The silk gloves are coming off in the battle between Qatar Airways and yet-to-be-launched Riyadh Air for premium passengers.
Ahead of Riyadh Air’s launch later this year, CEO Tony Douglas said it is “totally and utterly unacceptable” that the number one source of premium passengers on Qatar Airways is Saudi passport holders.
He says he intends to fix it.
Douglas wants those passengers to switch to his new Saudi airline but Qatar doesn’t intend to lose those high-value passengers without a fight.
It has launched a series of subtle commercials suggesting that Riyadh’s claims to be “revolutionising the industry, investing in the future of travel, and introducing state-of-the-art technology,” is, well, a bit old hat.
The commercial was released on World Laughter Day, suggesting that Qatar finds Riyadh Air’s claims of revolutionising luxury in the air as laughable.
A voice on the commercial – which doesn’t specifically mention Riyadh Air – says there’s a reason Qatar has been chosen as the world’s best, “again and again”.
According to the One Mile at a Time website, “This ad is clearly targeted at Riyadh Air, with the person in the ad intended to represent Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas (formerly the CEO of Etihad). As you can see, the guy even wears a purple tie, which is Riyadh Air’s signature colour.
“This is the most direct attack that we’ve seen from Qatar Airways against Riyadh Air, but it sounds like it’ll be the first of many.”