Qatar Airways Leans On Operational Resilience Amid Middle East Turmoil

DOHA—Qatar Airways is relying on its operational resilience during a period of geopolitical challenges in the Middle East region.

Even though the Oneworld alliance member has seen a softening in passenger bookings within some countries in the Middle East region, the carrier remains competitive and is staying with its overall network and planned growth trajectory.

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told Aviation Week in Doha that there are several factors indicating today’s business scenario is different from a year ago. “It is a bit more unstable environment compared to earlier times regarding geopolitical challenges,” Antinori said.

There is also a change in the consuming “appetite” of passengers as well now that the post-pandemic catch-up effect has dissipated.

“Airlines have all their aircraft in the air,” Antinori said. “You have a different game now.”

The carrier benefits from its operational resilience and lessons learned, Antinori said, such as the “illegal airspace blockade” imposed in 2017 against Qatar by four Middle East nations which lasted for more than three years, or from the pandemic.

“Historically, we know how to handle such a situation. Looking back, we learned how to use different flight corridors, for example,” he said. “Now, we benefit from that, and it shows in our reliability, the customer knows it and honors it by booking Qatar Airways as a priority choice.”

“We are able to have a good balance. Our hub at Hamad International Airport and the airline are better positioned than ever before, thanks to a very stable and strong competitive network,” Antinori said.

Although Qatar Airways might be growing less compared to 2023, the airline has grown significantly and it is opening new routes, such as Doha to Toronto starting on Dec. 11. The carrier will also launch flights to Abha, Saudi Arabia.

During the Christmas peak, Qatar Airways will be able to slightly restructure fleet operations, allowing the carrier to add a seventh daily service to Bangkok, he said. The airline has increased its frequencies to Phuket, Thailand, and Colombo, Sri Lanka, and now operates eight daily flights from Doha to London Heathrow.

Regarding aircraft delivery delays, Antinori said Qatar Airways is not immune. “We are all in the same system,” he said, adding that Qatar Airways is in permanent contact with the OEMs, “which try to do their best anyway.”

“Sure, with more aircraft we could do more. We deal with that, and we are in a constructive dialog, because we need them and they need us,” Antinori says. From his commercial perspective, the Boeing 777X will be an opportunity to keep the carrier’s leadership in terms of passenger offerings and extend its high-level standards further, which includes a first-class cabin on the Boeing widebody and the new evolution of the Q Suite business-class accommodations.

As for the airline’s intention to invest in Virgin Australia, Antinori said it is important for a global connector like Qatar Airways to have a solid presence in Australia. “Today we have good presence with daily flights to five Australian destinations,” he said. “But the customers want more possibilities with us as we have the best hub among all Middle East airlines and a stronger European network than any Asia airline.”