Qatar Airways to emerge among top global airlines post-pandemic: Al Baker

Doha: Qatar Airways is now positioned to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic extremely strong, and has set its sights to emerge as one of the top airlines in the world post-pandemic, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker said yesterday. 

Addressing a webinar organised by the US Chamber’s US-Qatar Business Program, Al Baker said that the airline, which expects to receive its first three Boeing 777X passenger jets in 2023, has already surpassed the number of destinations in its pre-COVID US network. After launching flights to Seattle and San Francisco recently, Qatar Airways will resume its flights to Atlanta in June, bringing its US network reach to 12 destinations. Qatar’s national carrier plans to expand its global weekly flights to over 140 destinations during the summer.  “Qatar Airways established itself very strongly as an airline that is completely available to passengers even during the most difficult time. We were the only international carrier that kept on launching new destinations during the pandemic, when others shut their network. As the largest airline flying consistently throughout the pandemic, we have accumulated unrivaled experience of how to safely and reliably carry passengers during this uncertain times. We are now positioned as an airline to come out of this pandemic extremely strong. And the potential for our growth is huge,” said Al Baker, reiterating Qatar Airways’ award as the first and only airline in the Middle East to receive a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating.