San Gottardo

I thought more people here knew how Qatar works.

You can be a great CEO/project leader/responsible for the initiative, have finished everything on time and ready to open - but then someone with influence comes round and says he doesn't like this or that aspect, and you end up with not meeting your deadline.

What may (or may not) have happened for DIA: the airport was ready to open for LCCs. But some Qatari authority/ministry woke up the day before the opening and decided that lessons had to be learned from the Villaggio fire several months earlier and that much more demanding fire protection requirements had to be met. And the opening had to be postponed.

I am not saying this is what happened, but what is possible to happen in Qatar. Not meeting an objective can indeed be a matter of negligence or incompetence. But it could also be that someone re-defines the objective just before you reach it.

So all those that concluded that it is all necessarily AL Baker's responsibility: don't apply your (probably Western) logic to how this part of the world works.

kmcbrid2

Sorry not buying it. All the malls to include the villaggio had reopened within about 6 months of the fire with all the new fire requirements from the ministry. QR is also controlled by one of the most powerful families within qatar so no one else besides Akbar is going to have a say in any design changes.

I agree we shouldn't apply western logic as we usually beleive people in charge of companies are competent and capable of making sound decission. This is simply not the case in Qatar due to Qatarization.

If you talk to the contractors on the new airport, they will tell you that all the delays are due to like of foresight from QR and QR's last minute changes. They keep losing quality contractors becuase they are feed up with the project and quit.

Becuase Akbar seems to all spout out lies, I tend to beleive it is his fault especially when he tries to blame it on the contractors.

VH-RMD

I sat next to a QR pilot last night and his opinion was 'not opening until late next year at the earliest'...

themapelligroup

I hope he's not right but the continuos delays are a real issue.

RUN4FUN

Just to give you a picture of how well this project is organized...on their official website they still are scheduled to open in 2012....

http://www.ndiaproject.com/main.html

kmcbrid2

I think QR IT department is responsible for the website.

RUN4FUN

Yea...but to call it a "department" is probably to give the IT-kids a bit to much cred...

Sixth Freedom

As far as I am remember there is not one member of QR's executive management outside Flight Ops (i.e pilots) who is Qatari. Apart from the Chief of course...

The closest are probably the head of Contracts and Procurement, who is Yemeni, and the head of Government Affairs (or similar name, I forget) who is Emirati. The man responsible for Contracts is South African.

kmcbrid2

That is surpirising there are that few in upper levels as there are usually figure heads in most of the organizations I have dealt with but other nationalities executing the work. I would have thought that this was a Qatari company that a majority of the ex management would be Qatari but I stand corrected.

Sixth Freedom

Following reflection I am going to clarify my post a bit.

QR is, by and large, no more mismanaged than any other large organisation.

The members of the executive team probably responsible for the NDIA delays are probably:

* Capital Projects - Qatari
* Contracts & Procurement - Yemeni.

The other members of the executive team include:

* Commercial - Lebanese
* Planning - British, American until very recently
* HR - American
* Finance - Hong Kong, ICAEW fellow
* Technical - British
* Emergency Planning - British
* Product Development - Chinese-Australian
* Government Affairs - Emirati.

There are others too, I forget exactly how it all fits together.

The Board of Directors are, if I remember correctly:

* Chairman - HBJ until recently
* CEO Qatar Airways
* Leader of Qatar Civil Aviation Authority
* Leader of Qatar Aviation College
* A Minister or two, I forget which ones exactly

N1Rotate

deleted

kmcbrid2

Yet another indication that the new airport may still be far from opening.

I was at the arrivals terminal today and they are building a two level parking garge. This project will probably take 6 months to complete on its own. So why do you build more parking for an arrivals terminal which will not be used when the new airport opens?

Marslandflyer

It is alleged the new car park under construction is related to development of the metro, and will be complete by October

"In anticipation of the closure, DIA began constructing a two-storey parking facility in July to be located at its Arrivals Terminal. The new facility will address the parking congestion and is expected to be ready by October"
http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_240666.html

kmcbrid2

I'm just a simple Texas boy, but wouldn't it make sense to wait until the arrivals terminal in no longer in use to put in a parking garage. The rail system is not slated to start construction for another 2-3 years.

Way to much contruction going on in Qatar... me thinks they have bitten more off than they can chew.

Guy Betsy

Sooo, no new airport when QR joins OW alliance by 30 Oct?

Where are all the OW elite partners' members gonna go when travelling Y class? Both the Silver and Gold card lounges aren't very big as they are and they're already packed to the rafters with existing PC members.