Despite a doubling in passenger revenue and increased passenger counts driven by its role as flag carrier for the country that held the FIFA World Cup tournament, Qatar Airways’ full year net profit was down 21% year-over-year, attributable, the airline said, to its removal of 29 Airbus A350s over a surface degradation issue affecting the aircraft.
Qatar Airways reported a net profit of QAR4.4 billion ($1.2 billion) during its fiscal 2022/23, down from QAR5.6 billion the same period a year earlier, the group said in a July 5 statement.
“The results would have been better if more aircraft [Airbus A350] had been available,” a source close to the management told Aviation Daily July 7. “Luckily, now the aircraft are coming back step-by-step into service.”
On Feb. 1, Airbus and Qatar Airways agreed to settle their dispute around surface degradation issues affecting a large part of the airline’s A350 fleet, paving the way for Airbus to resume a cordial relationship with one of its most important customers of the past two decades.
The carrier had taken 29 of its A350s out of service. “Around 20 A350s have been returned to operations,” the source said.
According to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database, the Doha-based carrier has 22 A350-1000s and 24 A350-900s in operation; 10 -900s are in storage. Qatar Airways has 20 additional A350-1000s on order.
To cover the capacity shortage, Qatar Airways brought back eight of its 10 A380s into service. These will remain operational until further notice.
Qatar Airways said its successful strategy during the FIFA World Cup, held Nov. 20-Dec. 18, 2022, paid off. Over the tournament, Qatar Airways operated some 14,000 flights, transporting more than 1.4 million passengers from six continents to Doha. The carrier made strategic changes to its business model for five weeks in 2022, becoming more of a point-to-point operation, offering passengers improved arrival and departure options to and from Doha during the tournament.
Qatar Airways’ normal business model sees 15% of its passengers stay in Qatar while 85% are in transfer. During the World Cup, that changed to approximately 60% remaining in Qatar while 40% were in transfer.
“This year’s strong financial results are attributed to the strong passenger demand recovery ... aided by our continuing network growth, market leadership, and operational,” Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker said in a statement.
Overall revenue increased to QAR76.3 billion, up 45% from QAR52.3 billion compared to 2022. Passenger revenue increased 100% over 2022, on a capacity increase of 31% driven by 9% higher yields and a load factor of 80%—both are the highest in the airline’s history. Qatar Airways carried 31.7 million passengers, an increase of 71% compared to the year before. The Group generated a strong EBITDA margin of 23% at QAR17.8 billion, higher than the previous year by QAR110 million.
Meanwhile, at Qatar Airways’ home base, Hamad International Airport, the Phase B expansion started in January and will see airport capacity increase to 70 million passengers annually. The carrier said the hub is located within a six-hr. flight from more than 80% of the world’s population.
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