Middle East all-Airbus operator reveals size of potential order as it weighs up rivals
Qatar Airways has emerged as Boeing's prime target to launch the stretched -9 version of the 7E7, as it contemplates a 60-aircraft deal including options and the baseline -8 model. Airbus's as-yet-unlaunched 7E7 rival, the A350, is also being evaluated.
Revealing that the size of the planned order is much larger than previously reported, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker tells Flight International that the airline "will order 60 aircraft, and decide this year or early next" (Flight International, 2-8 November). The deal is understood to comprise 30 orders and a similar number of options.
Al Baker says that, if the 7E7 is selected, it will introduce the baseline 220-seat -8 version in 2008 - the same year that the twinjet enters service with launch operator All Nippon Airways - but adds that that the bulk of the order will be for the 260-seat -9. "We are pleased that Boeing is looking to bring forward the planned in-service date by two years to 2010," says Al Baker.
The timing of the 7E7-9 entry into service (EIS) is crucial to any deal, with the airline understood to want to start receiving its aircraft during the first half of 2010. Boeing had originally proposed a 2010 EIS for the 7E7-9, but at Farnborough in July revealed it had pushed this back to 2012. The plan to bring it forward again is understood to have resulted from pressure applied by potential stretch customers like Qatar: "We've said all along that the market can decide, so the [earlier] schedule can be protected," says Boeing.
Al Baker says that the proposed A350 is also under evaluation. Although this is unlaunched, it has a tentative EIS in 2009.
With an all-Airbus fleet of 36 aircraft, Qatar Airways operates to 53 destinations and is growing at over 30% a year, which will see it almost doubling its fleet to over 65 aircraft.
Al Baker says that the airline's strategy is to operate a young fleet, and observers consider that the size of the potential 7E7/A350 deal indicates an intent to ultimately replace most of its current fleet.
MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON
Source: Flight International
