Speaking to Bloomberg TV ahead of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York on Sunday, Hamad Al-Khater did not mince words: "It was our single largest crisis in our history." He added, "But geopolitics is something we deal with on daily basis."
He said customers are booking closer to departure than usual. Even with that shift, demand is "still pretty strong" thanks to the relaxation of travel advisories and persistently high seat-fill rates, though the number of travelers passing through the Middle East remains subdued.
The Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg, is underwritten by Qatar's government.
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This conflict has scrambled one of aviation's key crossroads, with the Gulf sitting on a major intercontinental corridor. Several Persian Gulf nations temporarily shut their skies, which resulted in tens of thousands of flight cancellations. Authorities around the world issued travel warnings, which contributed to fewer tourist visits to the Middle East.
Rising fuel costs pushed many airlines to pull capacity to conserve cash. Al-Khater said Qatar Airways is rechecking its network: "We are looking at routes and saying, what are most profitable routes? The less profitable routes we are suspending or pausing." He also echoed the Etihad Airways chief on passing higher fuel costs to customers, noting carriers are focused on capacity rather than market share.
More than three decades in, Qatar Airways says it has restored its route count to pre-war levels for the first time as of last week. Neighboring Emirates said it has brought back nearly all of its network and capacity. A global oversupply of crude at the start of the year helped Qatar blunt some of the hit from more expensive jet fuel, though Al-Khater said "fuel is definitely something we are all closely monitoring."
For travelers and anyone watching airline-exposed holdings, the practical levers are simple: route reshuffles, steady but selective capacity, and fuel volatility. Those swing ticket prices and margins far more than the headlines do.
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