A Qatar Airways flight departs from Hamad International Airport in Doha on July 20, 2017.
STRINGER | AFP | Getty Images
The chief executive of a flagship airline in the Middle East said the requirement for Covid-19 vaccinations was likely to be a trend in air travel as the industry sought to return due to the impact of the coronavirus. pandemic.
“Yes, in the short term, I think the vaccine passport will be useful in giving both governments and passengers in our industry confidence to start traveling again,” Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker told Hadley Gamble on Tuesday told CNBC.
Asked if vaccinations would become a “necessity” to fly, Al Baker said: “I think that will be the trend at first, because the world needs to open up people to have confidence in air travel.”
“I think it will be a trend that will happen until such a time that people are sure that there is a proper cure, or proper treatment for this very serious pandemic that we are facing today,” he added.
The idea of vaccination passports is driven by many governments and industries, and proponents say it will make travel safer. Critics argue, however, that it could exacerbate inequality and access for people from countries further behind in their vaccination campaigns.
Asked who should carry out the vaccination passport process, the CEO said: “In my opinion, it should be led by IATA (the International Air Transport Association) … I have full confidence that IATA will address the issues before the industry. ‘
The conversation with Al Baker took place in conjunction with the launch of Qatar Airways’ first fully vaccinated Covid-19 flight on an A350-1000.
The ‘flight to nowhere’ will remain within the Qatar airspace and incorporate the company’s new hygiene and safety features, including ‘zero-touch’ in-flight entertainment technology. It will only transport passengers and crew members who have been vaccinated against the virus that has turned the world economy on its head and bankrupted so many airlines over the past year.
The airline does not yet have plans to order all passengers to be vaccinated.
Oil prices recover
After the Gulf states collapsed in the spring of 2020 due to the fall in oil prices, crude oil gradually climbed due to a mix of supply and demand dynamics, as well as long-term production cuts in OPEC.
But Al Baker refutes the idea that its airline relies on the oil revenues that sustain the Gulf economies.
“We are a commercial entity, we have profitability of our passengers, our cargo we transport, we do not rely on oil prices,” he said. “The only thing we (are) relying on is to have oil prices at a reasonable level so that it can help reduce operating costs.”
The international benchmark for Brent crude has been trading at $ 63 a barrel in London since Tuesday morning, 22% higher than the previous year, a level that is sustainable for the company, according to Qatar Airways’ CEO.
“I think the oil price at $ 60-65 dollars a barrel is reasonable to return to a sustained profitability,” he said.
Return from air travel?
Qatar Airways, like so many others, was hit hard when air travel almost came to a standstill in the first few months of the pandemic.
Last year, he received a $ 2 billion bailout from his owner, the host state of Qatar. The Gulf Monarchy’s small flagship service posted a record $ 1.9 billion loss for the 2019-2020 financial year due to the virus crisis and the then blockade by a group of Arab Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia, which ended in January .
Al Baker said he is confident his airline will bounce back; it is currently rebuilding its network to handle more than 1,200 flights to more than 140 destinations per week by summer. However, IATA does not predict that air travel will return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.