Qatar Airways registered record $1.5 billion profits before World Cup

July 7, 2023: On Thursday, Qatar Airways reported record annual earnings after the group’s finances were supported by the FIFA World Cup hosted in Qatar last year.

Qatar Airways Group said that passenger income was up 100% during its fiscal year 2022/23, with overall earnings up to 76.3 billion Qatari riyals ($21 billion).

31.7 million passengers passed with Qatar’s flagship carrier in the last year, up 71% compared to the previous year.

The World Cup significantly boosted Qatar’s passenger figures, with the airline ferrying 1.4 million passengers to the event. The carrier was the official airline of the soccer tournament.

The airline attributed the results to a “successful procedure during an extraordinary year,” according to a press release.

The results are in lockstep with the global resurgence airlines are seeing as the post-pandemic recovery is in full swing following a turbulent few years for the sector. Emirates and Ryanair announced bumper gains in May, while easyJet and British Airways raised their profit expectations for the upcoming year.

Qatar Airways acquired a $1.95 billion government bailout in September 2020 after the state-owned group reported annual losses of more than 50% of its share capital. The carrier made heavy job cuts and delayed new aircraft as the Covid-19 pandemic slowed air travel.

Investors will be looking to see how the airline fares in the coming year, particularly with the launch of new rival Riyadh Air, which debuted in March.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said his airline “love match” when he spoke in May.

“We will compete like we have been competing all these years,” he said at the Arabian Travel Market conference in Dubai.