Qatar Airways Group CEO Hamad Ali Al-Khater during the interview with Bloomberg TV
Doha, Qatar: Jet fuel prices have seen a 90% increase since the beginning of the year, but Qatar Airways has not yet passed on the rise in costs to customers, said the Qatar Airways Group CEO Hamad Ali Al-Khater.
Al-Khater was speaking about the impact of the spike in oil and jet fuel prices on airlines during an interview with Bloomberg TV, live from Qatar Economic Forum in New York.
Al-Khater said that jet fuel is about $182 per barrel today, adding that this represents an increase of about 90% from February 28, 2026 [when the Iran-US conflict began]. He added that the airline has an integrated group looking at fuel optimisation and fuel efficiencies. "We are not passing on that cost to our customers at this stage of time," he said.
Al-Khater further said that the airline is looking at its business with a focus on capacity dimension, which means, "We are looking on routes that are most profitable and doubling them down. The less profitable routes, we are suspending them until demand picture recovers or pausing for a limited period of time."
He further added that this allows the airline to maintain its slots and loyal customer base. "As a result, we still have a pretty resilient picture just because it is demand-driven and people still want to travel."
Speaking about changes in passenger behaviour due to the impact of geopolitics over the last few months, Al-Khater said the airline is seeing 75% of its passengers book flight tickets within a 60-day window.
"Passengers are booking later, but demand is still pretty strong," he said, adding that the airline will soon be expanding to more than 170 destinations. [Read more]
“Geopolitics is something we deal with on a daily basis in aviation,” says Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Hamad Ali Al-Khater during the Qatar Economic Forum (@QatarEconForum) in New York, as he spoke about navigating the conflict and the crisis in the region. pic.twitter.com/HeWLzoHmce
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) September 20, 2026
When asked about having to navigate the Middle East crisis just months after being announced Group CEO in December 2025, Al-Khater described it as the single-largest crisis in its history, adding that dealing with geopolitics is something the airline does on a daily basis. He further said, "Personally speaking, it was extremely difficult, but safety, again, being paramount and passengers and our people were my priority." He added that he was incredibly proud of what the team has been able to accomplish.
