By tomorrow morning, Scotland could wake up

having voted for independence from the rest of

Britain. There are many aspects of uncertainty as to
what happens next, such as currency and European
Union membership, and of course, uncertainty in the
sporting sector.
First Minister Alex Salmond has set the ambitious
target of March 24, 2016, for the country to of cially
become independent from Britain. Coming less than
ve months before the summer Olympic Games in Rio
de Janeiro, there could be anxiety for Scottish athletes.
In the 2012 London Olympics, Scots made up 10 per
cent of the British team which shattered several long-
standing records and won 13 medals of the 65 earned
in total. That included seven Scottish golds, putting a
hypothetical Team Scotland 12th in the medal table.
International Olympic Committee vice-president
Craig Reedie, himself a Scot, said it would be very,
very dif cult to form a new national Olympic
committee which would be recognised in time for
Rio. But IOC president Thomas Bach has eased fears,
saying Macedonian athletes competed at Barcelona in
1992 under the Olympic ag following independence
from Yugoslavia.
While the
participation of
Scotlands athletes in
the Games is unlikely
to be blocked, the
question of maintaining
competitiveness
remains. At the Atlanta
Olympics of 1996, Britain claimed just one gold
en route to their worst medal haul (15) since 1952.
Finishing a historically low 36th in the medal table,
it was clear something had to be done about British
sport.
The answer was investing money made from the
National Lottery, formed two years earlier in 1994, in
elite sport. Controversial decisions, often made on the
narrowest margins of success and failure, channeled
money to those most likely to win medals.
That ignored some mass participation sports but
the result of resources invested well was undeniable:
Britain produced more and more medals, culminating
in the 65 of 2012. The infrastructure behind British
cycling, for example, is unmatched.
Andy Murray, Scotlands global star tennis
player and the rst British mens singles winner at
Wimbledon in nearly 80 years, has said he would
play for Scotland, not the remainder of the United
Kingdom, in the event of independence.
Being elevated to a level above the fray possibly aided
former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
in stating his view, though it is hard to imagine him
being intimidated from voicing any opinion, on
anything, he believes should be heard.
Eight-hundred-thousand Scots, like me, live and
work in other parts of the United Kingdom, Ferguson
said just after referendum details were announced.
We dont live in a foreign country; we are just in
another part of the family of the UK.
But regardless of Fergusons wishes, from tomorrow
that family may soon nd itself living in foreign countries
- in the eld of sport, as much as everything else.
Would independence
turn out to be good
for Scottish sport?
P.O.Box 2888
Doha, Qatar
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Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah
Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed
Production Editor: C P Ravindran
Gulf Times
Thursday, September 18, 2014
COMMENT
28
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There are many
aspects of
uncertainty as
to what happens
next
The A380s were built
principally with two things
in mind: to serve
high-density routes and
slot-constrained airports
By Updesh Kapur
Doha
T
he scheduled arrival in Doha
this afternoon of an aviation
masterpiece will mark yet
another signicant moment
in the history of Qatars air travel
industry.
The worlds biggest passenger
jet is due to touch down at Hamad
International Airport (HIA) following
a ve-hour ight fromAirbus delivery
factory in Hamburg.
National carrier Qatar Airways
ies its maiden Airbus A380 into
the capital city to a VIP welcome
ceremony that also marks the rst
time a superjumbo has landed on
Qatari soil.
The double-deck aircraft, with a
capacity of 517 passengers across three
travel classes, will provide passengers
departing Doha with a diferent
experience. Newinteriors, newseats
and newtwin level airport boarding
bridges.
The sheer size of this monster plane
dwarfs any aircraft in the carriers
eet. There will be more than 50%
additional seats than the airlines
current largest wide-body, the 335-
seat Boeing 777-300ER.
Acrowd pleaser at international air
shows for its awesome demonstration
ights or simply its presence at
airports around the world, the A380
has become a growing feature globally
with more aircraft being inducted by
additional airline customers on new
routes of up to 16 hours non-stop.
The A380 graces nancial hubs
and capital cities: fromNewYork ,
Los Angeles, London, Paris, Zurich,
Frankfurt, Dubai and Johannesburg
to Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok,
Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing
and Sydney to name a few.
There are 11 airlines ying more
than 140 A380s around the world with
the biggest share right here in the Gulf.
Neighbours Emirates operates
over 50 A380s almost one-third
of the global number. Its order book
stretches to a total of 140 double
decker aircraft, fty of which were
conrmed at the Dubai Air Showlast
year.
At a book price of $414mn, the A380
is not every airlines cup of tea.
The A380s were built principally
with two things in mind: to serve
high-density routes and slot-
constrained airports. In other words,
y passengers on popular routes and to
airports which have little or no room
for expansion for additional ights.
Bigger passenger aircraft are the
answer, hence the arrival of the A380s.
Essentially ordered by the big
boys, fewairlines are making the
aircraft part of their eet. Only two
dozen or so airline customers have
opted for the plane. And virtually all
A380 operators have gone for a three-
class capacity of more than 500 seats.
Aside fromEmirates, primary A380
operators today are Singapore Airlines,
Qantas, Lufthansa and Air France.
