Business

Tuesday June 16, 2009

Qatar Airways orders Airbus jets


PARIS: Qatar Airways ordered 24 planes from Airbus as the world’s largest airshow opened in Paris yesterday, the Gulf carrier flexing its financial muscles as many recession-hit rivals struggle to find funds.

Airbus and US rival Boeing Co face their worst year in more than a decade as many airlines, hit by slowing demand and tight credit conditions, look to cancel or defer aircraft orders.

Qatar’s US$1.9bil deal for A320 and A321 single-aisle airliners will double its medium-haul fleet but chief executive Akbar Al Baker stopped short of announcing a foray into the budget airline sector.

“We are not planning a low-cost carrier, but if our market share is eroded by regional low-cost carriers, we will join the fashion show and launch one,” he said.

The airliner sector has burned hot for several years but the global recession has the cycle’s downturn looking more like a freefall while recession also constrains defence spending, limiting options as Boeing and Airbus parent firm EADS look for revenues there.

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jet was dropped from an expected flying display at the airshow, a decision which the manufacturer said the US Air Force had taken based on availability.

This year’s Paris Air Show is expected to fall far short of the clamour of orders at the biennial event two years ago when Airbus and Boeing took their order backlogs to record levels. — Reuters


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