Why Qatar is doing better than Emirates during the pandemic
- Gerald Quintos
- Aug 5, 2020
- 2 min read
Qatar has not been letting the Covid-19 pandemic ruin its plans as even on its worst days has maintained at least 30 routes and going full throttle to rebuild its robust network. Its all thanks to its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
While its Middle East rival Emirates committed to the largest passenger plane in the Airbus A380, Qatar had a more moderate strategy by diversifying its fleet type. Qatar's fleet currently consists a majority of Airbus A320s, Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s, and Boeing 777s with a supplement from planes such as Airbus A330s and Airbus A380s.
Although Emirates does have a fleet of Boeing 777s, its still a large capacity aircraft making it less profitable when they fly on low passenger loads. Just imagine the losses in an Airbus A380 as airlines with the A380 were already struggling to fill the plane before the pandemic.
With a fleet of 30 Boeing 787-8 Qatar could jump start its competitors as passenger demand remains low. Its simply the practical aircraft of choice in this pandemic as it is a low capacity aircraft that can fly long haul routes.
Qatar is currently flying its entire fleet of Boeing 787-8 and is confidant that this plane is just what it needs to be successful in its road to recovery post pandemic. "Its the perfect aircraft with the appropriate capacity to serve routes in Europe as the market recovers' says Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker.
The aviation industry continues to be battered by the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic with experts changing their forecast for full recovery to 2025 instead of 2023. Until a Vaccine is properly disseminated globally, real progress to recovery will continue to be hindered.
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