Qatar Airways ready to buy Boeing, Airbus freighters – CEO

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said he’s ready to order wide-body freighter planes from Airbus or Boeing within a month or two if a new model is made available.

The Gulf carrier could place a “large customer order” for an A350 freighter planned by European manufacturer Airbus or a new 777F from its US rival before the end of the third quarter, Al Baker told the FlightPlan III webinar.

Al Baker has lobbied for the aircraft before, but neither planemaker has committed to making a freighter version of the passenger jumbo-jets. His urgency highlights how important burgeoning cargo demand has become to airlines whose long-haul passenger markets remain blighted by the coronavirus crisis.

Cargo’s importance

State-owned Qatar Airways consolidated its position as the world’s biggest freight carrier among passenger operators last year after keeping routes open during lockdowns to service trade flows, adding new destinations and converting some planes for cargo-only operations.

Bloomberg reported in June that Airbus is close to taking orders for the A350F if it can line up the commitments. The plane would provide the Toulouse, France-based company with a contender in a market dominated by Boeing. But Al Baker said an Airbus order would require a resolution to issues with the passenger version of the jet. Qatar Airways has said paint on some A350s is degrading faster than it should and that the issue must be fixed before it will take more deliveries.

Asked about the new 777X passenger plane, for which Qatar Airways is the launch customer, Al Baker said he is “very excited” about the model and that once Boeing launches a freighter variant, “we will be giving them the opportunity, together with Airbus freighters.”

On the A350 he cautioned: “That is, if Airbus resolves our issues very quickly.”

Al Baker said last month that Qatar Airways is “really hungry for more freighters” but can’t obtain the current 777F, which is based on Boeing’s existing 777 model, until 2023.

The Doha-based company ranked second only to FedEx in 2019 by freight ton kilometers, putting it ahead of United Parcel Service and traditional cargo heavyweights Korean Air Lines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, as well as local rival Emirates.

Al Baker’s interview will air on Wednesday. The event is hosted by Inmarsat Aviation and aviation trade group APEX.