Aviation

Qatar Airways announces record profit but risks remain

May 19, 2025, 7:21 PM

Qatar Airways profit A Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner; the airline's growing fleet was made up of 292 aircraft at March 31 — A Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner; the airline's growing fleet consisted of 292 aircraft at March 31

$2.15bn profit for 2024-25
$23.5bn revenue
Cargo growing fast

State-owned Qatar Airways announced record profits in the year to March 31 after carrying more passengers and using its seat capacity more efficiently.

Net income jumped almost 30 percent to QAR7.9 billion ($2.2 billion) in the 2024-25 fiscal year, an increase of more than QAR1.7billion on the year before.

Passenger numbers rose almost 8 percent to 43.1 million, the carrier announced on Monday.

Load factor, an important metric in the airline industry measuring how efficiently an airline fills its available seat capacity, rose 2 percentage points to 85 percent. Revenue climbed 6 percent to QAR85.6 billion ($23.5 billion).

“Qatar Airways’ record-breaking results are a convergence of market recovery and strategic orchestration,” said Linus Bauer, managing director of aviation consultancy BAA & Partners.

The airline is part of the meteoric, state-backed rise of Gulf airlines over the last 20 years, driven too by Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. This has sustained aircraft sales for Boeing and Airbus and taken market share from older airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.

Situated at the nexus of three continents and using the latest passenger aircraft that can fly 16 or 17 hours non-stop, the Gulf is now a global aviation hub, moving more than 100 million passengers in and through the region every year.

Fleet provides scale

Behind Qatar Airways’ profit is a “strong” presence in the European and US premium market, “strategic” investments in Virgin Australia and South Africa’s Airlink that are paying off and a swift recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, Bauer said.

Qatar Airways owns 25 percent in each of regional airline Airlink and Virgin Australia.

“During the pandemic, the airline kept a skeleton network of operations, including flights from Europe to Australia, and their cargo operation was very busy,” said John Grant, partner at UK consultancy Midas Aviation and AGBI columnist.

Qatar Airways’ growing fleet – 292 aircraft at March 31 – has propelled it to be the sixth biggest airline in the world by available seat kilometres. This is an important metric representing the airline’s passenger carrying capacity, which last year – at 159 billion – was only two steps behind Emirates.

“Once they have reached a certain point, the sheer scale of their network makes them akin to an oil tanker, almost difficult to change direction quickly but equally difficult to dislodge,” said Grant.

Notwithstanding the record profit and for Emirates too challenges remain.

The planned start this year of a second Saudi flag carrier, Riyadh Air, could, said Bauer, introduce still more competition to the regional market.

Wider economic pressures linked to global trade tensions, and geopolitical volatility also “could compress margins,” said Bauer.

In addition, supply chain constraints could hinder future growth, as both Boeing and Airbus face chronic production bottlenecks.

Qatar Airways’ attention-grabbing $96 billion order of 210 Boeing aircraft during President Donald Trump’s Gulf tour last week “may not materialise on schedule,” said Bauer.