Qatar Airways’ profit down 21% despite World Cup

Qatar Airways Group’s net profit fell 21.4 percent year-on-year to QAR4.4 billion ($1.21 billion) in 2022-2023 despite flying more passengers for the Fifa World Cup.

The profit drop came despite revenue increasing 45 percent year-on-year to QAR76.3 billion. Passenger revenue also doubled, as capacity rose 31 percent year-on-year, driven by a load factor of 80 percent – the highest in the airline’s history, the Gulf state’s national carrier said in a statement.

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Qatar Airways resumed operations to 13 destinations including Amritsar, Beijing, Denpasar, London Gatwick, Luxor, Perth and Qassim.

Group CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “This year’s strong financial results are attributed to the strong passenger demand recovery and the team’s ability to cater to this demand.”

Profitability has been driven by a 100 percent increase in passenger revenue in the last year, he said, adding the airline carried 31.7 million passengers, 71 percent higher year-on-year.

Qatar Airways last year operated some 14,000 flights bringing more than 1.4 million football fans from six continents to Qatar.