how all my colleagues have put their everything, their understanding of what an animal goes through while travelling and taken care to make it stress-free and seamless travel for the animals. The idea is to give a calming experience to these animals whether it is horses, chicks, fishes, dogs, cats, falcons, reptiles or the wild variety. The pallets are cushioned and so are the stables for the horses. We even play music and our team is always working on finding out which music helps. As regards the facility, it is not just the biggest, but the best. We are focused on all aspects of quality animal care.”
There is no destination that Qatar Airways Cargo does not hesitate to transport animals, having 24/7 veterinarian service, capable of handling any situation.
Always Ready to Help UNHCR
On the geopolitical tensions around the world and the refugee-fallout, Drusch is kind of angry. “I don’t care about politics. The fact that millions of people are displaced as refugees, it is a global shame. Qatar Airways Cargo is committed to humanitarian relief. If the UN needs to get supplies to any part of the world, we will put on the plane tomorrow. We have a partnership with the UN and we have told them, you need help, just call us and we are there to help displaced people and refugees, whatever it takes us to do that. It’s a shame that children are going through such trauma. I don’t want people to suffer. I have told my team, if we need to take capacity out to help displaced people or animals, we will do it. It is our job to make money elsewhere. We will work extra hard to compensate by supporting refugees. That is my job and my team’s job.”
Coming to the cargo business, per se, Drusch mentions that the airline is seeing huge volumes of e-commerce, movement of high value cars, electronics, aerospace components, pharma, dangerous goods etc. “Mail is shrinking, while all other products are growing and I am not surprised.”
India’s Economic Miracle, Plans to Tap New Destinations
Awestruck by India’s economic performance, Drusch adds “I have no idea when the economic miracle in India will stop. It is growing rapidly. India is super strong both inbound and outbound cargo. Anything out of Asia, whether North or South Asia, trade is booming which is good for the industry. It has got so many pockets of strength right now and I believe that air cargo is a key factor in global trade. Because of air cargo and global trade, your life would not be what it is. You get things in 48 hours from anywhere in the world. The fruits you get here in winter, the incredible variety of vegetables in your grocery store would not be possible, if we weren’t bringing them from across the world. The salmon you get in Kuwait is from Norway, the pharmaceuticals in Chicago are from India, people don’t realise how air cargo has been significantly contributing to global trade.”
Exploring Secondary Markets
As the world’s leading international air cargo carrier, Qatar Airways Cargo serves an extensive network of over 60 freighter destinations and 170 passenger destinations utilising freighters and belly-hold passenger aircraft.
Continuing its market leader position, the airline is always looking at new markets in Latin America, in India, in Africa etc. “We are looking at new destinations in India, a country which is doing phenomenally well. India is well balanced in terms of inbound and outbound trade. Some markets in Asia are heavily outbound, while there is the mix category too. We are looking at Venice, Edinburgh, Hamburg, and destinations in Mexico etc, what we call secondary markets. We can go to Edinburgh directly without touching London, we can connect Venice without going to Milan.”
Shipping directly to these destinations makes a lot of sense, time and cost-wise to the freight forwarders.
Digital Footprint
It is not just destinations that Qatar Airways Cargo is interested in expanding, but also its digital footprint, making it easier for not just the company but also for the customers. “We lead the industry in terms of modernisation and digitalization. I want the average consumer to know the benefits of this. And there is so much more room for digitalization to grow. I am six months into the cargo segment and have got better sense what needs to be done as quickly as possible. We are refocussing the digital footprint and in the next 12 months, we should be able to roll out new features, leveraging the experiences and strengths of both passenger and cargo businesses,” Drusch said.
In India, the airline has selected Octoloop by Cargo Flash as its digital cargo booking platform via its wallet services, starting with Delhi and Mumbai. This partnership is set to revolutionize the cargo logistics landscape, offering streamlined operations and increased efficiency for Qatar Airways Cargo by giving opportunities to incremental freight forwarders to connect with Qatar Airways Cargo and take advantage of its air freight services on the airline’s extensive network.
Need to Invest More in Sustainability
With regard to sustainability, Drusch said the airline is clear in its vision of sustainable operations – it is two-pronged for the moment – in the short term, finding ways to reduce fuel burn on aircraft for which the airline is working hard, with partners, to find technologies. In the long term, the airline is in tandem with the State of Qatar which has taken the lead to produce sustainable fuels. “We are partnering with them and participating with them to help drive that goal. We are launching those first steps and we are cautiously optimistic of finding solutions in the next 10 years.”
On sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Drusch feels that either more capital needs to be invested to expand the production or we have to find the right solutions. “Today one gallon of SAF costs me four times of a gallon of gas. Who is going to pay for that is the question. We really need to have better solutions. Forget moving fancy cars, we need to move pharma, vegetables, essential products, animals etc. We must have better solutions. We need to invest in the future.”
Quizzed about the status of the agreement Qatar Airways Cargo has signed with Dronamics, the world’s first cargo drone airline with a license to operate in Europe, Drusch mentioned that Dronamics was working on the certification while ‘we are working on the business plan’.
The interline agreement allows the extension of the delivery networks of both partners, significantly increasing their reach as well as providing access to areas previously hard to reach by traditional air freight. Through the agreement, Dronamics can offer cargo services from any of its droneports, initially in Greece, to the wider Qatar Airways Cargo network – including destinations such as Singapore, China, including Hong Kong, and the United States (JFK).
Qatar Airways Cargo has also launched Vision 2027, a roadmap that combines business-as-usual improvements and initiatives aimed at reshaping the future of air freight supported by close to 3,000 employees of the cargo carrier and its ground-handling partner, QAS Cargo.
Drusch concludes, “In the next four to 5 years, we have four broad goals to focus on – grow our fleet, including being the launch customer of Boeing 777X Freighter; massive investments in technologies (airplanes, warehouse design etc); build global partnerships; and give back to the world in our own little way.”
