2023-07-19 19:59:00
Air traffic has picked up once more in Europe. Qatar Airways is continuing its network of French territory. After reopening its link between Nice and Doha in May, the company will launch two new lines in July linking Toulouse and Lyon to its capital.
The first passengers landed a few days ago in the pink city and will follow one another at the rate of four flights per week to Paris. Qatar Airways already operates 18 weekly flights from Roissy airport. The company plans to announce a fifth line soon, proof of its interest in France.
Qatar Airways would like to go faster, but it suffers like most of its competitors from aircraft delivery delays. The aeronautics sector has remained disrupted since the post-covid recovery, with shortages of components, but also of personnel.
Qatar Airways also hopes to attract passengers from France to supply its Doha HUB, which serves 160 cities around the world. The ban on overflights imposed on Western companies favors those of the Gulf for links to Asia.
Qatar Airways follows in the footsteps of Emirates
It is true that the success of the company from the United Arab Emirates has something to envy. Emirates has once once more become the world number one for international long-haul traffic. In one year, its turnover has jumped by 81% and its profit has exceeded 2.5 billion in profit.
It is almost three and a half times that of Air France-KLM in 2022. The group transported more than 43 million passengers, 12 million less than in 2019 but it has caught up with the rise in prices. The company, which had lost 6 billion euros in two years due to the covid crisis, took advantage of the enthusiasm of tourists for the city of Dubai.
Emirates is well placed to benefit from the resumption of international traffic, especially since it was one of the few with Air France-KLM not to postpone its aircraft orders during the crisis.
The success of Emirates also gives ideas to Saudi Arabia, which wants to launch a second national airline, Riyadh Air, alongside Saudia. It is targeting 100 destinations by 2030. Riyadh Air has already placed an order last March for 39 Boeing Dreamliners with an option to order another 33 more.
Gulf companies strike back
The Gulf companies are above all seeking to take advantage of the recovery in traffic in a context of increased competition. Emirates and Qatar Airways are seeing competitors with long teeth emerging from Turkey, but also from India, while the middle classes of these countries want to taste the pleasures of long haul.
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But the Gulf is also preparing for the post-oil era with enormous ambitions in tourism. Qatar does not despair of competing with Dubai, which has become a hub for international tourism. Doha would like to capitalize on the last World Cup. It expects to attract more than 6 million international visitors by 2030, including tourists from Lyon, Toulouse or Nice.
Pierrick Fay
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