How are QRs loads during Corona?
 

Was thinking about flying back to Germany from HK... it seems QR has still/again daily 77W/A350 to HKG, to MUC, even double daily to FRA.
At the same time, for example LH and CX have significantly scaled back to something in between 2 and 4 daily, and LH for example only uses their small A343 aircraft. Even for those flights, I heard reports of friends that often those flights on LH or CX that do fly are pretty empty.

Surprised how QR is holding up the frequency. Anyone got some insights into how the loads are, or did fly on QR frequently in recent months? Can't imagine them keeping up 14/7 FRA flights if they are making losses for example...

There have been mixed reports on here in various threads of some flights being quite full, and others being very empty.

But don't forget that passengers loads are only part of the commercial equation, and although rates have dropped back significantly from their peak during the pandemic, there is still a healthy cost per kg revenue on cargo. And as Qatar has a reasonable international network with reasonable frequencies and is generally maintaining that, it's probably a the top of the queue for cargo shipments.
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ex-HK has had a brief uptick in departures recently for students going to Europe to resume classes in schools and unis. A CX flight HKG to LHR on Sunday was pretty full...

QR business model is quite different from other legacy airlines such as CX.
QR relies on what I call the butterfly model. It mostly collects pax from all over Europe and USA to fly to all over Asia (and vice versa) via DOH. It needs to keep a vast network to be efficient. Several low loads feeders could lead to a high-load second segment (or vice versa). QR has cut quite a few routes, but its business model requires to keep a lot of routes, even with light load. Otherwise QR could as well close.
All airlines know that they will be losing money in the coming year. They just try to survive.

CX is quite different. In Europe it only kept one daily flight to London (was 5 or 6) and kept a couple of weekly flights to FRA, AMS, MAN.
It feeds other European destinations through LHR with a BA feeder flight when possible (the timing of BA flights often makes it impossible).

QR has also been flying a LOT of cargo, since the start of the blockade, bringing food into DOH.

I've been on half-full B773-flights ex-BKK, where we departed slightly-late, due to being absolutely crammed-full of cargo, downstairs.

Sounds a lot better than “hub-and-spoke” 😄

I took 2 sectors on QR a few days ago
HKG-DOH: Around 50% full, aft J cabin closed
DOH-MAN: Around 80-90% full, all J seats taken

Were there no empty J class seats on the DOH-MAN flight? I thought there was an empty seat in 3 pax or 2 pax J rows...

Nope... Why would you think that?

Social distancing. Means nothing on flights with QR is my interpretation of no empty seats for "social distancing".

Why social distancing on the ground transportation, and not on QR? Big commentary on restricted passenger numbers on ground transportation, from what media says. Some dispensation for QR?

Simply because the economics of airplanes and ground transport are different. In widebody J, people are generally more spread out by default. In Y, QR have been blocking middle seats but they do become available at check in. Effectively socially distancing (i.e. no one in a 6ft radius) is basically impossible in Y.

QR is blocking middle seats for flights that have a light load. Whenever more tickets are sold, the middle seats become unblocked.