Others include British Airways,
Malaysia Airlines, Thai International,
Korean Air, China Southern Airlines
and Asiana.
With Qatar Airways and Doha now
added to the growing list of airports
and airlines welcoming the A380,
Hamad International will see more of
these planes ying in and out of HIA
over the next fewmonths.
Qatar Airways is set to take delivery
of a further three A380s by the end
of the year. In total, the airline has a
conrmed order book for 10 A380s to
be delivered over two years, but more
are said to be on the cards.
With regional rival Etihad due to
take delivery of the rst of its 10 A380s
by the end of 2014, all three key Gulf
players will soon have their eets
supported by the superjumbo.
And London Heathrowwill once
again prove the launch long-haul
gateway for an A380 in fresh colours.
Qatar Airways will y the national
ag on the A380 to Britains premier
airport on one of its six daily ights
fromDoha, making it the carriers fth
diferent aircraft-type to y each day
on the high demand route fromnext
month.
Etihad has announced its maiden
A380 will also y to London fromits
Abu Dhabi hub.
Meanwhile, Emirates operates all of
its ve daily DubaiLondon Heathrow
ights with an A380 that represents
over 2,500 available seats each way.
The A380s are iconic planes that
help airports generate more retail
revenue due largely to the volume of
passengers being carried, and enhance
the image of not just the airline
provider, but of the country it operates
from.
For Qatar, it will mark yet another
milestone in the countrys aviation
industry and potentially the third in
the space of just seven months.
Coming almost two years since
the Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its
Middle East debut courtesy of the
national airline, the A380 is set to
arrive on our shores today.
Hamad International, which opened
for business in May to become Qatars
newgateway to the world, will put
the airports facilities to the test at
a very diferent level. Handling over
500 passengers for a single ight is no
mean feat.
The third milestone of the year is
just months away with the worlds rst
Airbus A350 scheduled for delivery
by the end of 2014. Qatar Airways is
the launch customer of this mid-to-
long range aircraft with 80 ordered in
a record-breaking deal struck at the
Paris Air Shownine years ago.
Aviation milestones are there to be
achieved and Qatar has certainly had
a successful history of reaching high
points in an industry that is relatively
newto the nation compared with rest
of the world.
The worlds rst terminal dedicated
to premiumpassengers began
operations in 2006; the regions
rst business jet operation run by a
scheduled airline started in 2009; and
the regions rst airline to achieve a
unique Five Star global ranking for
high service standards.
So why has Qatar Airways taken
delivery of this engineering marvel
seven years after launch customer
Singapore Airlines took to the
skies with the worlds rst A380
commercial ight? Has Qatar Airways
been late in the game?
Despite delivery delays, it all comes
down to capacity constraints. The old
Doha International Airport had been
expanded while Hamad International
was under construction waiting to
take over.
All developments took place in a
period when the countrys aviation
infrastructure was under intense
pressure desperately trying to cope
with the tremendous growth in
passenger numbers fuelled by Qatar
Airways expansion. In just 17 years of
operations, the carrier has matured to
a global network of 144 destinations
served by 134 aircraft.
Newaircraft joining the eet at an
average rate of one every 12 days and
a newdestination added monthly
have clearly shown the strains on an
infrastructure bursting at its seams.
The departure of Doha International
and arrival of Hamad International
have come at a time when the A380
can really come to the fore with
deployment on routes that matter the
most.
Aside fromcapacity constraints at
airports, it is high passenger demand
cities which the airline will want
to serve and meet the needs of the
travelling public. Restricted aviation
agreements between some countries
limit the number of seats that airlines
are permitted to y in each direction.
India is a casing point. Despite the
Indian government recently relaxing
rules to allowA380s into its airports,
the actual deployment remains highly
governed by bilateral air service pacts.
The likes of Emirates and Singapore
Airlines have launched A380 services
to Delhi and Mumbai thanks to
more relaxed air service agreements
between their respective countries
and India.
But for Qatar and Qatar Airways,
India remains a restricted market. The
airline ies just over 100 scheduled
passenger ights daily to a dozen cities
across India. It wants much, much
more.
The prize catch for Qatar Airways
will be permission for more seat
capacity to a dynamic market crying
out for additional services.
With 50mn or so international
air travellers passing through its
airports each year one-third of the
overall number when combined with
domestic journeys one can see why
India is such an important market for
any serious international airline.
Qatar Airways is one such serious
player.
And for sure it will be waiting in
the wings with the A380s preparing
to take advantage when opportunity
knocks. Page 32
Updesh Kapur is an aviation, travel,
tourism, social and entertainment
writer. He can be followed on twitter @
updeshkapur
Qatar prepares for historic
arrival of rst Airbus A380
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker and Airbus CEO and president Fabrice Bregier holding a model of an Airbus A380 during a ceremony in Hamburg on September 16.
Airbus has handed over the first A380 to Qatar Airways.
Flying Windriders light up the sky at dusk, next to the new Qatar Airways Airbus A380.
An airplane is diplayed on the inflight entertainment system of the first Airbus
A380 delivered to Qatar Airways during a ceremony in Hamburg this week.