Strong performance for Qatar Airways
Overall revenue for Qatar Airways during the fiscal year increased to $21.0 billion (QAR 76.3 billion), a 45% increase compared to the previous year. The Doha-based company saw passenger revenue rise by 100% over last year, on a capacity increase of 31% driven by the highest yields and load factors in the airline’s history.
Throughout the period, Qatar Airways carried 31.7 million passengers, a 71% increase over the last year. Of this total, 1.4 million passengers were taken to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
In 2022/2023 Qatar Airways network grew to more than 160 destinations. During the year, Qatar Airways resumed operations to thirteen destinations, namely Amritsar, India; Beijing, China; Denpasar, Indonesia; Geneva, Switzerland; London Gatwick, UK; Luxor, Egypt; Nagpur, India; Perth, Australia; Qassim, Saudi Arabia; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Shanghai, China; Taif, Saudi Arabia; and Windhoek, Namibia. Additionally, it launched two new routes to Dusseldorf, Germany, and Santorini, Greece. This week, the airline started a new route, connecting Doha with Lyon.
What is the airline saying?
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said this year’s strong financial results are attributed to the strong passenger demand recovery and the team’s ability to cater to this demand. “As the global travel recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we have managed to retain the high levels of trust, reliability, and confidence with our customers. As a result, we maintained our position as the airline of choice for millions of passengers worldwide,”
The latest developments of Qatar Airways
As of July 2023, Qatar Airways has a fleet of 260 aircraft, and it is expecting to receive 191 additional planes in the next few years. Per ch-aviation, the Doha-based carrier’s fleet includes ten Airbus A380s, 57 Boeing 777-300ERs, and over 40 Dreamliners (between -8s and -9s).
About the A380, Qatar Airways’ CEO recently told Simple Flying the company will ground the super jumbos again as the airline receives new A350-900s. You can read more about that here.
In the future, Qatar Airways expects to receive 50 new Airbus A321neo, 20 A350-1000s (after a long grudge with Airbus), 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s, two 777-200Fs, one 777-300ER, 34 Boeing 777-8Fs, 40 B777-9s, and 19 Boeing 787-9s. Nonetheless, the airline has been very critical about the supply chain constraints, which has led to delays in the deliveries of new planes. During a small roundtable with Qatar’s CEO at the Paris Air Show
“I am not pleased at all because there is a lot of pressure on the supply chain. I think the COVID pandemic really destroyed the supply chain of all the aircraft manufacturers, and I don’t see how this will be coming back to what it used to be before COVID in the foreseeable future.”