European aircraft manufacturer have confirmed today that Qatar Airways will receive its first A350-1000 aircraft before the end of the year.
Doha based Qatar Airways is the launch customer of of the A350-1000's which will be Europe's largest twin-engined passenger jet and has an order for 37 of the aircraft.
"Airbus has assured us we would receive our airplanes, though late, but we will receive it before the end of the year," Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told the media in Doha this week.
The Qatari government owned Qatar Airways is also in the process of a major renegotiation deal with the European plane maker regarding its massive 50 A320neo order. The airline rejected delivery of the first aircraft of the order which also included some A319's and A321's, citing performance issues. Mr Al-Baker said he was hopeful that Airbus would start delivering a converted order for only the larger A321neos in the second half of 2018.
Diplomatic tensions and a blockage by Bahrain, The UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Qatar may still cause delivery dates to be delayed and postponed, however the airline says it is looking at expanding some routes and looking for new ones to open to replace those lost by the blockade.
Josh Jordan
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