Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker recently announced that they will expand their operations in Turkey thanks to solid bilateral relations between Turkey and Qatar. "Turkey has become a major destination for people in my country, and we will open two more destinations to Turkey in June," al-Baker told a group of journalists at the Eurasia Airshow, Turkey's largest aviation event currently taking place in the southern province of Antalya. "We currently fly to five destinations in Turkey and this figure will increase to seven when we open our new routes to Antalya and Bodrum in June," al-Baker said, while adding that their weekly flights will increase to 41 after adding the two new destinations.
Al-Baker also said they will start promoting Qatar in Turkey to attract more Turkish visitors. "Turkey is well promoted in Qatar but Qatar is not aggressively promoted in Turkey and we will start to do that. We will start advertising in Turkey. The people of Qatar really appreciate that Turkey has stood shoulder to shoulder with us during this very difficult time," he said.
Commenting on the ongoing regional blockade imposed by Saudi-led Gulf countries last year, al-Baker described the blockade as against international law and against international civilized behavior, while stressing that the blockade mainly failed thanks to their tremendous efforts. To counter the negative effects of the blockade, Qatar Airways has recently sought new alternatives and expanded its travel network with new international partnerships. "We've been increasing flights to Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia and increasing our network in the subcontinent, so we are going all over the place," the Qatar Airways CEO said. "We are very determined to make sure this illegal blockade is defeated," he added.
However, due to the blockade, the company has predicted substantial losses for its last financial year. "The blockade has put pressure on Qatar Airways and therefore, this year's financial results will not be good.
We had to increase our operational cost and revenue. We had to also take a hit in revenue so we don't think our results for the last financial year will be very good. I don't want to say the size of the loss, but it was substantial," the CEO said.
Despite the challenge, Qatar Airways has sought new alternatives and expanded its travel network with new international partnerships. The company recently announced that they became Air Italy's new shareholder and also signed other agreement with JetBlue Airways in the U.S. In addition, Qatar Airways owns stakes in several airlines, including Cathay Pacific and British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). However, al-Baker said they are not planning to invest in Turkish Airlines. Responding to a question regarding whether they plan to cooperate with Turkish Airlines, al-Baker said cooperation is technically not possible since the two airlines are part of different alliances, though he did say they may expand their ongoing cooperation with Turkish Technic.
When questioned about Qatar Airway's possible sponsorship agreement with the Turkish football team Beşiktaş, al-Baker said they have no more money for football. "A lot of companies and football clubs have used Qatar Airway's name to create interest in their clubs," he said.
Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and the CEO said by then, the airline will have a passenger and cargo network flying to 250 destinations. In February, the airline welcomed the Airbus A350-1000, the first company to do so in the world. The company's Airbus A350-1000 was brought to the Eurasia Airshow in Antalya and will be on display throughout the fair. The Eurasia Airshow will continue until April 29.
