Qatar Airways Group achieved 7.08 billion riyals in post-tax profit
Qatar Airways Group announced that in the 2025/2026 financial year it achieved a post-tax profit of 7.08 billion Qatari riyals, or 1.94 billion US dollars. According to the company's official announcement, this is a result that management interprets as confirmation of the resilience of its business model in a year marked by strong demand, but also by disruptions in the final part of the accounting period. The financial year to which the report refers lasted from April 2025 to March 2026, and during that period the group operated through passenger air transport, cargo transport, activities at Hamad International Airport and related commercial operations. The company also emphasized that the results were achieved despite geopolitical circumstances which, according to its report, closed Qatari airspace at the end of the year and significantly restricted operations.
According to Qatar Airways Group's annual report, operating profit reached 15.2 billion Qatari riyals, which the company describes as the highest operating profit in its history. Total revenue amounted to 83.75 billion Qatari riyals, and the carrier stated that it transported more than 41.8 million passengers during the year. The cargo segment retained an important role in the group's results: according to data from the company and the Qatari state news agency QNA, Qatar Airways Cargo transported more than 1.43 million tonnes of chargeable cargo weight and reached a 12 percent share of the global air cargo market. These data show that the business did not rely only on passenger traffic, but also on a strong position in global supply chains.
Result weaker than the record year, but with record operating profit
The profit of 7.08 billion Qatari riyals is lower than the record profit of 7.85 billion Qatari riyals that the group announced for the 2024/2025 financial year. According to Qatar Airways' official announcement from last year, that result was the strongest in the company's history and represented growth of more than 28 percent compared with the previous year. In the new report, the emphasis is different: Qatar Airways Group points out that profitability was preserved in circumstances that required network adjustment, capacity management and the maintenance of operations through the hub in Doha.
This relationship between net profit and operating profit is important for understanding the results. Net profit shows how much the group earned after all costs and tax effects, while operating profit indicates the strength of the core business. According to the annual report, it is precisely the operating profit of 15.2 billion Qatari riyals that is record-breaking, which means that the company's core activities were very strong during most of the year. At the same time, the lower final profit compared with the previous year shows that the disruptions at the end of the financial period had a visible impact on the overall picture.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Hamad Al-Khater said in the official announcement that the 2025/2026 financial year required the company to show "the best of what it can achieve" and "the depth of what it can withstand". According to him, the results speak of a strong balance sheet, operational quality, a partner network and employees who maintained standards in challenging conditions. The company states that the group employs more than 57,800 people in more than 90 countries, and Al-Khater particularly highlighted the employees who managed crisis circumstances in the final weeks of the financial year.
Passenger traffic remained above 41 million passengers
Qatar Airways transported more than 41.8 million passengers in the 2025/2026 financial year, according to the group's official report. By comparison, in the 2024/2025 financial year the company reported 43.1 million passengers, which means that traffic in the new period was somewhat lower, but still remained at a high level for a global carrier that relies on connections and international long-haul routes. The announcement highlights that the company maintained extensive global connectivity through Hamad International Airport in Doha, which is a key point for its model of connecting continents.
The importance of Doha in Qatar Airways' business model stems from Qatar's position between major markets in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Other major Gulf carriers use a similar model, whereby a large network of international flights relies on a central airport and a high share of transfer passengers. This is why disruptions in airspace and changes in routes are particularly sensitive for carriers that generate a large part of their revenue from network connectivity, and not only from direct traffic to a single destination. In the new report, Qatar Airways states that it is actively rebuilding its global network, relying on financial strength and partnership relations.
The company also highlighted operational reliability. According to the official announcement, Qatar Airways achieved 86 percent on-time departures and arrivals, which, according to the company's statements, placed it among the five most punctual air carriers in the world. For such an operational result, the carrier received the Cirium Platinum Award for Operational Excellence, an award given on the basis of reliability and operational performance indicators. For passengers, such indicators are not only a promotional mark, but affect connections, total travel duration and schedule stability in the event of disruptions.
Cargo traffic remained one of the key pillars of the business
Qatar Airways Cargo continued to have an important role in the group's business. According to QNA and Qatar Airways' official announcement, the cargo division transported more than 1.43 million tonnes of chargeable weight and maintained a 12 percent global market share. In its annual overview, the company also states the broader figure of more than 2.8 million tonnes of cargo transported, which shows the scale of cargo activities within the group. The difference between individual formulations stems from the way cargo indicators are presented in reports, but both figures confirm that the cargo segment remained one of the important sources of revenue and operational stability.
Air cargo is particularly important for higher-value goods, products sensitive to delivery deadlines, pharmaceutical shipments and parts of global supply chains that cannot wait for slower maritime transport. In the previous financial year, according to the company's announcement for 2024/2025, Qatar Airways Cargo recorded revenue growth of 17 percent and the best financial results since the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new report, the cargo segment is again mentioned as an area in which the group confirms international competitiveness. Such continuity is important because air cargo often softens fluctuations in the passenger market, especially in periods when routes or capacities are changing.
For Qatar Airways, cargo traffic is not a separate supplementary activity, but part of a broader strategy of using the network, fleet and position of Doha. The same aviation system that enables passengers to be connected between continents also enables the rapid distribution of goods. In circumstances when certain maritime or air routes are exposed to pressure, air cargo gains additional importance because it enables companies to use alternative delivery routes. This is precisely why the data on the cargo division's market share have broader significance than the financial result of a single company.
Large aircraft orders and investment in the fleet
One of Qatar Airways' most important strategic moves in the period around the publication of the results was a large order of aircraft and engines. According to the company's official announcement, Qatar Airways agreed with Boeing on an order for up to 210 wide-body aircraft, of which 160 are firm orders and 50 are options. According to Qatar Airways, the order includes the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 777-9, and the company described it as the largest aircraft order in its history. Boeing's part of the agreement was also presented in announcements as the largest wide-body aircraft order in the history of the American manufacturer.
In the same package, Qatar Airways agreed with GE Aerospace on more than 400 engines, including 60 GE9X engines and 260 GEnx engines, with additional options and spare engines. GE Aerospace stated in its own announcement that this is the largest purchase of wide-body aircraft engines in that company's history. Such agreements are long-term in character because wide-body aircraft orders are delivered over several years, and fleet decisions determine capacity, fuel consumption, maintenance costs and the route network far beyond a single financial year.
For Qatar Airways Group, this order has both a symbolic and a business dimension. Symbolically, it confirms the intention for the carrier to retain its position among the largest global network companies. In business terms, it directs the fleet toward newer models designed for long-haul operations and greater efficiency. In aviation, where fuel, maintenance and crew costs are among the largest items, fleet modernization can be crucial for margins and competitiveness. However, the benefits of such orders depend on delivery deadlines, the condition of production chains and the company's ability to align capacity with demand.
Starlink, awards and passenger experience as part of the commercial strategy
In its report for 2025/2026, Qatar Airways particularly highlights investments in passenger experience, including the availability of Starlink internet connectivity on the wide-body fleet. According to the company's announcement, the carrier operates the first and largest wide-body aircraft fleet equipped with Starlink, with connectivity on Boeing 777, Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The annual report also states that more than 14 million passengers were connected via Starlink.
In 2025, the company was again named the best airline in the world by Skytrax, for the ninth time, Qatar Airways states in its announcement. Hamad International Airport was highlighted as the best airport in the Middle East for the eleventh consecutive year, while Qatar Duty Free received recognition for the best airport shopping for the third consecutive year, according to the same statements. Such awards are not financial indicators in themselves, but they are important in market positioning because they influence the perception of service, especially among passengers on long international routes and in business class.
Competition in the premium segment is extremely strong, especially among major carriers connecting Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and North America. Cabin service, the quality of connections, reliability, digital services and airport facilities are increasingly important elements of the overall offer. Qatar Airways therefore presents its financial results not only through profit, but also through operational and customer indicators.
Geopolitical disruptions remain the main risk for Gulf carriers
Qatar Airways states in its official materials that the final part of the financial year was marked by a geopolitical disruption that closed Qatari airspace and significantly restricted operations. Such circumstances particularly affect carriers whose model is based on a global hub, because even short-term restrictions can affect a large number of routes, connections, crews and aircraft schedules. When routes are extended or temporarily restricted, operating costs rise, fleet flexibility decreases and pressure on customer support increases.
The Wall Street Journal, citing the company's results, reported that Qatar Airways' annual net profit fell by 9.9 percent to 1.94 billion dollars and that the result was affected by disruptions in air traffic connected with the war in the Middle East, the closure of airspace and rising fuel prices. These statements further explain why Qatar Airways emphasized resilience in its announcement, and not only the absolute level of profit. For airlines, fuel and operational restrictions are direct costs that can quickly change profitability, even when travel demand is strong.
Qatar Airways' management says that the global network is being actively rebuilt. According to Hamad Al-Khater in the official announcement, the company is doing this with reliance on a strong balance sheet and partnership relations that proved important in crisis circumstances. Such a statement points to a strategy of gradual capacity restoration, and not to a one-off recovery.
What the results mean for the broader aviation market
Qatar Airways Group's results fit into the broader picture of the aviation industry after the pandemic period, but also show that strong demand does not eliminate structural risks. Large international carriers have increased capacities again in recent years, invested in fleets and rebuilt networks, but at the same time they face higher costs, supply chain constraints, geopolitical risks and volatile fuel prices. Qatar Airways maintained profitability and achieved record operating profit in such conditions, but net profit still fell compared with the record previous year.
For competition in the Gulf aviation space, the result is significant because it confirms the continuation of strong investment in intercontinental traffic. Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad have different strategies and network sizes, but all three carriers use the geographical position of the region as an advantage in connecting long routes. In the new report, Qatar Airways says that it is not giving up on growth: the large aircraft order, investment in digital connectivity and a strong cargo segment show that the company is counting on long-term expansion, despite short-term risks.
The most important message of the published figures is not only that Qatar Airways Group achieved 7.08 billion Qatari riyals in profit, but that profitability was maintained in a year in which both the peak of commercial strength and the sensitivity of global aviation to disruptions were visible at the same time. The company enters a new period with more than 300 aircraft in the group, large orders for the future, a strong cargo business and the ambition to continue connecting global markets through Doha. How much that plan will translate into further growth will depend on the stability of airspace, demand on long-haul routes, deliveries of new aircraft and the group's ability to maintain the operational reliability it now highlights as one of its main advantages.
Sources:
- Qatar Airways Group – official announcement of financial results for 2025/2026 and key operational indicators (link)
- Qatar Airways Group – 2026 annual report with an overview of the period from April 2025 to March 2026 (link)
- Qatar News Agency – report on Qatar Airways Group's profit, passenger and cargo traffic (link)
- Qatar Airways Group – announcement of results for the 2024/2025 financial year for comparison with the previous record period (link)
- Qatar Airways Group – official announcement of the order for up to 210 Boeing aircraft and the agreement with GE Aerospace (link)
- GE Aerospace – announcement of the agreement with Qatar Airways for more than 400 GE9X and GEnx engines (link)
- Wall Street Journal – report on the fall in net profit and the impact of disruptions in air traffic on the company's results (link)