Qatar Airways Cargo unveiled a beautiful livery recently, as part of its WeQare Chapter 4 initiative: Diversity, and bearing its Moved by People tagline. A highly visible gesture of appreciation, that will now make its way around the world, delighting plane spotters and air cargo industry staff, alike.
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra,” wrote a smiling Elizabeth Nganga, Qatar Airways Cargo e-Initiatives Officer on LinkedIn, alongside photos of her pointing to her name in the PEOPLE image. Doha Cargo Sales Manager at Qatar Airways, Ralph Selwan, talks about an “amazing token of appreciation” in a LinkedIn video, saying “I do love my job. I love QR, and now I have a reason to love them even more.” A number of Qatar Airways Cargo employees have posted pictures of the plane and the word PEOPLE, circling their own name, and getting a lot of positive feedback from outside the company: “I loved it, but I’ll admit I’m jealous,” was one comment. Another stated “There’s no doubt emotional intelligence combined with marketing & advertising play a crucial role in the image of the organization in general…”
Yes, they do! And this is not a first…
It is not the first time that an airline has expressed its thanks on one of its fleet: DHL Express sent a customized DHL Boeing 757 freighter bearing a rainbow and the word ‘Thank you’ around the
world in the summer of 2020, to honor “all the essential workers who keep its operations and hub network up and running in more than 220 countries” as well as healthcare staff. Alberto
Novis, CEO of DHL Express Europe, said at the time “Thanks to their efforts, we are able to maintain the stability of supply chains and critical infrastructure. With our special aircraft we
want to emphasize our deepest gratitude and respect for their selfless actions and willingness to fight for a good cause.”
Just prior to the pandemic spread, in FEB20, Delta also unveiled a custom-made Airbus A321 aircraft, designed, produced, and installed in-house by Delta staff. It bore the words THANK YOU, which
included the names of all 90,000 employees split half-half on both sides of the fuselage, and was “dedicated to the world's best employees and customers,” in recognition of a sixth
consecutive year of profits exceeding 1 billion USD.
…but the most beautiful
What is a first about the livery which it received in Toulouse, is the fact that this time it is on a B777F, and it is not only words and names, but also features the faces of some of Qatar
Airways Cargo’s actual staff. “This Moved by People freighter is dedicated to the 2,873 diverse colleagues who take Qatar Airways Cargo from strength to strength. It is their dedication,
innovation, and collaboration that has made Qatar Airways Cargo the world's number one cargo airline, today. Therefore, they are all mentioned by name inside the word PEOPLE on the livery,"
Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways, underlined. "Our Moved by People freighter will embark on a mission to convey our gratitude and pride in our people to as many of our
colleagues around the world as possible. It is a visible reminder that our individual characters, backgrounds, and skills are what constitute our multicultural Qatar Airways Cargo family."
Its first flights already covered Europe and Qatar. The plane had taken off from Toulouse, France, and flown to Doha via a touchdown in Oslo, Norway.
Look after your people
“Look after your people and they will look after the company,” was one of the comments on the many LinkedIn posts referring to the Moved by People freighter. Just how important it is to
make your company a good place to work, is no more apparent than at the many airports and airlines currently having to restrict or cancel services because of a lack of staff. While the air cargo
industry successfully navigated an intense 2 years of pandemic, the passenger side, faced with ongoing positive Covid cases, with flight crews missing their refresher trainings, and with huge
demand, is struggling worse than ever before. Airlines which had previously laid off large numbers of employees, are now trying to source enough staff. Türkiye, this week, even imposed tighter
conditions in an effort to prevent the brain-drain of local pilots, who often seek to work for foreign airlines – not least in the Middle East.
And Qatar Airways Cargo has fanned the flames with its positive message. While Qatar Airways Cargo employees speak of pride and motivation, many of their peers in other parts of the world
proclaim their readiness to work for the airline.
The new livery says Moved by People, but could just as well say “People are moved”!
Brigitte Gledhill
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