Al Baker: Reliability key to high demand for QA – The Peninsula

Al Baker: Reliability key to high demand for QA – The Peninsula

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive H E Akbar Al Baker says the airline’s increased patronage is due to its commitment to passengers, especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau onboard the QA’s Boeing 777 300ER at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA), Al Baker said the airline’s passenger-friendly policies have attracted more customers, including many first-time users.

“During the pandemic, Qatar Airways proved itself that it was a reliable airline; we never stopped,” Al Baker said in the interview posted on the airline’s Twitter handle.

“We didn’t leave millions of passengers stranded. We carried 3.3 million passengers during the peak of COVID-19 from March to June – most of them had never used Qatar Airways before. So, this really showed them that our brand and commitment to passengers in need and we gave over $1.5bn to passengers who couldn’t travel,” he added.

In 2020, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) declared Qatar Airways the largest international carrier between April and July. The airline accounted for 17.8% of global international passenger traffic in April, its network never fell below 33 destinations, and it continued to fly to key cities including Amsterdam, Dallas-Fort Worth, London, Montréal, São Paulo, Singapore,