Despite the industry-wide downturn in passenger services, Qatar Airways is seeing healthy activity on its routes to the United States. The Doha-based carrier will perform at least 56 flights to eight US gateways by the middle of September, and they are all being served by its Airbus A350 aircraft. The airline feels that this is one of the best jets to deploy on long-distance operations.
Simple Flying has the opportunity to talk with Eric Odone, Qatar Airways’ Senior Vice President – Western Region. In the discussion, he said his company is fortunate to have such a diverse fleet of aircraft. The firm hasn’t been stuck with one type of aircraft. Therefore, it has been able to pick the most effective options for its routes.
Subsequently, the airline is focusing on its Airbus A350s for its long-haul routes, especially when it comes to the US. Odone said that it is one of the best planes to put on these services, due to its capacity and fuel-efficiency.
A better option against the superjumbo
Qatar Airways also holds 10 Airbus A380s. However, the businessman said that his firm felt that it would not be right to use an Airbus A380 in view of its carbon emissions. The A380 can emit 95% more CO2 per block hour, while the A350 saves around 20 tonnes of CO2 per block hour.
Odone added that there is enough volume on Qatar Airways’ services to make sure the flight is profitable. However, they are not so full that people start to feel that they are squeezed in.
The A350 isn’t only being deployed to the US. The widebody is seeing success across the globe, even to regions that are still trying to get on top of the pandemic. For instance, Qatar Airways introduces the jet on services to Brazil on May 1st, and these operations have been met with positive responses.
Helpful across the board
South America is only just showing glimpses of recovery. Yet, Odone highlights that his firm has continued to work hard to maintain connectivity to the continent.
“We are waiting for the situation to stabilize a little bit. Also, we’ve never stopped flying to Brazil all through the pandemic, and those flights are doing really, really well. We have daily to São Paulo, on our Airbus A350-1000,” Odone told Simple Flying.
“So again, it’s a consistency with aircraft. And of course, we have a very strong partnership with LATAM. So, that helped us to get people flying throughout Latin America.”
Altogether, the A350 continues to prove its effectiveness over its long-haul predecessors such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747. With several widebody aircraft being retired amid the current conditions, the A350 is emerging victorious against its counterparts.
What are your thoughts about the Airbus A350? Have you flown on the aircraft while traveling with Qatar Airways? Let us know what you think of the jet in the comment section.