Qatar Airways made a “substantial” loss in its last financial year because of a regional dispute that has banned the airline from four Arab countries, its chief executive said on Wednesday without revealing the extent of the losses.
The airline has been blocked from flying to 18 cities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt since June 2017, when those countries cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges.
“We have increased our operating costs. We had to also take a hit on revenues so we don’t think that our results for the last financial year will be very good,” chief executive Akbar Al Baker told reporters at the Eurasia Airshow in Antalya, Turkey.
“I don’t want to say the size of the loss but it was substantial.”
Other parts of the business were profitable though that was not enough to make up for the airline loss, Mr Baker said.
Qatar Airways has several subsidiaries including airport ground handling services and catering units.
The airline had warned of the loss for several months.
The state-owned airline will need another eight weeks to finalise its books and make adjustments before it announces its financial results for the year to March 31, Mr Baker said.
Qatar Airways made 1.97 billion Qatari riyals (£388 million) profit in its previous fiscal year.
Neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the UAE were popular routes for Qatar Airways, which has also been banned from the airspace of the four boycotting states.
That has forced the airline to fly longer flights on many routes to the west and south of Qatar which requires more fuel and increases costs.
Qatar Airways has no immediate plans to ask its sole shareholder, the government of Qatar, for a capital injection but may do so if the airspace ban continues and there is pressure on its debt equity ratio, Baker said.
It owns stakes in several airlines including Cathay Pacific and British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG).
Mr Baker said that when Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2022 the airline would have a passenger and cargo network of nearly 250 destinations. It currently flies to more than 150 destinations, according to its website.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
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A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
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