Nine months into his role at Qatar Airways Cargo, Mark Drusch is looking to enhance the carrier’s legacy by focusing on adding a personal touch to operations.
Bringing his experience on the passenger side to cargo operations, Drusch is determined to ensure that the same care Qatar Airways offers to its passengers is carried over to any goods moved on the airfreight side.
“If you’re moving a car, horse, somebody’s pets, it’s very personal. If you’re moving pharmaceuticals that need to get to a region where they are needed to save lives, that’s very personal. We have to recognise that a lot of what we do has a personal element,” Drusch explained.
One area where Qatar Airways Cargo is actively involved in working to deliver for customers is evident in their development of the Boeing 777-8F, of which the carrier has 34 on order, with an option for 16 more.
“We are working with Boeing to develop brand new technology so that we know and our customers know more about where their product is, how it’s doing, what stage of the process it’s in, etc. You can track it the same way you track a bag with an air tag,” he highlighted.
Continuing to innovate
With that constant mission of improving operations, Qatar Airways Cargo is set to focus on three main areas over the next year: digitalisation, expansion and precision.
“We’re Qatar Airways. We have the best airline in the world. We have the best airport in the world. Our cargo operation is the best in the world. I want to make sure we are always ensuring we are the best,” Drusch concluded.
“That means we don’t sit on our laurels. I want us to continue to lead the industry in terms of the products and quality we deliver. We need to be reliable, dependable, and lead.”
The carrier is launching a one-year intensive programme to incorporate digitisation into more of its operations, with announcements on this initiative due over the next 12 months as the airline rolls out various aspects, enhancing operational efficiency.
To grow its operations dramatically, Qatar Airways Cargo is looking to build on its current strong volumes, ensuring that it maintains the capabilities and capacity to serve customers as and when the opportunity emerges.
Currently among the top three, the Qatar Airways Cargo chief is keen to achieve a 99.9 percent success rate in delivering goods on time and in the expected condition.
“I am so fortunate to have inherited an incredibly well-run organisation with a great team of people who are experts at what they do,” Drusch explained.
“Even more importantly, they’ve been very generous in teaching somebody new to this part of the business all of the intricacies, nuances and priorities that I was not aware of.
“I’m the luckiest man because I’ve inherited such a great operation, so I‘m leveraging what has already been built.
“I don’t want there to be any question – whatever you have booked with us: whether it’s a fancy car, pharmaceuticals, a pet or a horse. I want to be number one. ”
