Qatar Air likely to post annual loss
SINGAPORE: Qatar Airways Ltd is likely to post an annual loss after a Saudi-led blockade of its home nation forced the airline to cancel some routes and divert others, said chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker.
The Persian Gulf carrier is working on substituting the 20 or so lost flights for roughly the same number of viable new routes and should then return to prof- itability, said Al Baker in an interview on Tuesday, adding it’s too early to predict how big the loss will be.
Net income at the group rose 22 per cent to 1.97 billion riyals (RM2.21 billion) in the year through March.
“It is painful because there are many routes that slide as much as 2½ hours longer, and there are routes that are narrow-body routes where we had to convert to wide-body in order to carry enough fuel to go the longer distance,” said Al Baker.
All told, Qatar Air has lost almost 11 per cent of its network and 20 per cent of revenue, he added.
Al Baker’s comments were his frankest yet following the imposition of trade and transport barriers by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in June.
The blockade has led to the scrapping of several short-haul flights, while many intercontinental services have been rerouted because of airspace closures, making flying times less competitive and increasing fuel burn.
Al Baker had previously insisted that the measures against Qatar have had a minimal impact on his company.