The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been embarking on a modernization process that is aimed at upgrading all the infrastructure in the country to attract tourism and trade flows and develop local businesses. The country has recently introduced a new visa-free system to facilitate the influx of foreign visitors and has completed a $7.2 billion expansion for the busiest airport in the country, Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. But the country led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is now…
As international traffic is starting to show signs of a yet-sluggish recovery, airlines are doing their best to take advantage of opportunities available in the marketplace after the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a shake-up like never seen before in the airline industry. One of these companies is Qatar Airways, the…
Qatar Airways has temporarily halted deliveries of the Airbus A350 aircraft, a result of the airline's disapproval of the paint finish on the aircraft, whereby the surfaces below the paint have been deteriorating at an alarming rate. "Qatar Airways continues to experience and has witnessed a condition in which the…
Qatar Airways is finally getting its operation back to pre-pandemic levels. Beginning June 1, the airline will resume service to Atlanta four times weekly and have 12 gateways into the United States – two more than before COVID-19 disrupted the industry. The announcement also revealed increased frequency to six other…
Even as U.S. commercial airline traffic continues to sit at less than half of 2019 levels, a number of airlines have taken the opportunity to open service to new markets, grabbing unused slots and gates left behind by other airlines. Much of this activity in the U.S. has been centered…
Prolonged travel restrictions and stringent entry requirements – in response to the COVID-19 catastrophe – continue to be an impediment for airlines. Subsequently, airlines must be attentive to the fluctuations in travel demand and load factors. Recently, Qatar Airways officially announced its flight resumptions and increased flight frequencies to a…
Qatar Airways announced that it is likely to only bring back half of the A380s it has on its fleet once demand levels recover. This is five out of the 10 aircraft possessed by the Doha-based carrier At a CAPA live event held on Wednesday, January 13; Qatar Airways CEO…
Another piece of the complex geopolitical situation in the Middle East has just fallen into place: the Civil Aviation Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications of Bahrain has announced that as of Jan. 11, the airspace of the Kingdom of Bahrain will be open to Qatari-registered aircraft, the…
As international demand keeps flat during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, airlines are trying to increase their reach to find any demand possible. As such, this Monday, Qatar Airways, Qatar's state-owned flag carrier, announced in a press release it is further increasing its codeshare agreement with LATAM Airlines Brasil, Brazil's second-largest…
The travel demand slump in the airline industry is continuing into the new year as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. While airlines observe a slight rise due to the holiday season, the gains are small, marginal and temporary. Air travel demand levels are not expected to return to pre-COVID-19…
