Qatar Airways Flies Through the Corona Pandemic
Recently we had the opportunity to sit down with Eric Odone, Senior Vice President of the Americas at Qatar Airways to pick his brain on a few topics related to global travel during
the COVID-19 pandemic and how Qatar Airways is adapting to these challenges and more.
Since March airlines have cut capacity left and right, aircraft were parked in the desert, and staff put on thin ice over their continued employment. Global demand plummeted and
that is where Qatar Airways took an opportunity.
As carriers around the world were suspending international operations Qatar Airways was continuing to operate a relatively expansive schedule. The airline realized that there are
people who are scattered across the world and want to get back home.
Odone stated that the airline wanted to be the one that got people home who were
stranded and also didn’t want to abandon passengers who had booked on the
airline previously, even mentioning that governments took note of
Qatar Airways’ operations. Various governments around the world ended up using the
airline for over 200 charter flights to help bring the citizens of various countries back home.
