Saturday, Dec 18, 2010
DOHA (Zawya Dow Jones)--Qatar Airways could cancel its chunky order book for the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner if there are further delays to its delivery, as the board of the Arab Gulf state's flag carrier considers buying more Airbus A380s.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said Saturday that although he had confidence in the U.S.'s Boeing (BA) to deliver its much anticipated Dreamliner 787 model without further major problems, any more big setbacks could lead the airline to scrap its order book for the aircraft.
"We are pretty confident if there is a slippage [to the Dreamliner delivery schedule] it will be minimal," said Al Baker at the opening of the Doha International Airport's new arrivals terminal.
"Qatar Airways is not intending to cancel any aeroplane orders at the moment but if delays keep on happening then what is the point of me taking aeroplanes [from Boeing]," he added.
-By Alex Delmar-Morgan, Dow Jones Newswires; +974 659 9818; alex.delmar-morgan@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
18-12-10 1148GMT
