This is not the first time Qatar Airways is indicating interest in IndiGo. Previously, the carrier showed similar interest back in 2019, however, nothing much materialise back then. According to Al Baker, it was not the right time.
Mr. Al Baker told the media, “Profitability, and efficiency are main criteria of our investment. IndiGo is the largest and most efficient Indian airline, which is why we are interested in them. And India remains strategically an important market for Qatar Airways.”

Earlier this year, Qatar Airways increased the frequency of flights to Sao Paulo and expanded its codeshare agreement with LATAM Airlines Brazil. It seeks to optimised connectivity for both airlines to and from Asian destinations.
Passengers of LATAM Airline Brazil will hugely benefit from Qatar Airways’ expansion to 10 weekly flights to and from Sao Paulo. Additionally, the passengers will be able to book eight Qatar Airways’ destinations. These destinations include Hong Kong, Bangkok, Maldives, Nairobi, Seoul and Tokyo. It is reported that there will also be additional flights to Baku, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

In January, Qatar Airways Cargo, which is one of the world’s leading air cargo carriers, took delivery of three new Boeing 777 Freighters last week. This will take the carrier’s total freighter fleet count to 30 freighters. Its fleet consists of two Boeing 747 freighters, 24 Boeing 777 Freighters and four Airbus A330 freighters.

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Even though Sustainable Aviation Fuels are very costly at this moment, carriers worldwide are carrying out trials as they look to reduce their environmental impact.

Captain Waleed Al Alawi, acting chief executive of Gulf Air told the media, “This lower emission flight marks the beginning of our journey into our future strategy to explore the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in our aircraft and standing by our commitment to lower our carbon emissions… We are exploring potentials and possibilities of the use of sustainable aviation fuel for a better tomorrow for the generations to come and for our planet.”

Earlier this year, Gulf Air expanded its codeshare agreement with UAE-based carrier Etihad Airways. Both parties have signed a Strategic Commercial Cooperation Agreement (SSCA) which is subject to regulatory approval.

The new agreement will allow both Etihad and Gulf Air to optimise connectivity and schedules for flights between Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Bahrain. It will also help develop a seamless customer experience when traveling between Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom.

The agreement was signed by Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer at Etihad Aviation Group, and Captain Waleed AlAlawi, Gulf Air’s Acting chief executive officer.

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Now, Qatar Airways’ passengers can seamlessly travel to and from Canada. Air Canada passengers will also benefit from being able to book travel on Qatar Airways’ flights to Doha and onwards to more than 75 destinations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

With regard to the codeshare agreement with Air Canada, Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker told the media, “We are delighted to secure this strategic codeshare agreement with Air Canada to provide our travellers with a seamless journey to and from Toronto with excellence in state-of-the-art and sustainable aircraft, safety, comfort and onboard service.”

“The agreement will increase choices for thousands of passengers and allows for smooth connectivity to a significant number of new destinations – particularly throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East. By harnessing our complementary strengths, this agreement will also provide benefits to aid the recovery of international travel.”

Recently, Qatar Airways announced that it will fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft three times a week to Abuja, Nigeria via Lagos from November 27, 2020. By mid-December, Qatar Airways aims to fly 65 weekly flights to destinations across Africa, including Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Lagos, Mogadishu, Nairobi, Seychelles, Tunis, and Zanzibar.

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Emirates said in a statement that the deal would allow the carrier to boost its connectivity through its gateways in Johannesburg and Cape Town to more than 25 domestic and regional destinations in South Africa.

Tim Clark, the President of Emirates airline told the media, “Emirates is pleased to partner with Airlink on a new interline agreement that will help us strengthen our presence and give customers more choice, flexibility and enhanced connections across 45 cities in Southern Africa. We are committed to our operations in South Africa, as we continue to look at ways to build our extended network for customers, and help them benefit with diverse travel options.”

Clark added that the agreement was the first step of future cooperation as Emirates is looking to explore further opportunities to widen the scope of our partnership in the future.

Last month, Emirates announced that it has resumed operations to more African destinations from October 1, 2020. The carrier now flies to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban in South Africa and Harare in Zimbabwe and Mauritius.

This means Emirates now operates to 92 destinations in total in October.

Emirates also secured regulatory approval to operate flights to Tel Aviv, Israel. The services are expected to start in January next year.

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Paul Kear, senior vice president technical at Etihad Airways told the media, “Etihad Airways is proud to have partnered with the GCAA to be the first airline in the UAE to use electronic technical logs in airline’s fleet. This initiative supports Etihad’s innovation and sustainability goals, which are core values for the airline, Abu Dhabi, and the UAE. The digitalisation of Etihad’s technical logs will go a long way towards enhancing the operational efficiency and airworthiness of its fleet and this is a monumental step forward for aviation in the UAE.”

The implementation of eTech logs will help Etihad provide real-time data capture that can be shared with multiple stakeholders, from the air to the ground. It will also help the carrier increase operational efficiency and at the same time reduce delays and save costs.

HE Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the GCAA told the media, “The GCAA have approved Etihad to implement electronic technical logs for their Boeing 777 freighters. This is a historic achievement not just for Etihad but for the aviation industry in the UAE. This initiative supports the GCAA’s vision for paperless operations and we thank Etihad Airways for their pioneering efforts.”

Etihad Airways recorded losses of around $758 million during the first six months of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It carried around 3.5 million passengers during the first half of this year compared to 8.2 percent a year ago.

