Qatar Airways’ longstanding CEO Al Baker to step down

Akbar Al Baker, the outspoken chief executive officer who built Qatar Airways into one of the world’s premier airlines, plans to step down in November after more than a quarter century in the role.

The 61-year-old CEO will be replaced by Badr Mohammed Al Meer, chief operating officer of Doha Hamad International Airport, as of Nov. 5, the state-owned airline said on its website Monday. The changes were first reported by aviation consultant Alex Macheras on social-media site X. 

Al Baker joined the then three-year-old regional carrier in 1997, building Doha into an East-West crossroads as Gulf rival Emirates Airline had done for Dubai. Qatar Airways has since grown into one of the world’s largest airlines, connecting Doha to more than 150 destinations stretching from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand. 

Al Baker’s devotion to delivering a premium experience has won plaudits from customers — Qatar has been ranked first or second in Airline of the Year polling by consulting firm Skytrax since 2011 — but led to clashes with manufacturers Airbus SE and Boeing Co. 

“He is the man who put Qatar on the world stage, made it a global leader in terms of service quality and reputation,” said John Strickland, an aviation consultant with JLS Consulting. “He’s certainly a man who could divide opinion, never shy to say his thoughts and put the cat among the pigeons if he thought it was in the interest of Qatar Airways.”

Most recently, Al Baker went to court with Airbus over an issue with flaking paint on widebody A350 jets. The high-stakes dispute rumbled on through 2021 with Qatar Airways ultimately grounding much of its 53-strong A350 fleet and refusing to take delivery of new aircraft. Airbus in turn canceled some orders, leading Al Baker to turn to Boeing for jets. 

By the time the two sides settled this past February, the dispute had spread into the political sphere. It was discussed by French President Emmanuel Macron with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on a visit to Doha last year.

Al Baker also courted controversy with comments at a 2018 event that a woman could not do his job “because it is a very challenging position.” He later apologized.

The airline came under fire in 2020 when several women were taken off Qatar Airways flights and strip-searched after a baby was found abandoned in a toilet at Hamad International. The airline has said it was the police who made the decision to carry out the searches, rather than airline or airport staff. 

Al Baker’s retirement has been anticipated for several years but he has always said he would step down when he was asked to. 

In a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg, Al Baker lauded the airline’s contribution to the 2022 FIFA World Cup event hosted by Qatar, and pointed to first-half revenue of $1.03 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.96 billion as “exceptional” coming out of the pandemic.  

“Our journey was not without its share of exceptional challenges, none more so than the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2020 global pandemic,” the CEO said. “But together, we faced these challenges head-on with courage and resilience.”