Qatar Airways retires A330 fleet, sends pilots to RwandAir
Qatar Airways has withdrawn its remaining Airbus A330 passenger jets and is placing flight crews with RwandAir, as Gulf aviation disruptions and higher fuel costs accelerate the retirement of older aircraft.
Qatar Airways has retired its last Airbus A330 passenger aircraft and started sending flight crews to RwandAir, Rwanda's flag carrier. A Reuters report cited by the Spanish aviation outlet Aviacion al Dia ties both moves to operational disruption across Gulf aviation and to jet fuel prices that have doubled during the conflict in Iran.
The Doha-based carrier had taken four leased A330 twinjets from Oman Air last year and planned to keep them in service into 2026. The aircraft never flew commercial services for Qatar Airways, and their withdrawal ends the carrier's A330 operations. They are parked at storage sites in Teruel, Spain, and in Doha.
Two A330s parked in Doha under a contract with the leasing company Jetran will be returned to the lessor in October.
According to the report, the fuel price rise has ended the industry's post-COVID practice of keeping older jets to meet travel demand. Sector analysts cited in the account said leaving such aircraft on the ground costs significantly less than flying them at current crude prices.
As of March, the A330s made up 7 percent of Qatar Airways' passenger fleet. The airline's passenger fleet totals 239 commercial aircraft, alongside 30 freighters from the Airbus and Boeing families.
Sources
- aviacionaldia.comQatar Airways retira de su flota el Airbus A330 y envía pilotos a RwandAir ante el impacto del conflicto en Irán
- aerotelegraph.comQatar Airways lässt Airbus-A330-Piloten bei Rwandair fliegen