Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways Post Strong Profits

This week, the 2024–2025 fiscal year results has spotlighted the diverging fortunes of two of aviation’s most globally renowned carriers: Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways. While both airlines declared record-breaking profits, the similarities end there. Beneath the surface, their respective performances were shaped by contrasting strategies, market dynamics, and external pressures.

Singapore Airlines reported a net profit of approximately $2.05bn for the year ending 31 March 2025 — its highest ever. However, this result was largely boosted by a one-off accounting gain of $812mn, stemming from the merger of its Indian joint venture Vistara with Air India in November 2024. Remove this windfall, and a more sobering picture emerges.

Operating profit dropped sharply to $1.26bn, a 37% decline from the previous year, despite modest revenue growth. Group revenue rose 2.8% to $14.4bn, supported by a record 39.4mn passengers across Singapore Airlines and its low-cost arm, Scoot. However, passenger yields fell by 5.5% year-on-year, reflecting growing pressure on fares and margins.

Much of this erosion in profitability is attributable to the resurgence of Chinese airlines, which have aggressively ramped up capacity across international markets since reopening. 

These carriers have not only reclaimed pre-pandemic levels but exceeded them on key routes — particularly the lucrative Kangaroo Route connecting Australia and the United Kingdom. For Singapore Airlines, this has meant downward pressure on fares and a dilution of its traditional market dominance.

Cargo provided some offset. Revenue from freight operations rose 4.4% to around $1.63bn, fuelled by strong demand in e-commerce and perishables and by continued disruptions in Red Sea maritime routes. However, cargo yields fell 7.8%, highlighting competitive softness in global airfreight rates.

Singapore’s forward strategy will need to address both intensifying competition and rising input costs.

 Supply chain friction, fuel price volatility, and capacity gluts will weigh on near-term performance. While its stake in the newly consolidated Air India-Vistara group could yield strategic dividends in South Asia, integration complexities and timelines remain unclear.

In Doha, Qatar Airways this week posted a record net profit of $2.15bn, up 28% year-on-year, on total group revenues of $23.4bn, marking its most successful financial performance to date. Passenger numbers climbed to 43.1mn, up from 40mn the previous year.

Unlike Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways’ performance was not dependent on one-time gains. Instead, its profitability stemmed from a diversified and disciplined strategic approach — most notably, the sustained strength of its cargo division. 

Freight revenues rose by 17%, as the airline capitalised on market volatility with nimble pricing, fleet adaptability, and digitalised operations. This was Qatar Airways Cargo’s best performance since the pandemic began.

Beyond cargo, equity investments played a major role in broadening the group’s global footprint. In February 2025, Qatar Airways acquired a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, enabling the reinstatement of long-haul flights between Australia and Doha.

 Under the partnership, Virgin Australia will lease aircraft and crew from Qatar Airways, expanding capacity between the two nations over the next five years.

The airline also secured a 25% stake in South Africa’s Airlink, one of the region’s largest independent carriers. 

This enhances Qatar Airways’ African network, offering deeper regional connectivity and access to underserved secondary markets. 

These strategic acquisitions underscore the airline’s commitment to long-term geographic and network diversification, with a particular focus on regions where growth potential is high and competitive intensity is lower than in Asia-Pacific or Europe.

Most significantly, Qatar Airways made global headlines with a historic aircraft order. The airline signed a deal with Boeing for up to 210 new widebody jets, including 160 firm orders and 50 options, making it the largest single order by value in Boeing’s history. 

The fleet will be composed of new generation 777X and 787 Dreamliners, underlining Qatar Airways’ ambition to operate one of the youngest, most fuel-efficient fleets in the sky.

In every sense, the carrier’s approach exemplifies a well-balanced growth model—one rooted in diversification across revenue streams, targeted equity partnerships, and forward-looking fleet renewal.

Both airlines’ results must be viewed within the broader context of a global aviation recovery that remains fundamentally uneven. Demand is strong, but not all carriers are equally positioned to capitalise.

Emirates, for example, also had a profitable year, posting an annual profit of $5.2bn, the highest of any airline globally. Its advantage lies in sustained long-haul demand, high load factors, and its ability to deploy a widebody-heavy fleet efficiently.

Yet structural headwinds persist. Aircraft delivery delays due to ongoing supply chain constraints and certification issues at both Airbus and Boeing continue to hamper airlines’ fleet planning. 

Cost inflation across fuel, maintenance, and labour is another challenge, squeezing operating margins even as top-line revenues rise.

Geopolitical instability also complicates operations. 

Conflict in the Middle East, evolving airspace closures, and shipping lane disruptions in the Red Sea are forcing airlines to reroute traffic, rethink crew logistics, and absorb additional operating costs. For global network carriers such as Qatar Airways and Emirates, these shifts sometimes present advantages—rerouted traffic can benefit their hubs — but overall, the environment remains volatile.