Company Insights Qatar Airways Aviation Qatar Airways Overview Qatar Airways is a state-run airline established in 1993. It operates a “hub-and-spoke network”, flying to over 170 international destinations in over 90 countries from its base at Hamad International Airport, with a fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Qatar Airways owns a 25 percent stake in British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG), a 25 percent stake in South Africa’s Airlink, 10 percent stakes in Chile’s Latam Airlines and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, and a 3.4 percent share in China Southern Airlines. It has also invested in the $1.3 billion airport being built in Rwanda, taking a 60 percent stake in 2019. Qatar Airways has code-share agreements with several airlines in Africa including Rwandair. In October 2024 Qatar Airways announced it would buy a minority 25 percent stake in Virgin Australia from the US private equity firm Bain Capital. Subsidiaries include Qatar Airways Cargo, Qatar Airways Holidays, United Media International and Qatar Distribution Company. Qatar Airways News Retail Sales rise 18% for airport retailer Qatar Duty Free Airport retailer Qatar Duty Free has reported an 18 percent sales increase for 2024. The rise was higher than passenger growth at Hamad International Airport in Doha, which increased 15 percent to 52.7 million. Qatar Duty Free, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways that owns and operates the airport’s shopping and food outlets, did not release […] January 14, 2025 Business of Sport Qatar Airways signs $97m deal to sponsor new rugby tournament Qatar Airways has agreed a $97 million deal to sponsor the new World Rugby Nations Championship. The eight-year deal will cover the qualifying matches and finals for the first four editions of the rugby union tournament from 2026 to 2034. The agreement is the biggest title sponsorship in international rugby, according to The Guardian. The […] January 13, 2025 Analysis Aviation Middle East airlines expected to ride out delivery delays Aircraft delivery delays will continue to dog Middle East airlines in 2025, according to the International Air Travel Association (Iata). The issue will have little bearing on the bottom line, however, and the industry is expected to continue growing regardless. Globally, Iata forecasts that 1,802 aircraft will be delivered over the next 12 months, down […] December 24, 2024 Aviation BA’s suspension of Abu Dhabi flights likely to push up fares British Airways’ decision to suspend daily flights from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi is likely to push up airfare prices and have an impact on tourism demand in the UAE capital. The UK flag carrier announced on Wednesday that flights from the west London airport will stop from March 30 next year through to October […] December 19, 2024 Aviation Australia gives interim nod to Qatar Airways-Virgin deal The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted interim approval for a partnership between Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia, which allows them to sell long-haul return flights starting in June 2025. The temporary approval will allow Virgin Australia to fly 28 weekly return flights between Doha and Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The Australia-Doha […] November 29, 2024 Opinion Media & Advertising Could Riyadh Air’s brand help Saudi Arabia take off? National airlines have an outsize role to play in nation-branding November 26, 2024 Analysis Aviation Riyadh Air secures unprecedented number of airport slots Riyadh Air has secured more than 2,500 slots at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, positioning itself as the fourth-largest carrier at the capital’s main gateway as it prepares to launch operations in the summer 2025 season, according to filings by Airport Coordination Limited. The allocation marks a striking start for the state-backed carrier, which aims […] November 25, 2024 Aviation Etihad to reveal new destinations Etihad Airways is preparing to announce 10 new destinations next week, in one of the airline’s largest network expansions in years. The ambitious Abu Dhabi-based airline will reveal the locations on November 25, after a TikTok teaser campaign. Etihad sells tickets to 83 destinations, and has added Prague, Warsaw and El Alamein in Egypt to […] November 18, 2024 Aviation Riyadh Air takes aim at online travel giants Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is to compete with global travel companies such as Booking.com and Expedia by developing a one-stop digital platform for customers to plan and manage entire trips. The website will cover flights, accommodation, car rentals, AI-generated itineraries and tickets to attractions and concerts. It will also include shared shopping cart […] October 31, 2024 Opinion Aviation Qatar’s Virgin Australia deal makes business sense Australia is Qatar Airways' seventh most important market, with nearly 900,000 seats on sale each year October 25, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 13 Next
Retail Sales rise 18% for airport retailer Qatar Duty Free Airport retailer Qatar Duty Free has reported an 18 percent sales increase for 2024. The rise was higher than passenger growth at Hamad International Airport in Doha, which increased 15 percent to 52.7 million. Qatar Duty Free, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways that owns and operates the airport’s shopping and food outlets, did not release […] January 14, 2025
Business of Sport Qatar Airways signs $97m deal to sponsor new rugby tournament Qatar Airways has agreed a $97 million deal to sponsor the new World Rugby Nations Championship. The eight-year deal will cover the qualifying matches and finals for the first four editions of the rugby union tournament from 2026 to 2034. The agreement is the biggest title sponsorship in international rugby, according to The Guardian. The […] January 13, 2025
Analysis Aviation Middle East airlines expected to ride out delivery delays Aircraft delivery delays will continue to dog Middle East airlines in 2025, according to the International Air Travel Association (Iata). The issue will have little bearing on the bottom line, however, and the industry is expected to continue growing regardless. Globally, Iata forecasts that 1,802 aircraft will be delivered over the next 12 months, down […] December 24, 2024
Aviation BA’s suspension of Abu Dhabi flights likely to push up fares British Airways’ decision to suspend daily flights from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi is likely to push up airfare prices and have an impact on tourism demand in the UAE capital. The UK flag carrier announced on Wednesday that flights from the west London airport will stop from March 30 next year through to October […] December 19, 2024
Aviation Australia gives interim nod to Qatar Airways-Virgin deal The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted interim approval for a partnership between Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia, which allows them to sell long-haul return flights starting in June 2025. The temporary approval will allow Virgin Australia to fly 28 weekly return flights between Doha and Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The Australia-Doha […] November 29, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising Could Riyadh Air’s brand help Saudi Arabia take off? National airlines have an outsize role to play in nation-branding November 26, 2024
Analysis Aviation Riyadh Air secures unprecedented number of airport slots Riyadh Air has secured more than 2,500 slots at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, positioning itself as the fourth-largest carrier at the capital’s main gateway as it prepares to launch operations in the summer 2025 season, according to filings by Airport Coordination Limited. The allocation marks a striking start for the state-backed carrier, which aims […] November 25, 2024
Aviation Etihad to reveal new destinations Etihad Airways is preparing to announce 10 new destinations next week, in one of the airline’s largest network expansions in years. The ambitious Abu Dhabi-based airline will reveal the locations on November 25, after a TikTok teaser campaign. Etihad sells tickets to 83 destinations, and has added Prague, Warsaw and El Alamein in Egypt to […] November 18, 2024
Aviation Riyadh Air takes aim at online travel giants Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is to compete with global travel companies such as Booking.com and Expedia by developing a one-stop digital platform for customers to plan and manage entire trips. The website will cover flights, accommodation, car rentals, AI-generated itineraries and tickets to attractions and concerts. It will also include shared shopping cart […] October 31, 2024
Opinion Aviation Qatar’s Virgin Australia deal makes business sense Australia is Qatar Airways' seventh most important market, with nearly 900,000 seats on sale each year October 25, 2024
