The case is being fought in a Qatar High Court. Airbus has acknowledged some flaws in the aircraft but reiterated that these jets are safe.

However, out of 53 jets, Qatar Airways has grounded some 28 aircraft. Airbus has even revoked the remaining A350 orders from the airline.

Qatar Airlines has asked Airbus to return deposits worth tens of millions of dollars. The plane maker countered it with the claims of pending credit payments from Qatar Airlines. It even asked the airline to pay $405 million as compensation.

Airbus has informed the court that it was seeking reimbursement, while Qatar Airways has accused the plane maker of trying to bring European regulators into the play. Boeing has now entered a legal battle.

Airbus revoked a deal with the airline for delivering 50 A321neo jets. While Qatar opted for Boeing 737 MAX, Boeing’s rival informed the court the MAX was as good as the A321. Despite the court asking the airline to hand over a preliminary version of the MAX contract to Airbus, Boeing objected to it.

“The disclosure of pricing information, that is dynamite,” Boeing’s lawyer told the court.

The matter will most probably be heading toward a London trial in mid-2023 if the contesting parties won’t opt for an amicable settlement.

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Launched in 2020 by IATA, the Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE) will also support local communities, protect wildlife, and contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

ACE is a centralised marketplace where airlines can identify, select, and transact voluntary carbon credits or CORSIA eligible emissions units using a secure electronic interface.

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways told the media, “We welcome the use of the IATA Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE), as it enables airlines to invest in CORSIA eligible emission reduction units, further supporting Qatar Airways’ commitment to invest in a low-carbon future, while reducing our financial risk.”

Recently, Qatar Airways and British Airways announced the next milestone in their Joint Business Partnership. British Airways have relaunched its daily services to Doha, with the airline’s first flight taking off from Gatwick last week.

In this regard, Mr. Akbar Al Baker told the media, “Expanding our Joint Business with our strategic airline partner, British Airways, is an important milestone in our ambition of providing customers access to the most extensive route network and unrivalled product.”

Now British Airways’ customers will have access to Qatar Airways’ expansive global network with connections from Doha to over 100 destinations across the world.

Qatar Airways recently started proceedings in a UK court against Airbus in a bid to resolve a dispute over skin flaws on A350 passenger jets.

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Qatar Airways Group chief executive Mr. Akbar Al Baker told the media, “We have been operating to Ukraine since August 2017 and our launch to Odesa marks a milestone in our history with the country. Odesa is rightly known as the pearl of the Black Sea and we look forward to bringing visitors from around the world to explore its rich cultural history as well as further afield along the coast and inland in the Southwest of Ukraine.”

Last month, Qatar Airways reported that it suffered losses of around $4 billion in revenues over the last fiscal year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The losses were attributed to the grounding of its Airbus A380 and A330 wide-body aircraft due to the travel restrictions and lockdown measures introduced to curb the spread of the virus.

The state-owned carrier also resumed its services to Sharjah in July. It was reported in June that the carrier will fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to Sharjah on a daily basis starting from July 1st. Qatar Airways cancelled its services to Sharjah in 2017 due to diplomatic reasons.

During that period, Qatar Airways also announced flights to Khartoum, Mykonos, Málaga, Atlanta, and Phuket. The airline has also launched its inaugural flights to Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.

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He said during a live event, “We’re looking at increasing it [the fleet]. As I mentioned right now, our focus is on surviving this whole mess. So, we’re leaving it as it is for now but in the coming years, we will be expanding.

“We’re looking at a five-year plan. And we are looking at increasing our fleets, close to doubling our fleet, in the next five years, but again, that’s based on what’s happening. We have to relook at the plans as things unfold. It’s pretty difficult to plan right now, but that’s the current plan but we have been constantly revisiting it based on what’s happening in the market.”

Currently, Rwandair’s fleet consists of 11 aircraft. The African carrier flies two A330s, a -200 and a -300, five 737 NGs, two CRJs and a couple of Dash 8s.

Earlier this month, Rwandair announced that it has entered into a partnership with Qatar’s flag carrier Qatar Airways. According to the new agreement, the two carriers will link their loyalty programmes, which will allow their respective customers to earn and spend the points of their respective carrier’s programme with the other.

In this regard, HE Mr. Akbar Al Baker, chief executive, Qatar Airways Group told the media, “Our partnership with RwandAir opens up a world of possibilities for the customers of both airlines, allowing them to discover exciting destinations.”

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According to Qatar Airways, the new flights will enable passengers flying from and to Sharjah to benefit from Qatar Airway’s extensive international network. The carrier said its flight QR1036 will depart Doha daily at 14:35 and touch down in Sharjah in the next two hours. The return flight, QR1037, will push back from Sharjah at 17:55 and arrive back in Doha at 18:05.

Qatar Airways also announced flights to Khartoum, Mykonos, Málaga, Atlanta, and Phuket. The airline has also launched its inaugural flights to Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.

According to Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker the carrier remains interested in acquiring a stake in India’s largest domestic carrier, IndiGo Airlines. The Doha-based carrier currently has a codeshare agreement with IndiGo.

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.”

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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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Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, told the media “South America is a strategically important market for Qatar Airways. We are proud to demonstrate our strong commitment to passengers travelling to and from South America by providing even more flexible travel options. By increasing Sao Paulo services to 10 weekly flights and expanding our codeshare agreement with LATAM Airlines Brazil, we will further cement our position as the airline of choice for customers travelling between Asia, the Middle East and South America.”

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. 

ATAM Brasil CEO Jerome Cadier, told the media “We are expanding connectivity and the choice of destinations for our customers. Even in a year as difficult as 2020, we are committed to offering our passengers more options to travel further with greater convenience and simplicity.”

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The 777 Freighter can fly 9,200 km and carry a payload of around 102,010 kilograms. The new aircraft are expected to boost Qatar Airways Cargo’s efficiency amid the COvid-19 pandemic. It will play a key role in operations including transportation of newly approved Covid-19 vaccines.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker told the media, “With the arrival of these new freighters, we are injecting more capacity in the market which is very much required during the pandemic. The added capacity will also enable us to support the logistics around the Covid-19 vaccination, which is projected to be one of the greatest logistical challenges for the industry. With our investments in innovation and fleet, we are able to fulfil our customers’ logistical requirements and facilitate the continuity of global trade.”

Last year, Qatar Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with Air Canada, media reports said. Sales have already started and the first codeshare flight will take off on December 15, 2020. 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.

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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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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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