Under pressure Qatar Airways today released its 2016-2017 annual report revealing a 21.7 per cent year-on-year net profit increase. The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent.

Qatar Airways’ available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 21.9 per cent in the fiscal year to 185,208 million.

Chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our annual results once again reflect the success of our expansion and growth strategy that has seen the Qatar Airways Group grow from a small regional airline into an aviation powerhouse over the last two decades.

“As we celebrate our 20th anniversary in the industry, I am proud to share our annual results with the world so that they can see how far we have come as an airline group and how our dedicated team of more than 43,000 employees have worked together to make Qatar Airways the huge success it is today.”

During the year which ended in April, Qatar made significant investments and partnerships; launched 10 new destinations; and a number of innovative on-board product developments while its modern fleet to 196 aircraft.

In July 2016, the airline announced an increase in its stake in International Airlines Group (IAG) from 15.24 per cent to 20.01 per cent, strengthening its position as a shareholder in one of world’s biggest airline groups. A further strategic investment was made by the airline in December 2016, when it acquired 10 per cent of LATAM Airline Group’s total shares.

Other key partnerships secured throughout the same period include a joint business agreement with IAG subsidiary, British Airways, with revenue sharing on the London Heathrow-Doha route, as well as new codeshare partnerships with airlines such as Finnair, Iberia, Sri Lankan, Vueling and Air Botswana.

The airline has announced that it will launch a record number of 24 new destinations in the next year, including exciting cities such as Dublin,San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago.

Referring to the severance of diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, the report stated that “Qatar Airways continues to operate to the rest of its network as per its published schedules with day-to-day adjustments for operational and commercial efficiencies, which is standard airline practice.”