Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) is in talks with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) to convert its order for eighty A320neo to larger A321neo jets airline chief executive Akbar al Baker has revealed.
"We are in negotiations with Airbus about how we can continue our relationship and keep our order on track minus the ones that we cancelled," he told Reuters.
He added that should a deal be struck, the Qataris were ideally aiming for a 2018 delivery for the A321s of which they currently have sixteen on order from the Europeans.
Qatar Airways has had a tense relationship with Airbus for the past two years following a number of delays in deliveries in aircraft. In 2014, the carrier deferred acceptance of several A380-800s after pre-delivery inspections revealed shortcomings in the aircraft's interior fittings.
This year, the Qataris deferred, then cancelled, the acceptance of four early-build A320neo citing performance-related issues with Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM engines. They have since threatened to cancel more.
Given the debacle with the A320neo, Qatar Airways have now turned to Boeing (BOE, Washington National) signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) last month for up to sixty B737 MAX 8s.