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Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a joint venture between the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air and Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ. While Wizz Air owns 49 percent of the new airline, ADQ owns the remaining 51 percent. The carrier received national carrier status only recently.

Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, told the media, “Today is another great landmark to celebrate. With the arrival of our first aircraft to Abu Dhabi we have made an important step on our journey towards starting our operations and developing our presence in Abu Dhabi. We contribute to the local economic diversity while offering ever more affordable travel opportunities on our low fare network. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s new state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft, as well as our enhanced protective measures, will ensure the best possible sanitary conditions for travellers.”

Reportedly, the A321neo also offers significant environmental benefits with nearly a 50 percent reduction in noise footprint compared to its predecessors.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announced in July that it will commence flights to six routes from Abu Dhabi starting 1 October 2020.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has already started offering tickets on its website wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app, with fares starting at AED 129.

The six destinations that the carrier will fly to are Kutaisi, Odessa, Alexandria, Athens, Larnaca and Yerevan.

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Etihad Airways carried around 3.5 million passengers during the first half of this year compared to 8.2 percent a year ago.

Last month, Etihad Airways announced a codeshare agreement with Abu Dhabi’s first low-cost airline, Air Arabia A

The new agreement will allow its customers to book Etihad flights in conjunction with Air Arabia Abu Dhabi services, connecting its global route network beyond the UAE capital to new airline’s routes.

According to reports in the media, Etihad plans to add further codeshare destinations to the partnership.

Last month, the UAE-based national carrier also resumed its services to Shanghai.

the airline announced in a statement, “The service will operate with an initial weekly flight using a Boeing 777-300ER, featuring Business and Economy cabins.”

Etihad Airways is expected to be flying to 58 destinations worldwide this month at least on the back of easing travel restrictions, media reports said. However, this will be subject to international regulations. The carrier announced that it will build back its network covering destinations where the lockdowns have been lifted.

This means Etihad Airways will see 45 percent of its original capacity prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The carrier told the media, “Throughout July and August, subject to the lifting of international restrictions and the reopening of individual markets, the airline plans to fly to 58 destinations worldwide from its Abu Dhabi hub.”

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The carrier has launched an international arbitration against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

The four nations banned Qatar Airways back in June 2017 when they cut all ties with Qatar and imposed an air, land and sea blockade on it over accusations of supporting terrorism.

Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways chief executive officer told the media, “The decision by the blockading states to prevent Qatar Airways from operating in their countries and flying over their airspace is a clear breach of civil aviation conventions and several binding agreements they are signatories to.”

“After more than three years of efforts to resolve the crisis amicably through dialogue yielded no results, we have taken the decision to issue Notices of Arbitration and pursue all legal remedies to protect our rights and secure full compensation for the violations. The blockading states must be held accountable for their illegal actions in the aviation sector, which includes a failure to comply with their obligations under bilateral agreements, multilateral agreements and international law,” he added.

Qatar Airways also announced its plans to reshuffle its fleet and also retire the Boeing 777 aircraft by 2024 which are a backbone of its fleet. The 777s will be replaced with the newer, bigger 777 models that are known collectively as 777X.

According to Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker, the decision is part of a strategy to cut emissions.

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The carrier will fly two new Airbus A321 neo aircraft.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has already started offering tickets on its website wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app, with fares starting at AED 129.

The six destinations that the carrier will fly to are Kutaisi, Odessa, Alexandria, Athens, Larnaca and Yerevan.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, which is a joint venture between the Hungarian low-cost airline and Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ, was approved as a national carrier by the UAE cabinet earlier in June.

George Michalopoulos, CCO of Wizz Air told the media, “Wizz Air is committed to growing the airline’s network to the capital of the United Arab Emirates

“Our new sanitising protocols will give our customers the confidence that they can safely rely on Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares to visit Abu Dhabi onboard one of the world’s greenest fleets. Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares and route network will contribute to the further growth of Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector,” he added.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, another UAE-based carrier Emirates has announced that it will reduce its workforce by 15 percent, which means around 6000 Emirates employees might lose their job.

Emirates President Tim Clark revealed that same during an interview with BBC.

Last week, it was reported that the Dubai headquartered carrier will also lay off 700-800 pilots in addition to the 600 it already let go of last month.

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Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Qatar Airways planned to expand its fleet has ordered aircraft worth billions of dollars. However, the pandemic has forced the carrier to rethink its future plans.

Qatar Airways said that it has no room for new aircraft and will instead shrink its fleet of around 200 jets.

“We had bought it for a particular airline in which we had invested and we have withdrawn our investment from that airline, so we will not require anymore the 737 MAXs,” Al Baker told Sky News.

“Quite a lot of (deliveries) will be deferred. We have already notified both Boeing and Airbus that we will not be taking any aeroplanes this year or next year. All the other aircraft that we have on order that were supposed to be delivered to us within the next two or three years, will now be pushed back to as long as nearly eight to 10 years. We have already informed Boeing that we will have to replace them with some other type of aeroplanes,” he added.

He further said that if Airbus and Boeing do not oblige Qatar Airways’ requirements, the carrier will then have to review its long-term business relationship with them.

Reportedly, the carrier placed an order for 200 Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

Media reports from last month suggested that Qatar Airways in talks with several banks as well to acquire a loan to help it survive the coronavirus crisis.

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