Qatar Airways has just revealed its results for the 2023-2024 financial year (April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024), and they’re very impressive, the best in the company’s 27-year history. This follows the airline reporting record revenue the year before, and reporting a (previous) record profit the year before that.

Qatar Airways 2023-2024 financial results

Qatar Airways has had quite the year. In some ways, this was Qatar Airways’ first “normal” year since the start of the pandemic, since Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022. With that in mind, here’s a look at Qatar Airways’ results for the 2023-2024 financial year:

• Qatar Airways reported a net profit of $1.7 billion, compared to $1.21 billion the year before
• Qatar Airways reported revenue of $22.2 billion (the highest in the company’s history), compared to $21 billion the year before
• Qatar Airways carried 40 million passengers, compared to 31.7 million passengers the year before
• Qatar Airways had an 83% average load factor, compared to an 80% load factor the year before
• Qatar Airways saw passenger revenue increase by 19%, with a capacity increase of 21%
• Qatar Airways generated an EBITDA margin of 24% at $5.2 billion, which is $300 million higher than the year before

Here’s how Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer describes these results:

“These very strong financials are a testament to the ambition and clear direction that has informed the Qatar Airways Group’s progress throughout the 2023/24 financial year.”

“Our continued focus on profitability, efficiency and customer experience have been underpinned by a strategic programme of network growth and fleet expansion, resulting in the highest revenues and profit margins in the history of the airline. We also cemented our undisputed role as a key industry leader, maintaining our position as the airline of choice for millions of passengers worldwide.

“This incredible achievement is in no small part thanks to the collective endeavour of the entire Qatar Airways Group family who have worked tirelessly to achieve such stellar results. We must now use this as a foundation on which to build our continued success.”

And speaking of Al Meer, I’d say he’s the best thing that happened to Qatar Airways in the past financial year, replacing longtime previous CEO Akbar Al Baker. Al Meer has done a great job bringing some humanity back to the leadership at the airline, and he is doing a lot to help morale among staff. Hopefully that leads to even better long term results.

My take on Qatar Airways’ financial results

Qatar Airways is really coming into its own post-pandemic, in my opinion. During the pandemic, the airline did a great job maintaining global connectivity while other airlines didn’t, and the airline has maintained that momentum in recent months.

It goes without saying that these results from Qatar Airways are impressive, as the airline is setting company records in just about every way, from revenue, to profit, to load factor. Basically the only thing that hasn’t improved is yield, but that’s standard, as virtually all airlines have seen yield decrease a bit, as capacity has increased.

Now, I will note that Qatar Airways definitely lags in profitability compared to its biggest competitor, Emirates. Emirates reported a profit of $4.7 billion in the past financial year, making it one of the world’s most profitable airlines. Then again, Emirates is also significantly larger, carrying around 25% more passengers, and getting around 50% more revenue.

Let me also acknowledge that when I write about the financial performance of the Gulf carriers, there are always questions about whether this is all just imaginary math, given that the Gulf carriers are state owned. After all, going back several years, US airlines spent millions of dollars campaigning to convince us that these are all heavily subsidized airlines that light money on fire (they’ve since changed their tune).

Yes, these results are accurate, and they’re independently audited per international financial reporting standards. However, there’s no denying that the math on some things works differently for an airline like Qatar Airways than many other airlines:

• Qatar Airways has had easier access to attractive financing on account of being government owned, which has allowed the airline to become what it is
• Qatar Airways largely has lower operating costs than other airlines, given that the airline essentially has the same owner as the airport, ground handlers, catering company, etc.

So no, it’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison to look at the financial results of US carriers vs. Gulf carriers. US carriers have a lot more high yield revenue opportunities, but also have much higher costs.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways has reported its results for the past financial year, and they’re overwhelmingly positive. The airline group had record revenue, profits, load factor, and more. Global airlines are doing about as well as they ever have, given the seemingly insatiable demand for international travel.

What do you make of Qatar Airways’ financial results?