Prepared by Dr. Waddah Al-Said
Today we are hosting a distinguished Saudi businessman who runs one of the largest and most important companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Tariq Abdullah Al-Qahtani, who assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abdulhadi Al-Qahtani & Sons Group, which was founded by the late Sheikh Abdulhadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani in the 1940s and is considered today one of the largest and most renowned private economic groups in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and enjoys excellent relations with both the government and commercial sectors throughout the Kingdom. Through his direct supervision and accumulated experience, businessman Tariq Al-Qahtani has been able to expand the group’s operations to the point where it began large-scale supply operations for major companies in the oil and gas sectors, and the group, headquartered in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, has entered new sectors such as insurance, tourism, transportation, and customs clearance. The Al-Qahtani Group of Companies is active in the fields of wholesale, finance, food supply, transportation, oil exploration, real estate, and many other fields. The group enjoys a good reputation throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and three years ago, the Al-Qahtani family signed a major deal with Aramco under which the transportation contract between them was extended for another eight years.
The Saudi businessman also announced that Al-Qahtani Aviation, based in Dammam, has signed a firm contract to purchase 16 CS300 aircraft, with options for ten additional aircraft of the same model. The aircraft will be operated by the new Saudi Gulf Airlines, which is owned by Al-Qahtani Aviation and the Abdulhadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani & Sons Group of Companies.
Tariq Al-Qahtani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Gulf Airlines, said, »"This is a landmark moment in the history of the aviation sector in the Arab world and the entire region, especially when we consider that more than 54 million passengers were transported through 27 airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last year alone."
Al-Qahtani added that the C-series aircraft, which operate within the Saudi Gulf Airlines fleet, will offer spacious and comfortable leather seats, as well as in-flight entertainment options in both first class and economy class seats.
