Qatar Airways plans jet order next month

Qatar Airways Ltd, the Middle East’s second-biggest carrier, plans to place a “multi-billion-dollar aircraft order” at the Dubai Air Show next month, CEO Akbar al Baker said today. The Gulf airline already has orders outstanding for more than 200 aircraft with a value in excess of $40bn at list prices, Al Baker said at a press conference in Oslo, without specifying what new planes he’s interested in. Qatar Airways failed to place an order for Airbus SAS’s A320neo at the Paris Air Show in June after earlier suggesting it would sign a contract for the jet, a re-engined version of the European manufacturer’s single-aisle model. Al Baker used the same event to indicate that any plans to buy Bombardier Inc’s rival CSeries plane were on hold. Qatar Airways also aims to announce a route to Helsinki “imminently,” the CEO said today, after the Doha-based carrier began flights to Norway yesterday. It already operates to the Nordic capitals of Stockholm and Copenhagen. Al Baker said it’s unlikely his company will go ahead with an initial public offering until the expansion programme is done. Qatar had been considering a sale to help fund its strategy of establishing Doha has a hub for long-haul travel between North America and Europe and the high-growth economies of Asia.“I don’t think it’s the right time,” Al Baker said. Qatar Airways currently operates about 100 aircraft to more than 100 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas, and plans to serve more than 120 routes by 2013 with a fleet exceeding 120 planes.