Summary

  • Qatar Airways achieved record profits of $1.7 billion in 2023/24, with a 6% increase in revenue to $22.2 billion.
  • The airline carried over 40 million passengers and maintained a high load factor of 83%, focusing on customer experience and innovation.
  • The fleet expanded with 25 new aircraft, and Qatar Airways Cargo remained the world’s leading air freight carrier, enhancing services and digital transformation.

Last year, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said 2023 “was as good as it gets” for airlines. The combination of high demand and tight capacity pushed fares higher, lifting most carriers into the profit zone. This week, Qatar Airways announced its best financial performance in its 27-year history, generating a record profit of US$1.7 billion for the 2023/24 financial year.

A fine set of numbers

For the year ended March 31, 2024 (F23/24), Qatar Airways produced a total revenue of $22.2 billion, a 6% or $1.3 billion increase compared to the previous year. The Group generated a strong EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin of 24% at $5.2 billion, around $0.3 billion higher than FY2022/23.

Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER

Photo: Suparat Chairatprasert | Shutterstock

Qatar Airways Group’s airline business carried more than 40 million passengers in FY23/24, 26% more than in FY22/23. The airline took a disciplined approach to adding more capacity, increasing it by just 21% year-on-year (YoY) to record its highest-ever load factor of 83%. Those factors flowed through to the bottom line, with the Group reporting a net profit of $1.7 billion, compared to $1.2 billion in the previous year, a gain of around 40%.

Qatar Airways Airbus A380

Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis/Shutterstock

In its announcement on Tuesday, Qatar Airways Group (Qatar) said the FY23/24 performance had created a strong platform for the future of the Group’s airline business. It added that the higher EBITDA came from a continued focus on the customer experience, innovation, digitalization and sustainability, resulting in streamlined, agile and fit-for-purpose operations across all areas.

Related

WOW: Qatar Airways Is The Best Airline In The World 2024

The renowned AirlineRatings leaderboard for 2024 is out…

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said the very strong financials are a testament to the ambition and clear direction that have informed the Group’s progress throughout the 2023/24 financial year.

“Our continued focus on profitability, efficiency and customer experience have been underpinned by a strategic programme of network growth and fleet expansion, resulting in the highest revenues and profit margins in the history of the airline.”

The fleet is growing

In the last financial year Qatar added 25 aircraft, including five Airbus A350-1000s, nine Boeing 773 MAX 8s, seven 787-9s, three 777-300ERs and one 777-F freighter. At the end of March 2024, the Group’s total fleet numbered 284 aircraft, of which 230 are for passengers, 29 for Qatar Airways Cargo and 25 for Qatar Executive, the corporate jet division offering luxury jet charter services.

Qatar Airways aircraft at DOH

Photo: photosince | Shutterstock

At the end of the 2019/20 financial year, Qatar had 258 aircraft in its group fleet. It said investing in the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft “has helped the airline maintain agility when responding to opportunities and challenges during the 2023/24 financial year.”

Of the 230 passenger aircraft, there are 121 from Boeing and 109 from Airbus. The Boeing aircraft include nine 737 MAX 8s, seven 777-200LRs, 57 777-300ERs, 30 787-8s and 18 787-9s. The Airbus fleet includes 29 A320s, four A330-200s, eight A330-300s, 34 A350-900s, 24 A350-1000s and 10 A380-800s.

Related

5 Incredible Features Of The Qatar Airways Qsuite

A brief dive into what is often dubbed the world’s best business class.

Qatar has more than 236 aircraft worth more than $63.1 billion on order, including options and Letters of Intent. Qatar Airways Cargo maintained its position as the world’s leading air freight carrier in FY2023/24 and enhanced its services and digital transformation by retiring its last 747 and transitioning to an all Boeing 777F fleet of freighters.

Qatar Airways grew its network to more than 170 destinations in 2023/24, adding Al Ula, Neom and Tabuk in Saudi Arabia; Lyon and Toulouse in France; Medan in Indonesia; and Trabzon in Turkey throughout the year. It also resumed flights to 14 destinations, including Bahrain, Birmingham, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Davo, Tokyo Haneda, Osaka, Marrakesh, Nice, Penang, Phnom Penh, Ras Al Khaimah and Yanbu.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *