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Tribune News Network
Doha
People will pay more to travel by air post COVID-19 than what they used to spent on the same flights before the pandemic, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar al Baker has said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Baker said the aviation industry will not be the same after COVID-19. He said the 2008 global financial crisis saw companies stopping executives travelling first class.
After this pandemic, with virtual meetings through video conferencing and group calls becoming the new norm, business travels, which are “the bread and butter” of the aviation industry will decline.
Although Qatar Airways has announced that it would increase operations to 80 destinations by the end of June, Baker said restarting flights to the rest of the 170 destinations it was serving before the pandemic will take time.
"Nobody can predict the future... It may take two years, it may take four year, but we will get back. And we will be back to the size we were in 2019 by the will of god."
While asserting that the risk of virus transmission on board Qatar Airways is minimal due to the safety measure the airline has embraced, Baker said social distancing on the economy classes “will really not be possible”.
The chief executive said if regulators make social distancing mandatory, it will cause a “huge dent” on the operating expenses of the airlines. Depending on the magnitude of the onboard social distancing norms — like leaving a seat vacant between passengers on every row or leaving every alternate row vacant — the ticket prices will go up by as much as 300 percent, he said.
Baker said the safety measures, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, being implemented by Qatar Airways include the introduction of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits for its cabin crew. They will wear the suits along with safety goggles, gloves and a mask during flights, he said, adding that the passengers will be required to wear face coverings or masks on all its flights.
Besides, Doha’s Hamad International Airport has deployed fully autonomous disinfection robots, thermal screening and ultraviolet disinfection tunnels to sanitise passenger luggage in an effort to keep passengers and staff as safe as possible against COVID-19.
"Every measure that is required by the World Health Organisation and Qatar's Ministry of Public Health has been complied with. As a matter of fact, we have gone over and above what is required," he said.
Doha
People will pay more to travel by air post COVID-19 than what they used to spent on the same flights before the pandemic, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar al Baker has said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Baker said the aviation industry will not be the same after COVID-19. He said the 2008 global financial crisis saw companies stopping executives travelling first class.
After this pandemic, with virtual meetings through video conferencing and group calls becoming the new norm, business travels, which are “the bread and butter” of the aviation industry will decline.
Although Qatar Airways has announced that it would increase operations to 80 destinations by the end of June, Baker said restarting flights to the rest of the 170 destinations it was serving before the pandemic will take time.
"Nobody can predict the future... It may take two years, it may take four year, but we will get back. And we will be back to the size we were in 2019 by the will of god."
While asserting that the risk of virus transmission on board Qatar Airways is minimal due to the safety measure the airline has embraced, Baker said social distancing on the economy classes “will really not be possible”.
The chief executive said if regulators make social distancing mandatory, it will cause a “huge dent” on the operating expenses of the airlines. Depending on the magnitude of the onboard social distancing norms — like leaving a seat vacant between passengers on every row or leaving every alternate row vacant — the ticket prices will go up by as much as 300 percent, he said.
Baker said the safety measures, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, being implemented by Qatar Airways include the introduction of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits for its cabin crew. They will wear the suits along with safety goggles, gloves and a mask during flights, he said, adding that the passengers will be required to wear face coverings or masks on all its flights.
Besides, Doha’s Hamad International Airport has deployed fully autonomous disinfection robots, thermal screening and ultraviolet disinfection tunnels to sanitise passenger luggage in an effort to keep passengers and staff as safe as possible against COVID-19.
"Every measure that is required by the World Health Organisation and Qatar's Ministry of Public Health has been complied with. As a matter of fact, we have gone over and above what is required," he said.
