(TAN): Qatar Airways has received the delivery of its 53rd Airbus A350 on the final day of the year. The airline is the largest operator of Airbus A350 aircraft with 34 A350-900 and 19 A350-1000.
The A350-1000 is fitted with the airline’s Business Class seat, Qsuite, and will operate on strategic routes to and from Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
[ALSO READ: Feature enhanced IRCTC website launched]
Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker, said: “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we continue to invest in our fleet, operating the youngest, most fuel-efficient and technologically advanced aircraft in the skies. This strategic investment in sustainable twin-engine aircraft has enabled us to continue flying during the most challenging year in aviation’s history, helping take over 3.1 million people home since the start of the pandemic.”
Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, the airline has grounded its fleet of Airbus A380 as it is not environmentally justifiable to operate such a large, four-engine aircraft in the current market.
[ALSO READ: Carnival takes delivery of LNG-powered Mardi Gras]
The airline’s internal benchmark compared the A380 to the A350 on routes from Doha to Guangzhou, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris and Sydney. 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% more CO2 per block hour than the A350 on each of these routes. In the cases of Melbourne and New York, the A380 emitted 95% more CO2 per block hour with the A350 saving around 20 tonnes of CO2 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.
