LONDON – Qatar Airways Group (QAG) has released their annual report for 2020/2021. The report includes details on the COVID-19 pandemic, including loss of traffic alongside revenue.
QAG has reported a loss of $4.1 billion. $2.3 billion is a “one-time impairment charge” for the grounding of Qatar Airways’ Airbus A330 and A380 grounding. An operational loss of $288.3 million is 7% less than 2019/2020. This shows despite a challenging year, QAG is well on their way to removing the operational loss entirely.
Cargo expansion
Qatar Airways Cargo has retained the position of the world’s largest cargo carrier. Not only did their market share increase during 2020/2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, cargo more than tripled its daily services. Their record day occurred during May 2020, with 183 flights operating.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “There are three words that I believe best describe Qatar Airways Group’s response in the past year – strength, resilience, and commitment. Strength to not shy away from taking a risk or avoiding difficult decisions, resilience in remaining focused and not allowing events to overcome us, and commitment by never reneging on our promises to customers, partners, and employees.”
Network development
During 2020/2021, Qatar Airways launched nine new destinations:
- Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Abuja, Nigeria
- Accra, Ghana
- Brisbane, Australia
- Harare, Zimbabwe
- Luanda, Angola
- Lusaka, Zambia
- San Francisco, USA
- Seattle, USA
Alongside their route expansion, QAG entered strategic partnerships with several airlines around the world. This means Qatar’s passengers have a plethora of travel options globally.
Al Baker continued “Whilst our competitors grounded their aircraft and closed their routes, we adapted our entire commercial operation to respond to ever-evolving travel restrictions and never stopped flying, operating a network our passengers and customers could rely on. With the support of our varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, we were able to ensure that more of our scheduled flights operated than any other carrier and fulfilled our mission of taking stranded passengers home, whilst maintaining global supply chains to transport medical aid and supplies essential to the fight against COVID-19.
“We also significantly expanded our charter business as a direct response to increased demand in this area, providing vital and reliable services to support our customers during uncertain times, an effort that was publicly appreciated and acknowledged by many governments and organizations around the world. This commercial flexibility further consolidated our leadership position at the forefront of the recovery of global air travel.”
Flexibility is key
Commenting on how QAG group has remained flexible throughout the year, Al Baker said “I am extremely proud of our people across the Qatar Airways Group who have remained agile and adapted quickly to this new reality, displaying the tenacity, versatility, and commitment to excellence so often associated with everything we do.”
