Qatar Airways to permanently halve A380 fleet

Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int’l) is planning to operate at most five A380-800s once it reactivates them, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said during a CAPA Live event. “[The A380 is] one of the worst aircraft, when it comes to emissions, that is flying around today… Even when we operate [our A380s], we will only operate half of the numbers we have,” Al Baker said. He added that due to the slump in demand, the Qatari carrier has no plans to reactivate any the double-decker jets for the foreseeable future. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the carrier owns its fleet of ten A380-800s which are 5.5 years old on average. All have been parked at Doha Hamad Int’l since late March or early April. As of this posting, the airline has not filed any schedules for the type for the foreseeable future. Al Baker indicated that the carrier would be open to selling the aircraft, although the likelihood of a second-hand market for the A380s emerging in the future is low. The only carrier to have ever operated a pre-owned unit of the type, Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int’l), retired it in late 2020 after 18 months of service. Instead of relying on the fuel-guzzling quadjets, Qatar Airways plans to build its post-COVID network around much more fuel-efficient B787s and A350s, Al Baker added. The carrier operates thirty B787-8s, seven B787-9s, thirty-four A350-900s, and nineteen A350-1000s. Al Baker, in particular, praised the A350-1000s for the type’s efficiency. The airline has a further twenty-three A350-1000s, eighteen B787-8s, and five -9s on firm orders from the manufacturers, although it also plans to add more B787-9s from the lessors. Qatar Airways’ future widebody fleet will also include B777Xs as it has ten B777-8s and fifty B777-9s on firm order from Boeing.