Order Canceled: Where Is Qatar Airways Flying Its Remaining A321s?

Airbus has canceled Qatar Airways’ order for 50 A321neos, which were to replace the carrier’s 31-strong narrowbody fleet. They would also have provided a new avenue for growth, especially in thinner markets, while transforming route economics. We look at Qatar Airways’ existing A321s, of which it has three – less than any other type.

Qatar Airways has three A321s, including A7-AIA, although it is currently stored and its future with the airline is unclear. Photo: aeroprints via Flickr.

Qatar Airways’ A321s

Qatar Airways has only 31 narrowbodies, exclusively by Airbus, comprising three A321ceos and 29 A320s. According to ch-aviation.com, its A321s have an average age of 11.5 years. They have 182 seats, with 12 fully-flat business seats and 170 in economy.

The three aircraft are registered A7-AIA/AIC/AID, of which only AIC and AID are active. AIC is about to land in Doha from Cairo when writing, while AID is soon to take off from Belgrade. Radarbox.com shows that AIA, delivered to Qatar Airways in February 2010, last flew on January 3rd from Norwich (UK) to Doha. It has been stripped of its livery and has presumably, but not categorically, stopped flying for the carrier.

Historically, Qatar Airways had nine other A321s, the first of which (A7-ADS) arrived 18 years ago in 2004. It was used until January 2020, before the pandemic struck. According to ch-aviation.com, it is now with Electra Airways as VP-CBJ. It last flew from St Athan (UK) to Prague in May 2021 and appears to be stored.

This was Qatar Airways’ first A321. Photo: Qatar Airways.

Where is Qatar Airways flying the A321?

From January 21st until October 29th, the end of the summer season, Qatar Airways’ A321s have just 1,039 departures from Doha – less than two in every 100 outbound flights (1.7%), according to OAG data. However, they have more departures than the B787-9, A380 (now used to Heathrow and Paris CDG), and A330-200.

The A321 is scheduled on 24 routes, with no more than five departures a day – barely any. The 1,951-mile (3,140km) link to Bucharest will see it the most, followed by Goa, Trivandrum, Tehran, Colombo, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, Peshawar, and Athens. A range of others, including Ankara, Beirut, Cairo, Khartoum, Sofia, Tbilisi, and Yerevan, will see it occasionally.

Only one of the two active A321s (A7-AIC) was airborne when writing. It landed in Doha at 16:56 and will leave for Colombo at 18:40, arriving at 01:45 local time. It will depart Sri Lanka at 03:00 and return at 05:30. Image: Radarbox.com.

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The A321neo was to replace the A321 & A320

Before the latest spat with Airbus, the A321neo was expected to replace the A321 and A320. Some 50 of the significantly more fuel-efficient aircraft were on order, with much lower seat-mile costs to transform route performance – even more so versus the smaller A320. Ten examples were expected to be A321LRs, a type successfully used by multiple airlines across the North Atlantic and elsewhere.

Earlier this year, Qatar Airways said its incoming A321neos would help right-size capacity to demand, improving seat load factors, yields, and route performance. It said they would be crucial during off-peak periods and to boost frequency, and therefore competitiveness, on thinner routes. Will Airbus and Qatar Airways sort out the mess? Will Qatar Airways order Boeing narrowbodies? Or will it stick to widebodies?

Have you flown the airline’s A321s? Share your experiences in the comments. 

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