Qatar Airways has of late been in the news in India for shipping medical aid and equipment to the country free of charge from global suppliers. Its ‘air bubble’ arrangement continues to see it flying from a number of Indian cities. However, as much of the rest of the world is opening up, Qatar Airways is taking steps to expand its global network, notable at a time when IATA expects net airline industry losses of $47.7 billion in 2021. By the middle of summer 2021, Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to more than 140 destinations including 23 in Africa, 14 in the Americas, 43 in Asia-Pacific, 43 in Europe and 19 in Middle East. “By continuing to fly throughout the pandemic, we have been able to build brand loyalty by offering our passengers the flexibility they need to suit their travel plans,” says Karthik Viswanathan, regional manager, Indian subcontinent, Qatar Airways. The airline continues to expand its network of destinations, offering more flights to international destinations than any other airline, Viswanathan points out. A WSJ report in April said Qatar Airways ‘had eclipsed Emirates as the world’s biggest long-haul carrier – for now’. India plans: still uncertain Viswanathan says the airline has plans in the pipeline for when scheduled flights restart to India, but says “it is far too early to discuss them as they will be heavily influenced by the travel trends at that time, consumer behaviour, airports and health protocols”. Incidentally, reacting to reports that India could be looking at renegotiating bilateral foreign flying rights, Qatar Airways’ group CEO Akbar Al Baker in a recent interview said India should refrain from renegotiating bilateral foreign flying rights as this would be a violation of international regulations, and would also restrict the growth of the country’s aviation sector. In India, Qatar Airways currently operates return flights to Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. In April, the airline had announced its intention to transport 300 tonnes of aid cargo shipment to India, including PPE equipment, oxygen canisters, and other essential medical items, which was delivered via three of the airline’s Cargo Boeing 777 freighters on 3 May. To its credit, Qatar Airways has been proactive in tackling the Covid-19 situation. “We repatriated people – when other airlines left their passengers stranded, we were there,” Al Baker recently said, pointing out that the airline was “very agile, resilient and business-focused”. The airline became the first airline in the Middle East to trial the new health passports, offering a safer, secure and contactless experience for travellers, partnering with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on the IATA Travel Pass. In January, the airline became the first airline to achieve the 5-Star Covid-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. On 6 April, Qatar Airways operated the world’s first fully vaccinated flight, an indicator, perhaps, of the future of air travel. “The sudden lockdown and market changes have impacted people and businesses all around the world, and we did face a unique set of challenges resulting from a more restrictive travel environment and subdued demand,” stresses Viswanathan. “In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the extraordinary circumstances, airlines needed to show resilience and adapt to the fast-evolving situation. Gaining the confidence of our customers was a task in itself and we had to stringently implement the most advanced safety and hygiene measures. The pandemic has accelerated the integration of contactless operations and digital transformation, which has been a key learning for us. Safety and hygiene have truly become pivotal. Customer preference has evolved and they are now more aware.”
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Qatar Airways is the first global carrier to operate Honeywell’s Ultraviolet (UV) Cabin System version 2.0, advancing its hygiene measures on board
