LONDON – According to data provided by RadarBox.com, Qatar Airways’ summer rebound is showing signs of wearing off, as the push for recovery continues.

The airline has been experiencing double-digit growth when it comes to the seven-day rolling average of flights operated every week.

But this week, the numbers have dwindled down into the single-digit percentage growth figures. Without further ado, let’s get into the numbers.

The Numbers…

For August 20-27, the airline had a rolling seven-day average of 528 movements, with is +8.42% more than the same period last year, where 487 movements were recorded.

The airline is looking to exceed or be level with 2019’s number of 622 movements for that particular week.

For this week (August 27-September 3), it is expected that the carrier will achieve around 529 movements, which is +9.75% better than 2021’s numbers.

Below is the last four weeks’ worth of performance from the carrier that RadarBox has recorded:

• July 23-30 – 530 movements (+17.00% compared to 2021).
• July 30-August 6 – 533 movements (+14.13% compared to 2021).
• August 6-13 – 532 movements (+11.06%) compared to 2021).
• August 13-20 – 536 movements (+10.74% compared to 2021).

Based on that data, it shows that the rolling averages have decreased by 7% compared to the same period in 2021.

Recap…

Whilst movement numbers aren’t where they were in 2019; the airline has been making some strides forward elsewhere.

For example, earlier this month, the airline partnered up with Finnair to launch daily services to Doha, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which is happening in the next few months.

Beginning in November and December 2022, Finnair will be launching its new daily services to Doha from three of its Nordic capital hubs.

These are Helsinki in Finland, Stockholm in Sweden, and Copenhagen in Denmark. The services will be operated by Finnair’s Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which the carrier has eight of in its fleet.

Their Airbus A330-300s have a mixture of configurations. However, the ones flying on the new Doha services will feature Finnair’s new long-haul cabin.

This comes with their new Air Lounge business class seats, a brand-new premium economy class, as well as a refreshed economy class, all to improve their passengers’ experiences.

The new strategic partnership that comes into play alongside these new services will play both a benefit to Finnair and Qatar Airways passengers, but also to the carrier’s profitability and performance, with cargo also being shared between the two carriers.

Both airlines are also a part of the oneworld airline alliance.

The carrier currently serves non-stop daily services to Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Stockholm, all using its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.

Overall…

It remains clear that the numbers for Qatar Airways are down from the pre-COVID era, but they are making up for it in other ways by exploring different revenue-based avenues.

Looking ahead, the airline will no doubt see a spike in passengers and aircraft movements as the FIFA World Cup gets closer, with millions of passengers expected to fly in.

All we can do in the meantime is sit back and wait to see how the airline performs during that period and for the rest of the year.