Aviation

Qatar Airways announces record profits

July 2, 2024, 11:55 AM

A growth in passenger numbers of 26 percent contributed to Qatar Airways' record profit

$2bn profit for 2023-24
Passenger revenue up 19%
7.1% cargo market share

Qatar Airways Group has reported the strongest financial results in its 27-year history after announcing profits of more than QR6 billion (almost $2 billion) for the 2023-24 financial year.

Revenues at the state-backed company increased by 6 percent year on year to QR81 billion.

Passenger revenue was up by 19 percent, with a capacity increase of more than one-fifth driven by the airline’s highest-ever load factor of 83 percent.

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It marks a turnaround for the group, whose net profit fell 21.4 percent in 2022-2023 despite flying more passengers as the country hosted the Fifa World Cup.

Minister of state for energy and Qatar Airways Group chairman Saad Bin Sherida Al-Kaabi said the results “indicate a strong and sustained rebound from the challenges faced by the sector in recent years”.

Qatar Airways carried more than 40 million passengers during the last fiscal year, an increase of 26 percent over the previous 12 months as it resumed operations to 14 destinations and expanded its network to more than 170 cities around the world.

In March the carrier put its entire fleet of A350 jetliners back into service, a year after settling a dispute with European plane maker Airbus over flaking paint.

Its cargo market share was up to 7.1 percent, which it said was an increase of 0.04 percent compared with the previous financial year.

Rwanda’s RwandAir and Qatar Airways will open an international airport in the capital Kigali by 2028, and Qatar Airways is expected to buy a 49 percent stake in Rwanda’s flag carrier this month as part of its strategy to expand in Africa.

Qatar Airways has around 150 aircraft on order to fulfil the increasing demand for passenger and freighter traffic.