Doha: While all global airlines faced significant operational challenges over the past two years, the use of their fleets has varied considerably β with Qatar Airways (QA) near the top of the range. Whereas most passenger-focused airlines posted cancelations of flights over several months, Qatar Airways continued to service a variety of destinations and pivoted to carrying more cargo, said a report released by Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)
βAn increased global demand for air cargo led Qatar Airways to convert six passenger planes to freighters, resulting in the cargo division handling 2,727,986 tonnes of cargo in the 2020/21 fiscal year, or 4.6 percent more than a year prior,β said the report titled βThe Qatar Financial Centre β A Compelling Destination for Aircraft Leasing Companiesβ.Β
βAs a result of this adept change in business strategy, those wide-bodied planes in Qatar Airwaysβ fleet reached nearly the same productivity by the middle of 2021, as measured by time in use, as they had prior to the onset of COVID-19,β it added.
The worldβs largest 30 lessors seek out deals with airlines that use their assets efficiently. Therefore, it is wise for these lessors to place their assets with financially secure operators such as Qatar Airways, it added. Β
Following its change in business strategy to prioritize cargo flights over passengers during the height of COVID, Qatar Airways has been able to expand its serviced network and become the worldβs largest cargo carrier (excluding freight operators FedEx and UPS).Β
As passenger traffic slowed to a crawl at the peak of the pandemic, Qatar Airwaysβ cargo business more than tripled its daily flights.
During May 2020, the airline operated a record 183 cargo flights in one day.Β
Consequently, its cargo fleetβs productivity only dipped in the first quarter of 2020 and has performed strongly since. In addition to its direct services, Qatar Airways Cargo also ran more than 1,100 charters over…