Qatar Airways announced that it has taken delivery of three additional Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. They will be deployed on long-haul routes to Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

The carrier is the largest operator of Airbus A350 aircraft with a fleet of 52 aircraft, including this delivery. “As one of the only airlines to continue taking delivery of new aircraft at this time, our strategic investment in modern, fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft has enabled us to continue flying, taking over 2.3 million people home on more than 37,000 flights since the start of the pandemic,” Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said. 

Qatar Airways found out that the A380 emitted over 80% more CO2 per block hour than the A350 on the routes it services. “Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, we will continue to fly greener and smarter by keeping our fleet of Airbus A380 grounded, as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market,” Al Baker commented.

With Qatar Airways expecting to keep the Airbus A380 grounded for at least two years due to low demand, the carrier prefers to operate the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, two more efficient alternatives for the long-haul market. “Until passenger demand recovers to appropriate levels, Qatar Airways will continue to keep its A380 aircraft grounded, ensuring it only operates commercially and environmentally responsible aircraft,” the carrier said.

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Qatar Airways could keep its A380 grounded for two more years
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways CEO, said a return to service of the Airbus A380 would be unlikely for at least two years, as he did not expect demand to recover in that timeframe.