Qatar becomes cargo carrier number three
11 / 07 / 2016
Qatar Airways Cargo became the third-largest cargo operator in the world in October 2015, said the Middle East carrier in its 2015/16 annual report.
In what it described as a record year, Qatar increased its dedicated freighter destinations to 54, adding Dallas, Budapest, Prague, Ho Chi Minh City, and New York to the network. It also increased available tonnage world-wide by double digits. In 2017, its fleet is scheduled to grow to 22 aircraft, it added.
The combination carrier transported 954,191 tonnes in fiscal year 2016, compared with 764,324 tonnes in the prior like-period.
The group as a whole announced a near-tripling of operating profits to QAR3bn and a net profit of QAR1.6bn.
The group reduced its expenses 1.5% and increased its cash and bank balance from QAR5.5bin to QAR12bn, despite the growth in operations and an adverse movement in foreign currency exchange.
It added 13 new passenger destinations and now reaches 150 places on six continents.
As well as daily flights to Los Angeles and Sydney, new routes added included Abha (Saudi Arabia), Amsterdam, Birmingham (UK), Boston, Durban, Faisalabad (Pakistan), Los Angeles, Multan (Pakistan), Nagpur (India), Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), Sialkot (Pakistan), Sydney, and Zanzibar.
The airline was also the launch customer for the Airbus A350XWB, and which now serves North America, Europe and Asia. It also took delivery of its 25th Boeing 787 Dreamliner – it now operates 29 of the type as well as its 50th Boeing 777.
