Qatar Airways CEO: The Airbus A380 Was Our Biggest Mistake

The future of Qatar Airways’ fleet of 10 A380s has been in doubt for some time. Speaking to Simple Flying at the end of May, Group CEO Akbar Al Baker admits that the purchase of these jets was perhaps the biggest mistake the airline has made.

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[emurphy]

The decision to retire these aircraft is purely an economic one. The vast majority of passengers couldn't care less about CO2 emissions. And very few passengers get to choose a carrier based on the type of aircraft flown. For the majority of people the choice is going to be based on price and schedule.

[andrewadams]

I've flown in the 787 and the a350, but for me, as a passanger nothing beats the size, comfort and the quietness of the a380. Having done many very long-haul flights I have never been more comfortable as a passanger than in the a380. I will truly miss this plane, I think it was a magnificent plane. Economically, just the wrong place at the wrong time really.

[amolrotithor]

Environmental concerns are an afterthought. Qatar wouldn’t have hesitated to keep them running if they were still profitable.

[efone]

My eyes almost rolled out of my head! when I heard him talk about the environmental impact.

[drofwarcnwahs]

The whole environmental dribble coming out the CEO's mouth is pure garbage. This is purely an economic decision. The cost to operate per passenger mile is far in excess of newer plans.

[mbenidze]

It's hard to believe Al Baker cares about environmental impact and it just looks like he's trying to campaign against Emirates with this message box.

[deboochatterjee]

I’ve travelled multiple times by A380 in both business & economy class. It’s honestly one the best planes ever created. I hope most airline continue using it. However I have the same fond feelings about Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was quieter than A380

[Nemo-vgsr]

The elephant in the room: they "forgot" to mention that it is a very big plane and nowadays difficult to fill up with passangers. That's the main problem, of course. It is not more polluting per passanger/mile than the B787 or B737. In fact, what would be good for the environment is fewer smaller planes in very busy routes like the ones between Europe and the USA: it doesn't make sense to have a flight between London and New York every few minutes every day. You can carry the same number of passengers with far less flights with the A380 and still have plenty of flights to choose from. But not regulator is looking into that because the airlines are against it (it would mean less polution, less noise polution but also less flights and that would affect some airlines) By the way, neither Airbus or Boeing care about it either: their biggest successes are smaller planes like the Boeing737 and A320 so they are happy to carry on building smaller planes for ever.

[alltimeaviation]

Now and only because they decided to retire them, the CEO is talking about taking care of the environment and how environmental friendly they are versus Emirates

[yameckel]

Yeah sure, out of the sudden Qatar Airways cares about the ecological side of the A-380...
It's a purely economical decision (pretty ridiculous greenwashing coming from an airline owned by Qatar - on of the countries with the highest CO2 emission per head and living from selling oil)

[PastorMike]

“The customers love it.” That is a good sign to get rid of a product.

[BlueBull]

Being a frequent flyer before the pandemic, the A380 was simply the most comfortable, stable and quiet plane that I have flown in. I have flown Qatar Airways before but not on their A380 though.

[cbalano]

I remember that this same guy (the CEO) was very vocal a few years ago, when Airbus delayed their delivery of the first 380 to his company.

[nadeemchaudhry]

Probably the 1st and last time you will hear a Qatari complain about rising fuel costs!!
Great video as always!!

[jesterNZ]

Pitty. The A380 was probably the best most comfortable plane I've ever travelled in.

[clivepereira]

I'd like to see his carbon footprint 😂😂

[sizzlemann]

Interesting that he can make a multimillion dollar mistake like that and still remain CEO. I guess Qatar has money to burn!

[cskvision]

You know what’s also damaging to the environment? Retiring and scrapping airplanes after only 5-10 years.

[stephenphillips]

I flew one one of these a few years ago...I thought it was a wonderful, comfortable plane. Loved the flight!

[yapadqoi]

Qatar Airways A380 fleet : 10
Emirates A380 fleet : 157 (and working pretty well in their business model)

For the CEO of Qatar Airways to suggest that people should not chose the A380 is more of a competition move. I don't think he cares about the environment, he is just telling travelers: "Hey folks, don't use Emirates use us!"