Qatar Airways, the world’s largest non-express scheduled air cargo carrier, announced a 25% increase in cargo income for the fiscal year ending March 31 after moving more than 3.3 million tons of goods. Volume by weight was more than double that of the previous pre-pandemic year.
The company claims it now has an 8% share of the freight market, however it is unclear how that percentage was calculated because there are no recognized independent market share rankings. Because the company’s main office is closed on Fridays, no one was accessible to explain the claim.
During the two-year COVID crisis, large cargo contributions to airline bottom lines were common, and cargo undoubtedly played a factor in the Middle East carrier’s record net profit of $1.54 billion. However, specifics are scarce because the corporation is fully controlled by the Qatari government, and its financial statements are less transparent than those of publicly-traded competitors.
Qatar Airways, for example, does not disclose its exact cargo revenue or cargo yield. It did state that tonnage climbed by 10% and cargo capacity, defined in available ton-kilometers, increased by 25% over the previous period. A chunk of the extra cargo space was attributed to the restoration of more passenger planes to the network following COVID-related cutbacks, which the business started was possible due to more accurate market recovery projections.
Qatar Airways handled 18.5 million passengers, a 218 percent increase over the previous year because it restored its network to more than 140 destinations while most international carriers maintained smaller schedules due to COVID border restrictions and poor travel demand. It now claims to be the world’s largest long-haul carrier.
Shippers continue to value transportation capacity because overall supply is still down more than 5% from pre-COVID levels due to decreased passenger operations.
The airline, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, reported that overall revenue jumped 78 percent to $14.4 billion, a significant 2 percent raise over the previous pre-COVID fiscal year and that operational profit increased 34 percent year over year. The faster tempo of passenger operations, establishing customer loyalty, and strict cost management all contributed to the excellent profitability.
In recent years, Qatar Airways has made significant investments in its medication handling skills. It has transported over 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine since the outbreak.
It began delivering real-time pricing and capacity on the Freightos internet marketplace last year. Freightos just announced that Qatar Airways is one of its top investors, contributing an additional $10 million in cash.
There are 26 Boeing 777-200 widebody freighters and two 747-400s in the cargo fleet.
