Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker does not see any need for an all-new "middle of the market" aircraft and believes Boeing should concentrate on developing the 787 instead.
Boeing is studying an all-new airliner to fill the market sector it has identified between the 737 and 787 families. While interest appears to be building from both potential customers and suppliers, Al Baker is unconvinced by Boeing's New Midsize Airplane (NMA) concept.
"I've already told Boeing that if they fine-tune the 787-8, it could be a perfect midsize aircraft. They don't need to reinvent the wheel."
Qatar Airways has been at the forefront of several recent new Airbus and Boeing developments, including the A350, 787 and 777X. However, he believes development of the NMA is unnecessary and says he has no interest in ordering it.
"They don't need to invest $8-10 billion to develop a new aircraft. And as soon as they do, then Airbus will jump on the bandwagon and there will be an unnecessary pissing match between the two manufacturers," he says.
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Source: Cirium Dashboard
