Qatar Airways has an order of over 200 aircraft worth over $50bn, according to its latest Annual Report. The national carrier of the State of Qatar is one of the few global airlines that continued to take delivery of aircraft during April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
In the last financial year, Qatar Airways added 14 new aircraft to its fleet — which includes 205 passenger aircraft, 26 cargo aircraft and 19 Qatar Executive jets (as at 31 March 2021).
“With more than 200 aircraft worth over $50bn still on order (including options and Letters of Intent), our fleet and network continues to go from one strength to the next,” noted the Annual Report.
Despite a challenging period, Qatar Airways never stopped flying throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, remaining committed to its fundamental mission of taking people home during the peak of the crisis. Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, Qatar Airways helped take home more than 3 million passengers.
“Whilst our competitors grounded their aircraft and closed their routes, we adapted our entire network to respond to ever-evolving travel restrictions and never stopped flying — fulfilling our mission of taking stranded passengers home on scheduled and charter flights,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker in the Annual Report.
“We were able to do this thanks to our varied fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, and a strategic shift to becoming less reliant on our largest, four engine aircraft — the Airbus A380 — in favour of smaller, more efficient aircraft, to serve passenger demand and increase the sustainability of our operations,” he added.
In addition to scheduled services, the airline also operated more than 500 charter flights, working closely with governments and companies around the world to support repatriation.
Despite enduring one of the most difficult years in the Group’s history, based on strong commercial fundamentals, the airline has rebuilt its network from a low of 33 destinations to more than 140 destinations today.
The airline’s strategic investment in a mix of modern fuel-efficient aircraft enabled it to remain agile and sustainable throughout the pandemic, offering the right capacity in each market to meet both passenger and cargo demand. With an average aircraft age of six years, the state-of-the-art fleet continues to be one of the youngest and most modern in the industry.