Qatar Airways Boeing 777 wide-bodies might soon be flown by British Airways pilots, as they are reportedly offered temporary jobs in Doha for the upcoming winter season.
British Airways (BA) pilots have reportedly received a memo with a secondment offer, several aviation media outlets have reported on September 28, 2021.
It is understood that the Doha-based airline is looking for approximately 40 pilots (20 first officers and 20 captains) to crew its Boeing 777 during winter 2021/2022.
Qatar Airways has 83 Triple Sevens in its fleet, including 26 freighters. British Airways has 59 777s, 11 of which are currently parked, Planespotters.net data shows.
British Airways and Qatar Airways are related through BA’s parent International Airlines Group (IAG) (IAG). The Gulf-based air carrier is the single largest shareholder of the latter since 2016 and owns 25.1% of IAG since February 2020.
This would not be the first time the two airlines come to each other’s aid. Back in July 2017, when British Airways crew went on strike, Qatar Airways sent nine crewed Airbus A320 to help out on BA’s short haul routes.