Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) CEO Akbar al Baker says his airline would consider the recently unveiled A330neo for its nascent Saudi Arabian subsidiary, Al Maha Airways (Riyadh), once Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) reveals all details and costings.
"We will wait for Airbus to provide us with all the performance data and, most importantly, the price," he told the Wall Street Journal at the Farnborough International Airshow 2014.
Originally to have launched in June this year, Al Maha has pushed back it proposed launch date until later in the year pending the issuance of its Air Operator Certificate by the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA).
With an initial fleet of A320-200s, Al Maha will operate domestic flights out of its Riyadh hub.
Meanwhile, al Baker has told a press conference at Farnborough that his airline will seek compensation from Airbus for delays in the delivery of three A380-800s.
"No amount of compensation will compensate any airline for the revenue loss an aircraft delay causes to its bottom line," al Baker said without mentioning exact figures.
During pre-delivery checks at Toulouse Blagnac, the airline reportedly found deficiencies in the aircraft interior warranting a full redecoration of the affected parts - most notably, the galley area.
The CEO also showed irritation at the European manufacturer's decision to exhibit a testbed A380 instead of the Qatar Airways model. While Airbus had said it would not do so given the rework being done to the airline's A380s, Al Baker claimed it was simply an attempt at "bullying" Qatar Airways into accepting the aircraft.
"This was absolutely disappointing to Qatar Airways," Al Baker said. “But I don’t think that that was the excuse. I think it was a way to pressure Qatar Airways to take delivery of the aircraft. But Qatar Airways does not get bullied by anybody."
