Qatar Airways orders three Airbus super jumbos
Qatar Airways announced an order for three Airbus A380 super jumbo airliners and confirmed an order for 80 mid-sized A350 aircraft on the first day of the Paris Air Show on Monday.
By PTI |
LE BOURGET (FRANCE): Qatar Airways announced an order for three Airbus A380 super jumbo airliners and confirmed an order for 80 mid-sized A350 aircraft on the first day of the Paris Air Show on Monday.
The planes would be worth slightly more than $ 18 billion at catalogue prices.
The order for 80 A350s, first announced in March this year, is worth $ 17.2 billion at catalogue price while three A380s would be priced at $ 957 million, according to Airbus sales figures.
The new order for the A380 is a vote of confidence in the troubled airliner, which has been hit by production problems meaning deliveries are about two years behind schedule.
Qatar Airways, a fast-growing airline founded in 1994, has already ordered two A380s.
Also today, a source told AFP that Dubai-based airline Emirates, the biggest single client for the super jumbo, would announce an order for up to 10 additional A380s.
Launch of the Airbus A350 plane has also been delayed, mainly because of design difficulties.
The mid-sized jet is a competitor for Boeing's future 787 model, but will enter service five years later than its rival.
Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois said that deliveries of the A350 to Qatar Airways would begin in 2013, the same year the plane is set to enter service.
The Paris Air Show, one of the biggest aerospace events in the world, is an important battlefield for Airbus and Boeing, the two biggest makers of commercial planes.
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