Qatar Airways announced on October 22 that it has taken delivery of three more Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, reaffirming its position as the largest operator of Airbus A350 aircraft with 52 in its fleet.
According to the airline, all three A350-1000 are fitted with the airline’s multi award-winning Business Class seat Qsuite, and will operate on strategic long-haul routes to Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said, “Qatar Airways is one of the few global airlines to have never stopped flying throughout this crisis”.
“As one of the only airlines to continue taking delivery of new aircraft at this time, our strategic investment in modern, fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft has enabled us to continue flying taking over 2.3 million people home on more than 37,000 flights since the start of the pandemic. Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, we will continue to fly greener and smarter by keeping our fleet of Airbus A380 grounded, as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market”.
“Environmentally conscious passengers can travel with the reassurance that Qatar Airways continuously monitors the market to assess both passenger and cargo demand to ensure it operates the most efficient aircraft on each route”.
As per the airline, passengers travelling on-board Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art Airbus A350-1000s can enjoy:
- The widest cabin body of any class with larger windows creating an extra spacious feel
- The widest seats of any aircraft in its category with generous room in all classes
- Advanced air system technology including HEPA filters which deliver optimal cabin air quality, renewing air every two-to-three minutes for more comfort and less fatigue
- LED mood lighting which mimic a natural sunrise and sunset to help reduce the effects of jet lag
- The quietest cabin of any twin-aisle aircraft that includes a draft-free air circulation system resulting in a low ambient cabin noise level for a more peaceful journey
The airline’s internal benchmark compared the A380 to the A350 on routes from Doha to London, Guangzhou, Frankfurt, Paris, Melbourne, Sydney and New York. On a typical one-way flight, the airline found the A350 aircraft saved a minimum of 16 tonnes of carbon dioxide per block hour compared to the A380.
The analysis found that the A380 emitted over 80 percent more carbon-dioxide per block hour than the A350 on each of these routes. In the cases of Melbourne and New York the A380 emitted 95 percent more carbon-dioxide per block hour with the A350 saving around 20 tonnes of carbon-dioxide per block hour.
“Until passenger demand recovers to appropriate levels, Qatar Airways will continue to keep its A380 aircraft grounded, ensuring it only operates commercially and environmentally responsible aircraft”, the airline said.
For environmentally conscious passengers, the airline assured that Qatar Airways continuously monitors the market to assess both passenger and cargo demand to ensure it operates the most efficient aircraft on each route.
”Rather than being forced to fly oversized aircraft due to limited aircraft options, reducing the flexibility for passengers to travel when they want, Qatar Airways has a variety of sustainable aircraft it can select from to offer more flights with the right capacity in each market”, it said.
As per the airline, passengers can also rely on Qatar Airways to operate its scheduled flights with its mixed fleet providing it the agility to maintain services and just upgrade or downgrade aircraft depending on passenger demand.
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