Qatar Airways Group has reported the strongest financial performance in its 27-year history, announcing record profits of US$1.7 billion (QAR6.1 billion) in its annual report for the 2023/24 financial year – 39% higher than the previous year.
The airline group also reported total revenues of US$22.2 billion (QAR81 billion) for the period, representing an increase of US$1.3 billion (QAR4.7 billion) – up 6% compared to last year.
Another notable figure from the Group’s annual report is that it generated an EBITDA margin of 24% at US$5.2 billion (QAR19.1 billion) in FY 2023/24, around US$0.3 billion (QAR1.2 billion) higher than the previous year.
But perhaps the most interesting figure from the annual report is that the Group’s airline business carried more than 40 million passengers during the 2023/24 fiscal year: an increase of some 26% over the previous year.
As a result, passenger revenue increased by 19%, with a capacity increase of 21%, driven by the airline’s highest-ever load factor of 83%.
Qatar Airways Group chairman, His Excellency Engr. Saad Bin Sharida Al-Kaabi, said of the results: “This latest remarkable annual performance demonstrates Qatar Airways Group’s flexibility and resilience in successfully navigating a constantly evolving global travel industry, and indicates a strong and sustained rebound from the challenges faced by the sector in recent years.”
Other Group activity
The Group’s commercial airline activity was complemented by various other parts of the operation.
As it celebrates its milestone 20th year of operation in 2024, Qatar Airways Cargo reported an increase in market share to 7.1% in 2023/24, up by 0.04% compared to the previous financial year.
Qatar Executive (QE), the only business jet brand owned and fully integrated with a commercial airline, delivered a solid business performance in a highly competitive market. With consistent growth over the 2023/24 fiscal year, QE saw an increase in commercial charter revenue of more than 17%, with a rise in flying hours of over 21% illustrating its strong customer growth, particularly in Europe, the US and Asia.
Investments in Privilege Club, Qatar Airways’ loyalty programme, yielded results during 2023/24, with membership increasing by more than 26%. Member engagement also reached record levels, with Avios collection growing at over 50%, while Avios spend grew by 75%.
Qatar Airways’ network also grew in the 2023/24, period, to more than 170 destinations. New destinations – Al Ula, Neom and Tabuk, in Saudi Arabia; Lyon and Toulouse in France; Medan in Indonesia; and Trabzon in Turkey – were added throughout the year.
This network expansion is in addition to the resumption of operations to 14 destinations, including Bahrain, Bahrain; Birmingham, UK; Beijing, Chengdu and Chongqing, China; Davao, Philippines; Tokyo Haneda and Osaka, Japan; Marrakesh, Morocco; Nice, France; Penang, Malaysia; Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE; and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
