Qatar Airways is one of the few global airlines that never stopped flying during the crisis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, its network never fell below 30 destinations and 150 weekly flights. Right now, it is operating more than 700 weekly flights to about 100 destinations worldwide.
It became the world’s largest carrier during the crisis by offering over 37,000 flights to take 2.3 million people home. In Kenya specifically, it repatriated over 1000 pax.
Recently, the airline marked 15 years of flights from Nairobi, Kenya, and we happened to talk to Hendrik Du Preez, Vice President Commercial Africa, about the milestone.
Q: What triggered the idea of flights between Nairobi and Doha? How has the journey been for 15 years now?
When we first launched Nairobi on 17 November 2005, it was our first destination in East Africa. It has been one of our strongest destinations in Africa for both passenger and cargo operations due to its fame as a connecting point to safaris and the strong Kenyan export industry. Pre COVID-19, we operated double daily wide-body services, and since resuming this year, we are already back to double daily with one wide-body and one narrow-body aircraft.
Q: Impact of the direct flights on Kenya’s trade and/or tourism sectors?
The addition of the passenger flights 15 years ago has greatly benefitted the Kenyan trade and economy, seeing that the airline started offering belly-hold cargo capacity for imports and exports. A year later in 2006, Qatar Airways Cargo launched dedicated freighters, introducing significant freight capacity for Kenyan exports, especially perishables such as flowers, fruits, fish and vegetables which are transported mainly to Europe and the Middle East. Currently, the Qatar Airways Cargo operates 14 belly-hold flights and six freighters every week, offering more than 600 tonnes of combined cargo capacity each way.
Pre Covid-19, Qatar Airways operated a global network of close to 170 destinations. This global connectivity helped support tourism in Kenya, bringing travellers from the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America to experience the famous hospitality and nature of Kenya.
Q: How has the airline benefited from the flights to Nairobi? Has the network expanded?
As a mainly 6th freedom carrier, it is important to have strong destinations that will draw traffic from across the globe. Nairobi has been one of these key gateways in our network since its establishment, thanks to its appeal as a world-famous leisure destination that is high on many travellers bucket list. It also has strong cargo demand both inbound and outbound, which also is essential to supporting our wider network.
Q: How did Qatar Airways manage to continue flying even during the crisis?
Since the beginning of the pandemic, our network never fell below 30 destinations and 150 weekly flights, with continuous service to five continents. We have consistently provided more flexible travel options to more global destinations than any other airline. Right now, we are operating more than 700 weekly flights to over 100 destinations worldwide. We are proud to have reached this significant milestone in the rebuilding of our network. Our focus is not only on resuming destinations but also on serving as many connections as possible to enable our passengers to travel where and whenever they want. One of our greatest assets in these challenging times is our highly flexible fleet: a mix of fuel-efficient aircraft and strategic network management has enabled us to resume operations quickly and to expand our service in response to passenger and cargo demand.
Q: Any changes that happened within the airline during the crisis? Any job cuts? Has it reduced flying routes?
Due to the significant and prolonged decline in demand for global travel, we have had to reduce our staff count of up to 20% across the business are sadly unavoidable as a result of the current situation. The painful decision to reduce headcount has not been taken lightly but is kept to a minimum due to salary reductions implemented through the Qatar Airways Solidarity Programme. The airline has focused on managing this process in a manner that is fair and impartial. We are saddened to see colleagues departing the business, and we are ensuring they are treated with the utmost respect and compassion at such a difficult time.
Q: When do you think Qatar Airways will return to normal operating capacity?
Entry restrictions around the world are the biggest impediment to many people resuming travel. As entry restrictions around the world begin to ease, we expect passenger demand to increase gradually. We believe that travel will steadily return, limited by entry restrictions rather than customer confidence. People will want to travel again, experience the world, and meet friends and family as well as business travel restarting.
Q: Are there any prospects of flying to other destinations in Kenya, e.g., Mombasa?
Before COVID-19 we did operate flights to Mombasa. Unfortunately, similar to other airlines around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has created significant operational challenges for Qatar Airways. While we continue to operate as many flights as possible, many routes remain commercially unviable due to the significant drop in global demand for air travel. We are constantly reviewing our global network and will resume flights in line with a return to regular conditions and market demand.
Q: How would you describe Qatar Airways’ ‘bigger picture’?
We believe this period has further established Qatar Airways as one of the world’s most trusted and reliable airlines. We were one of only a few global airlines that never stopped flying throughout this crisis, helping to take people home safely. Between April to July, according to IATA data, we were the world’s largest airline. In April alone, we accounted for 17.8% of the global market, over triple our nearest competitor and more than the next four airlines combined. This resilience has become part of our DNA since the blockade imposed on our home, the State of Qatar, on 5 June 2017. We have become experts at managing crises and always keeping our customers at the centre of our focus. We believe as travel restrictions ease and global travel recovers, our passengers will remember Qatar Airways was there for them and they will want to fly with us again to visit family and friends and explore the world.
Qatar Airways is the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar. Its headquarters are in Doha. It operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 150 international destinations across Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas, from its base at Hamad International Airport.
During the fiscal year 2020, its revenue increased to QAR 51.1 billion, up 6.4% compared to last year. Meanwhile, seat capacity increased by 3.2%, freight tonnes handled increased by 2.8%, and passenger traffic at Hamad International Airport increased by 8.6%. Qatar Airways invested QAR 16.8 billion in the fleet and other assets during the year and had a cash balance of QAR 7.3 billion at the end of the year.
Passenger revenue grew by 8.9% with capacity (Available Seat Kilometers) growth of 3.2%. The airline carried 32.4 million passengers, up 9.8% over the last financial year.
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