Qatar Airways retires A330 fleet as high fuel costs hit Gulf aviation - report

Qatar Airways has retired its last Airbus A330 passenger jets amid soaring fuel costs and disruption to Gulf aviation, Reuters reported on Friday. The carrier has seconded more than a dozen pilots to Rwanda’s national airline, RwandAir. The A330 retirement is due to the high fuel costs and inefficiency of older aircraft, which have become uneconomic to operate.

Qatar Airways had leased four A330s from Oman Air, which never entered service. The carrier had planned to operate the A330s through 2026 but has now fully retired its A330 passenger fleet. The pilot secondments to RwandAir are voluntary and short-term, allowing A330-trained pilots to continue flying while supporting the Rwandan carrier.

Qatar Airways expects to receive 138 aircraft over the next five years, with two wide-body jets each from Airbus and Boeing set to be delivered this year.