Qatar Airways is to expand its route network to 170 destinations within the next three years and further develop its Doha hub, but any growth will not be achieved by buying into other airlines, Akbar Al Baker, its chief executive, told the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, yesterday.
"Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 15 years of operation, currently operating a modern fleet of 109 aircraft to 113 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America and South America," said Mr Al Baker.
"Today's announcement reflects the importance Qatar Airways places on expanding its portfolio of destinations and frequency on existing routes."
However, he said the airline was focused on building its own business, and did not want to take on the financial problems of restructuring other carriers.
"Qatar Airways is not interested in an acquisition at this time", said Mr Al Baker.
"We do not just acquire loss-making entities because we are going to get it at a very good price. This year alone will see Qatar Airways take delivery of one new aircraft every 15 days, so there are plenty of opportunities to look at inducting them into service on both new and well-established routes".
He added that the airline's new international airport at Doha would receive an additional US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) over the original $15.5bn cost to accommodate its aggressive expansion.
The airport is scheduled to open in December, with further development phases completed by 2015.
Mr Al Baker also said the airline would convert up to 20 of its Airbus A330 passenger jets into freighters.
"We are in talks about the delivery schedule. It should be about 15 to 20 aircraft," he said.
His comments follow Airbus unveiling its passenger-to-freight option for the A330 at the Singapore Air Show in February. Mr Al Baker had previously threatened to buy converted Boeing 767 aircraft because of a gap in Airbus's cargo strategy.
Qatar Airways, half-owned by the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, bought a 35 per cent stake in the freight carrier Cargolux Airlines International last year.
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